The Golden Mean

Written by: Haroun Zayed
The Golden mean is a debut novel by Annabel Lyon told in first person narrative by one of the greatest minds in the history of mankind: Aristotle. This is a fascinating, cultivating read that places the reader in the mind of Aristotle during one of the most prosperous times of the ancient Greek empire. Annabel Lyon attempts to illustrate the parallels of the world we live in and the world back then. What is striking is the uncanny similarities of the human race by which we communicate, solve problems, and build relationships.
The book speaks of Aristotle’s adventures into Macedon where he would tutor young Alexander the great. It starts off with Aristotle departing Athens to live in Pella (the capital of Macedon) on a request by his childhood companion, the king. Upon arrival Aristotle is offered a position as the prince’s tutor. Knowing he can not refuse, Aristotle humbly accepts the offer and begins to tutor young Alexander. As the book progresses the reader is further plunged into the mind of Aristotle as he attempts to teach young Alexander as well as leading his own life. Annabel Lyon does a fantastic job in humanizing Aristotle as a regular loving man who goes about his daily life earning money to give his family a prosperous life. However it is mesmerizing to be in the mind of Aristotle and perceive the world in which he saw it. Especially considering that much of his philosophy is the base of our current western civilization.
Other than being one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Aristotle is also largely considered as one of the first scientists for his work in observing and classifying objects, organisms, etc. This book does a great job in revealing that aspect of Aristotle. In many situations the reader would be caught in the thought process of Aristotle attempting to classify certain aspects of the world. Annabel Lyon does a great job in portraying this aspect of Aristotle by method of flashback in which Aristotle would remember helping his father (a doctor) treating patients. Aristotle would often find himself trying to imagine the anatomy of patients to the extent that he would dissect and draw the organs of different organisms much to the disapproval of his father.
The science in this book is very intriguing, specifically in the large improvements that have been made since. However it must be noted that the science that exists today is largely due to the efforts of those before us, such as Aristotle. Most of the science discussed in this book is presented either during Aristotle’s sessions with Alexander or while he is recounting past travels with his father.
During his sessions with Alexander, Aristotle tries to teach him a balance of all subjects. Upon teaching him about the sciences, it is obvious that while many of it is clearly false, some of the basics by which we base our science today is largely true. For example Aristotle explains the phenomena of snow as the freezing of water atoms that cluster together and create snow. This largely indicates that the concept of atoms was established but not yet proven.

Furthermore the concept of everything made of elements was heavily favoured. However the elements that were believes to make up everything were false. These are just some of the many examples by which the science spoken off is either the basis behind our current scientific views or a completely opposite view that would be proven otherwise in the future.
Aristotle also discusses medicine a significant deal in this book especially when he would recall his travels with his father. His father was a well known doctor that eventually came to Macedon to be appointed the King’s doctor. However, before he came to Macedon he used to travel from city to city with Aristotle treating various patients. The medicine discussed during that time had been primitive but still effective in certain cases. Though many of the causes and effects of certain symptoms were unknown, doctors still did their all to help the patients. Once more Annabel Lyon painstakingly parallels the medicine of then and today.
In one of the most graphic scenes of the novel Aristotle describes witnessing his first surgery. It happened to be what we would now call a caesarean section. Unfortunately, there were no anaesthetics then and so the mother had to be awake when the surgery was performed. Furthermore though the Greek knew the importance of having clean sheets, and clean equipment for surgery the environment was still not fully sterile. To add on to that there was no known method to stop bleeding after surgery, they would only hope that the stitches would hold and the body would heal, thus leading to high death rate after surgery. In this case surgery is successful and the baby lives but the mother dies a few days afterwards from excess bleeding and infection.
Though the Greeks did know enough to treat many diseases they were still largely oblivious to the reasons why individuals would get sick and would hypothesize. In one example Aristotle recalls his father performing surgery on a man’s brain in order to rid of the excess mucus that has been causing the man to fall to the floor, kick his legs, flail his hands, clinch his teeth and foam at the mouth. The man continues to live after surgery and Aristotle and his father believe they have cured him. However we now know that this is not the case. The man was suffering from seizures, which we now know are caused by random firing of neurons to the brain, not excess mucus flowing in the blood stream causing the brain to cool. In this case the whole basis of the way the body functions is misconceived and improper treatments are applied. In all it is clear to see that medicine has improved dramatically since the time of Aristotle but it is important to note that they set the bar for medicine by having doctors, trying to solve the mystery of the human body, and developing methods by which we use today but in greater care and efficiency such as surgery.
In conclusion Annabel Lyon does a stupefying job in bringing one of the greatest and most influential minds of our history to life. The method by which she embodies Aristotle as both an extremely intelligent yet ordinary man is fascinating. Furthermore the parallels that are drawn between Ancient Greece and the modern world are astonishing. Specifically in terms of philosophical and scientific views. In terms of philosophy it is clear to see that we have not changed significantly in the values which we hold high, and the methods by which we communicate and interact. On the other hand the science demonstrated in this book is either completely false or is the concrete rock that we base our current scientific views on. All in all the Golden Mean is a truly astounding novel definitely worth the read.
Book review:
work
Macdonald, Cynthia. The Globe and Mail. 14 August 2009. 22 April 2010 .
Figures
Clendening Library. Portrait Collection. 31 August 2000. 25 April 2010 .