Aristotle is one of the most famous Greek philosophers and scientists. He was born in Northern Greece in a town called Stagira, in 384 BC. When he was young he traveled to Athens where he studied at Plato’s Academy with the great philosopher who became his mentor. He studied with him until his death and then returned to Macedonia in Northern Greece, where he became the teacher of Alexander the Great, at the request of his father, King Phillip of Macedonia.
View of the Acanthian Gulf from ancient Stagira [Credit: Greek Reporter]In Macedonia, Aristotle founded the Peripatetic School (Wandering School), it was an informal institution where members tried to answer difficult scientific and mostly philosophical questions. The name originally derives from the Greek word Peripatos which was a meeting place in the Lyceum of Athens. However, after Aristotle’s death, a legend traveled around Greece that he used to walk while teaching so the name changed to Peripatetis (peripatitikos in Greek) which means wandering.
View of the Acanthian Gulf from ancient Stagira [Credit: Christaras A/WikiCommons]Now, almost 2,400 years later, the town of Stagira — the philosopher’s birthplace — has opened Aristotle’s Trail to the public. Visitors have the opportunity to walk the different paths of Halkidiki, where allegedly Aristotle used to teach his students philosophy.
The main path runs for about 22 kilometres from the ruins of ancient Stagira to the modern village of the name [Credit: iefimerida]The main path is 22 kilometres long. It starts from the ruins of the old town of Stagira and reaches the modern village of the same name. It runs through an amazing part of Halkidiki. The view is always breathtaking and the trail is lined with various plants and flowers to pick and admire. There are various paths for visitors to choose from, depending on difficulty and length, while there are paths for mountain biking also. In addition to the trail, the local community recently opened an Aristotle theme park.
