The progression of the aorta over time, from its initial formation to the mature structure. An aorta is an artery that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body. [ GOC:dgh GOC:bf http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0000947 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aorta http://www.informatics.jax.org/searches/AMA.cgi?id=MA:0000062 ]