Rise to power Boethius ( right) and his adoptive father, Symmachus ( left) both had been appointed consuls in their own right Whatever the case, Boethius' fluency in Greek proved useful throughout his life in translating the classic works of Greek thinkers, though his interests spanned across a variety of fields including music, mathematics, astrology, and theology. However, Historian John Moorhead observes that the evidence supporting Boethius having studied in Alexandria is "not as strong as it may appear," adding that he may have been able to acquire his formidable learning without travelling. Historian Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neoplatonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. The unusual fluency of Boethius in the Greek language has led some scholars to believe that he was educated in the East a traditional view, first proposed by Edward Gibbon, is that Boethius studied in Athens for eighteen years based on the letters of Cassiodorus, though this was likely to have been a misreading by past historians. ![]() Though Symmachus had some fluency in Greek, Boethius achieved a mastery of the language-an increasingly rare skill in the Western regions of the Empire-and dedicated his early career to translating the entire works of Plato and Aristotle, with some of the translations that he produced being the only surviving transcriptions of Greek texts into the Middle Ages. ![]() Having been adopted into the wealthy Symmachi family, Boethius had access to tutors that would have educated him during his youth. As a sign of their good relationship, Boethius would later marry his foster-father's daughter, Rusticiana, with whom he would have two children also named Symmachus and Boethius. ![]() Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, another patrician, adopted and raised him instead, introducing to him philosophy and literature. Boethius' father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was still young. The grandfather of Boethius, a senator by the same name, was appointed as praetorian prefect of Italy but died in 454 during the palace plot against Flavius Aetius. However, in the years prior to Boethius' birth, the family had lost much of its influence. His birth family, the Anicii, was a notably wealthy and influential gens that included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius, in addition to many consuls. 480, but the exact date of his birth is unknown. Early life īoethius was born in Rome to a patrician family c. He was tortured and executed in 524, becoming a martyr in the Christian faith by tradition. While jailed and suffering from depression, Boethius wrote On the Consolation of Philosophy-a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues-which became one of the most influential and widely reproduced works of the Early Middle Ages. After publicly defending fellow consul Caecina Albinus from charges of conspiracy, he was imprisoned by Theodoric around the year 523. Though his translations were unfinished following an untimely death, it is largely due to them that the works of Aristotle survived into the Renaissance.ĭespite his successes as a senior official, Boethius became deeply unpopular among other members of the Ostrogothic court for denouncing the extensive corruption prevalent among other members of government. He published numerous transcriptions and commentaries of the works of Nicomachus, Porphyry, and Cicero, among others, and wrote extensively on matters concerning music, mathematics, and theology. In seeking to reconcile the teachings of Plato and Aristotle with Christian theology, Boethius sought to translate the entirety of the Greek classics for Western scholars. ![]() After mastering both Latin and Greek in his youth, Boethius rose to prominence as a statesman during the Ostrogothic Kingdom, becoming a senator by age 25, a consul by age 33, and later chosen as a personal advisor to Theodoric the Great. A member of the Anicii family, he was orphaned following the family's sudden decline and was raised by Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, a later consul. Boethius was born in Rome a few years after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
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