Proxenus of Atarneus

Proxenus of Atarneus(Greek:Πρόξενος ὁ Ἀταρνεύς) is most famous for beingAristotle's guardian after the death of his parents. Proxenus educated Aristotle for a couple of years before sending him to Athens toPlato's Academy.He lived inAtarneus,a city in Asia Minor.

Proxenus had married Aristotle's older sisterArimneste,whereby they had a daughter Hero and a son Nicanor. Hero's own son,Callisthenes,would later become a student and collaborator with his great-uncle Aristotle. Nicanor eventually married Aristotle's daughter,Pythias.

References

• Diogenes Laërtius,Life of Aristotle.Translated byC.D. Yonge.
• Eduard Zeller,Aristotle and the Earlier Peripatetics(1897).