Stagira (ancient city) Stagira (ancient city) Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( or ) 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. The city lies approximately north northeast of the present-day village of Stagira, close to the town of Olympiada. Stagira was founded in 655 BC by Ionian settlers from Andros. Xerxes I of Persia occupied it in 480 BC. The city later joined the
Medes knew of or reached during their expansion until the beginning of the 7th century BC. In Achaemenid sources, specifically from the Behistun Inscription (2.76, 77–78), the capital of Media is Ecbatana, called "Hamgmatāna-" in Old Persian (Elamite:"Agmadana-"; Babylonian: "Agamtanu-") corresponding to modern-day Hamadan. The other cities existing in Media were Laodicea (modern Nahavand) and the mound that was the largest city of the Medes, Rhages (present-day Rey). The fourth city of Media was Apamea, near Ecbatana, whose precise location is now unknown. In later periods, Medes and especially Mede soldiers are identified and portrayed prominently in ancient archaeological sites such