I remember an intriguing footnote from one of my high school world history classes: Aristotle, one of history’s most influential philosophers and an early pioneer of scientific inquiry, served as the personal tutor of Alexander the Great, one of history’s most successful military commanders. What this simple fact leaves out are the complexities of their relationship. How did Aristotle and Alexander meet? What was their relationship like? How did a philosopher who preferred the painstaking study of plants and animals interact with a young prince seemingly born for the battlefield?
This is the relationship Annabel Lyon explores in her debut novel, The Golden Mean. But the novel is much more than a retelling of events beginning in 343 BCE. Its greatest triumph is its incisive portrayal of Aristotle and Alexander as two deeply flawed people with wildly different ambitions who nevertheless complement one another.
The novel’s themes reflect Aristotle’s own philosophy, particularly his ideas about friendship and love. Aristotle distinguished among friendships based on utility, pleasure, and virtue, and these different forms of connection unfold throughout the novel. King Philip of Macedon values Aristotle largely for his usefulness as a tutor to his sons. Aristotle’s relationship with his wife, Pythias, is more complicated. Their marriage was arranged, and although they may not share romantic love, they develop mutual respect and affection. Aristotle, meanwhile, recognizes Alexander’s extraordinary potential. Their relationship begins with a clear imbalance of power—the tutor and his pupil—but that dynamic gradually changes. Alexander eventually commands armies in battle, while Aristotle follows as a physician under his former student’s authority.
Although Aristotle and Alexander are destined for very different lives, each provides something the other needs. Their bond becomes what Aristotle might call a friendship of virtue: one rooted in mutual respect and in the desire to see the other become the best version of himself.
The novel does not romanticize the ancient world. Slavery, sickness, violence, and excess are depicted alongside intellectual discovery and military glory. Lyon strips away the grandeur surrounding the classical world and reminds us that Aristotle was only a man, as were Plato and the many kings, soldiers, and playwrights who appear throughout the story.
At the center of the novel is the idea of the golden mean, Aristotle’s belief that virtue lies between two extremes. Alexander challenges this theory: How can anyone determine where those extremes lie? He then offers his own proposition: If the theory were applied to people, Alexander would stand at one extreme and Aristotle at the other.
Perhaps that is why, despite the depth of their friendship, Aristotle and Alexander are ultimately destined to follow separate paths. Each may provide balance for the other, but neither can remain in the middle for long.to the world of Disney Fairies.
Lyon, Annabel. The Golden Mean. Random House Canada, 2009.
