Aristotle was born in Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece, to Nicomachus, the personal physician of King Amyntas of Macedon, and Phaestis, a woman with origins from Chalcis, Euboea. His early life was marked by the death of his parents, after which he was brought up by a guardian named Proxenus of Atarneus.

At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Plato's Academy. He became distinguished as a researcher and lecturer, earning the nickname 'mind of the school' from Plato. He remained in Athens for nearly twenty years, deeply influenced by Plato's teachings but also developing his own philosophical views.

After Plato's death, Aristotle left Athens, possibly due to his disagreement with the new direction of the Academy under Plato's nephew Speusippus, or because of anti-Macedonian sentiments in Athens. He traveled to Assos in Asia Minor, where he was invited by his former fellow student Hermias of Atarneus.