Love Many, Trust Few, Do Wrong to None_ , and _Give All to Love_. These are all foundational works of philosophy. Even though they were written at a time when the term 'philosophy' simply meant 'the love of wisdom', they still convey a spirit of freedom and independence that must have appealed to women in general. In these works, Aristotle argued that individual people can have a good life if they behave according to what he considered to be the moral virtues: practical wisdom, justice, courage and moderation. However, there is still something missing from these philosophical works that gives us a comprehensive understanding of the women of antiquity. Aristotle himself was married and had children, but he clearly valued the pursuit of wisdom so much that he believed the search for knowledge could be more important than the family. While women in antiquity did not share the same status as men in the same way as in the modern world, we know some women also valued knowledge above family. For instance, in the _Life of Olympias_ , a fourth-century AD biography of the female king Olympias of Macedonia, the author tells us that Olympias' greatest joy was learning. While her sisters may have loved dancing, it was clear that Olympias also had a passion for philosophy. She had learned it from philosophers, was fascinated by it and valued it more than anything else. In particular, Olympias was eager to hear about virtue, moderation and justice. For her, the real world was made up of those three concepts. What we should do is to use her understanding as a guide for how we might conduct ourselves. In other words, for her, virtue would be what makes a person live well. Aristotle believed that men and women would be equal in almost every way once they had been reared according to the same principles (Aristotle, _Politics_ , 8.3.5). Yet on a practical level, it was clear that the two sexes were different in terms of what they loved. In _On the Sacred Disease_ , a treatise on women written by Hippocrates, the author argues that women are more emotional than men. Women may have great physical beauty, but even they cannot be 'perfect' or 'perfectly formed' ( _On the Sacred Disease_ , _Loeb Classical Library_ , Vol. IV, p. 15). Because women are weaker than men in terms of their powers of reasoning, women's beauty has a deeper meaning: it has an emotional element. They are the 'ornament of the body', and it is the male philosopher's duty to educate women in order to ensure that they do not fall under the sway of emotion. In terms of physical beauty, women also tend to be different from men because of their breasts. Aristotle does not deny that women are more beautiful in some ways, but he states that 'it is a woman's function to be a sort of link between the male and the female and to supply physical complement to the male element' (Aristotle, _Politics_ , 5.4.11). This is not the case for men. In Aristotle's ideal world, men are more physically active, and thus they do not need women to help them to develop their physical attractiveness. The fact that men do not have the same requirements for beauty as women may seem to have been a reason why men were able to dominate women, but for Aristotle himself, there was a clear exception: the relationship between a father and his son. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that Aristotle was married, and there is no evidence to suggest that his wife would have been anything but a wonderful companion. However, he states that he 'must follow in the footsteps of his father Zeus'. He continues by saying that he is a philosopher and therefore needs to be free from the 'torments of love'. It is clear that he does not want the responsibilities of marriage. He believes that the most important aspect of a person's life is the way in which they live. For a philosopher, the most important part of living is to be good. Because goodness requires freedom, it requires a certain kind of separation from those with whom one has a close relationship. Philosophers need to be free to explore their ideals of the good. One of the most popular ways to explore those ideals is through a relationship with a wife. Because they are lovers and do not want to be restricted by marriage, lovers need to be free. What I believe is so inspiring about the relationship between fathers and sons is that it seems that love between them is able to help men to find their way. Even though the _Symposium_ can be read as saying that a philosopher must not fall in love, it also suggests that a father can help his son to find the proper path by sharing his wisdom and giving advice. For philosophers like Aristotle, the path to goodness seems to lie in the pursuit of the truth. It may seem to contradict Aristotle's argument that women have an emotional element, but love between a father and son involves an exchange of love for the sake of the good. A father who encourages his son's love and admiration should in return teach his son how to love appropriately. A father's words and actions help a son to understand what is good. At the same time, a father's words and actions help him to come to a better understanding of himself, and this can help a son to realize his own place in the world. What is more, the _Symposium_ implies that fathers should not be too quick to interfere if they think that their son may not be ready to pursue the right path. It may be preferable to allow the boy to work through his own problems rather than to force him onto the right path by trying to change his desire for love. To do so would make the relationship between a father and his son about the boy's relationship to the father. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the relationship about feelings. In terms of the soul, this relationship is about a sense of self. For a son to turn to his father for help and guidance is appropriate, but a son would do better if he finds his own sense of the good. A father should be in a position to recognize his son's good but should not push it on him. It is unclear when Aristotle first began to teach his young male students, and in what language. There are traces of other languages in the _Metaphysics_ , but there is no proof that Aristotle really knew Greek. In an effort to find the answer to this question, modern scholars have used various sources to try and recreate the story of how a man who died around 322 BC, more than four centuries before the birth of Christ, became an important figure in world history. One such source is Aristotle's pupil Theophrastus, who wrote about philosophy in the second half of the third century BC. Among Theophrastus' comments on his great teacher's style, we learn that Aristotle gave his students advice on how to raise their children and how to communicate with women (Aristotle, _Problems_ , 35). According to the ancient Greek biographer Diogenes Laertius, Aristotle became a member of Plato's school in 387 BC. From then onwards, the school began to split into two groups: one in which there were no women and the other in which there was a balance of men and women. Diogenes Laertius also tells us that Aristotle stayed at Plato's Academy for twenty years before leaving to form his own school with Hermias of Atarneus. Aristotle never published any works of his own, but he is credited with thirty-four treatises in a collection called _The Attic Nights_. The oldest manuscript of the _Problems_ , which contains Aristotle's advice on parenting, dates back to the early part of the fourth century BC, while the same advice is found in the works of a third-century BC philosopher called Theophrastus. In the third century BC, the author of the _Constitution of the Athenians_ , who was known to Aristotle, referred to a 'wise woman' who had had the opportunity to see women and children in a group. This shows that at some point during Aristotle's lifetime, there were more women in Athens than men. As the only son of an only child, Aristotle was in a position to receive considerable freedom when he reached adulthood. His father had been named as sole heir to his grandfather's estate in 336 BC. Once it had been formally passed down from father to son, it was clear that the property came with significant responsibilities. It appears that Aristotle did not have any direct heirs and that he therefore needed to make use of the property to care for those who were dependent upon him. In the year 336 BC, Aristotle became a member of Plato's Academy. He was not only a member of the group, but a colleague. Although there is some evidence to suggest that women could attend Plato's Academy, there is no mention of women in any of Aristotle's writings. For those of us who do not speak Greek, the original text of Aristotle's _Nicomachean Ethics_ contains a list of Aristotle's works that have survived up until this point. What is most striking about this list is that it includes a work that is written by Aristotle's wife, Nicomachean Ethics, Book One. According to the editor, Porphyry, her work was only included because Aristotle was so impressed by his wife's talents. From all accounts, Aristotle and his wife lived together, but it is unclear whether they had been married for several years when Aristotle died in 322 BC. What is clear is that they were very happy together. In