Stagira is the birthplace of a man.
Aristotle ( [ ˈærɪˌstɒtəl ] Ἀριστοτέλης , [ aristotélɛːs ] , Aristotélēs ; 384 -- 322 BC ) was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira , Chalkidice , on the northern periphery of Classical Greece . His father , Nicomachus , died when Aristotle was a child , whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian . At seventeen or eighteen years of age , he joined Plato 's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven ( c. 347 BC ) . Stagira ( [ stəˈdʒaɪrə ] ) , Stagirus ( [ stəˈdʒaɪrəs ] ) , or Stageira ( Στάγειρα or Στάγειρος ) was an ancient Greek city , located in central Macedonia , near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice , and is chiefly known for being the birthplace of Aristotle , who was a Greek philosopher and polymath , a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great .