Person
Alexander of Aphrodisias
Peripatetic philosopher and Greek commentator on the writings of Aristotle
Alexander of Aphrodisias ( fl.
200CE) is a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle.
He is a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lives and teaches in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he holds a position as head of the Peripatetic school.
He writes many commentaries on the works of Aristotle, and still extant are those on the Prior Analytics, Topics, Meteorology, Sense and Sensibilia, and Metaphysics.
Several original treatises also survive, and include a work, On Fate, in which he argues against the Stoic doctrine of necessity; and another, On the Soul.
His commentaries on Aristotle are considered so useful that he is styled, by way of pre-eminence, "the commentator".