That Time a Woman Named Phyllis Rode Aristotle Around Like a Horse

You learn something new every day, if you aren't careful. I was not aware of the Medieval trend of depicting Aristotle being ridden and whipped by a dominatrix named Phyllis. From JSTOR - go there to read the whole thing. More links below.

Alexander the Great (wiki), Aristotle’s (wiki) pupil, fell in love with a young woman named Phyllis. Aristotle, concerned that Phyllis was distracting Alexander from his kingly duties, cautioned him and advised him to spend less time with his love. Hurt, Phyllis decided to take her revenge. The next morning, she told Alexander to look out for her from the palace roof. She let down her hair, hiked up her skirts, and ran barefoot through the morning dew in the garden outside the window of Aristotle’s study. The philosopher looked up from his books to see a vision of beauty. Enchanted, he called her to him and begged her to be his.

“Certainly—on one condition,” Phyllis told the philosopher, and demanded that he put on saddle and bridle and give her a ride through the garden. Alexander, up on the battlements, was shocked to see his dignified old tutor with a bit in his mouth, while Phyllis brandished a whip over his back.

So, apparently there's a whole slew of art from over the last few hundred years depicting this story - I've picked a few favorites, but you can find more here. The first image below is not the clearest, but it's Leonardo DaVinci, for goodness sake.

Many more images at Google images.

More about this legend at the JSTOR article, and

http://dhayton.haverford.edu/blog/2016/02/19 (including a thorough retelling, changes through history, and a partial Latin translation of the story)

http://www.jehsmith.com/1/2013/04/phyllis-rides-aristotle.html