Boethius

Timeline

1. c. 480–505Rome · LatiumBoethius came from the ancient Roman Anicii family and was adopted by the eminent Symmachus after his father's death in childhood. He received a bilingual classical Latin and Greek education, possibly studied in Athens or Alexandria, studied Plato and Aristotle deeply, and resolved to translate all Greek philosophical works into Latin to preserve classical wisdom.
2. 505–522Rome · LatiumBoethius systematically translated Aristotle's logical works (the various books of the Organon) and Porphyry's Isagoge, and wrote numerous logical commentaries and theological treatises. Meanwhile, he advanced steadily in Theodoric's government, being appointed Western Roman consul in 510 and simultaneously master of the offices in 522, becoming a key figure mediating between the Roman aristocracy of Italy and the Ostrogothic rulers.
3. 522–524Pavia (Ticinum) · LombardyIn 522, Boethius defended a persecuted colleague and was falsely accused by political enemies of colluding with the Eastern Roman Empire and plotting to overthrow the Ostrogothic Kingdom; he was promptly arrested and stripped of his property. In prison awaiting execution, he wrote Consolation of Philosophy, a dialogue between the goddess Philosophy and the prisoner exploring fate, free will, and the highest good, which became one of the most widely read philosophical works of the Middle Ages. He was executed around 524.