Greek Archaeologist Says He Has Found Aristotle’s Tomb

[Redsun]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/world/europe/greece-aristotle-tomb.html?_r=0

ATHENS — A Greek archaeologist who has been leading a 20-year excavation in northern Greece said on Thursday that he believed he had unearthed the tomb of Aristotle.

In an address at a conference in Thessaloniki, Greece, commemorating the 2,400th anniversary of Aristotle’s birth, the archaeologist, Konstantinos Sismanidis, said he had “no proof but strong indications, as certain as one can be,” to support his claim.

The tomb was in a structure unearthed in the ancient village of Stagira, where Aristotle was born, about 40 miles east of Thessaloniki. According to Mr. Sismanidis, the structure was a monument erected in Aristotle’s honor after his death in 322 B.C.

“We had found the tomb,” he said. “We’ve now also found the altar referred to in ancient texts, as well as the road leading to the tomb, which was very close to the city’s ancient marketplace within the city settlement.”

Although the evidence of whose tomb it was is circumstantial, several characteristics — its location and panoramic view; its positioning at the center of a square marble floor; and the time of its construction, estimated to be at the very beginning of the Hellenistic period, which started after the death of Aristotle’s most famous student, Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C. — “all lead to the conclusion that the remains of the arched structure are part of what was once the tomb-shrine of Aristotle,” Mr. Sismanidis said.

Aristotle, who was born in 384 B.C., was a pupil of Plato in Athens and became a crucial figure in the emergence of Western philosophy. His work forms the basis of modern logic, and his metaphysics became an integral part of Christian theology. His “Poetics” still offers penetrating analysis of what works, and does not work, in theater. King Philip II of Macedon engaged him as a tutor to his son Alexander.

A separate excavation in another part of northern Greece, Amphipolis, in 2014 led to the discovery of the largest ancient tomb ever found in the country. Speculation linking the tomb to Alexander the Great set off huge media interest, but archaeologists later concluded that it had probably been built for a close companion of the king and conqueror.

[Redsun]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/archaeologist-aristotle-tomb_us_57470c37e4b0dacf7ad41542

A Greek archaeologist is “almost certain” that he has found the tomb of Aristotle, some 2,300 years after the philosopher’s death in 322 B.C.

Archaeologist Kostas Sismanidis beieves the tomb is inside a horseshoe-shaped, domed building in the ancient Greek seaside city of Stagira, where Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. He made the announcement Thursday at the “Aristotle 2400 Years“ World Congress, a conference for international Aristotelian scholars held in the city of Thessaloniki.

While he has no solid proof that the tomb belonged to Aristotle, Sismanidis says the location matches a physical description of Aristotle’s tomb from an 11th century A.D., Arabic-language biography of the philosopher, which claims that the people of Stagira placed the philosopher’s ashes into an urn and took them back to their home city for safekeeping.

“We think, without having proof but only strong indications, that it all points towards this theory” that this is the philosopher’s final resting place, Sismanidis said at the conference.

Sismanidis’ discovery was a result of over 20 years‘ excavation and research, Greek radio station Sto Kokkino reported.

Sismanidis claimed to have found Aristotle’s tomb back in 1996, the outlet noted. He has officially retired since then, but continued to work on the site to confirm his hypothesis.

The philosopher was originally believed to be buried in Chalcis, a town on the Greek island of Euboea, where he died of a stomach disease. Stagira and Chalcis are over 300 miles away from each other.

[Redsun]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/26/has-this-greek-archaeologist-found-the-tomb-of-aristotle/

A Greek archaeologist who excavated the birthplace of Aristotle in northern Greece in the 1990s says a destroyed structure he discovered may have been the tomb of the ancient philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great.

Konstantinos Sismanidis concedes that he has "no proof but just strong indications" to back up his theory, presented Thursday at a conference marking the 2,400th anniversary of the philosopher's birth.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a pupil of Plato and one of history's most influential thinkers.

At one point in his life, he went into voluntary exile from Athens when his former pupil, Alexander the Great, died. The Athenian Assembly rebelled against Macedonian rule, and Aristotle was charged with impiety. He spent the remainder of his life in the city of Chalcis.

Mr Sismanidis said the structure unearthed in the ruins of Stageira, 43 miles east of Thessaloniki, was once a public monument where Aristotle was honored after his death. No human remains were found there.

Mr Sismanidis also quoted medieval references to Aristotle's ashes being interred in his hometown.

Aristides Baltas, a senior aide to the minister, welcomed the claim and said the culture ministry awaited details with "great anticipation".

“A team of independent archaeologists with no connection to a particular school or department have been working at the site. What we know is that their excavation has been meticulous and we await further details with great anticipation," he told the Guardian.