Background
He was the son of Hero (niece of Aristotle), the daughter of Proxenus of Atarneus and Arimneste, which made him the great nephew of Aristotle by his sister Arimneste.
He was the son of Hero (niece of Aristotle), the daughter of Proxenus of Atarneus and Arimneste, which made him the great nephew of Aristotle by his sister Arimneste.
They first met when Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great. Through his great-uncle"s influence, he was later appointed to attend Alexander the Great on his as the official historian. Fate During the first years of Alexander"s campaign in Asia, Callisthenes showered praises upon the Macedonian conqueror.
As the king and army penetrated further into Asia, however, Callisthenes" tone began to change.
He began to sharply criticize Alexander"s adoption of Persian customs, with special scorn for Alexander"s growing desire that those who presented themselves before him perform the servile ceremony of proskynesis. Callisthenes was later implicated by Hermolaus of Macedon in a treasonous conspiracy and thrown into prison, where he died seven months later from torture or disease.
This event brought Alexander"s relationship with Aristotle to a close. His death was commemorated in a special treatise (Callisthenes or a Treatise on Grief) by his friend Theophrastus, whose acquaintance he made during a visit to Athens.
There are nevertheless several different accounts of how he was executed.
Crucifixion is the method suggested by Ptolemy, but Chares of Mytilene and Aristobulos agree that he died of natural causes while in prison. 1; Secondary sources J. A. West.