Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (Latin: Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius; Boëthius pronounced /boʊˈiːθi.əs/, also translated as Boethius, 480-524 or 525) was an early sixth-century philosopher. He was also the last philosopher of Greco-Roman philosophy and the first philosopher of scholasticism. Boethius was born in the Anysius family, an ancient and famous family in Rome. This family had appeared in the Roman emperors Petronius Maximus and Olibrius and many Roman consuls. His father, Flavius ​​Manlius Boethius, became consul in 487 after the German Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus. Boethius himself entered politics very early and became a member of the Senate when he was 25 years old. In 510, Boethius became consul during the period when the Ostrogothic Kingdom ruled Italy. In 522, his two sons also became consuls. Later, Theodoric the Great, the ruler of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, suspected that he had contacted the Eastern Roman Empire to rebel and imprisoned him in Pavia. He was eventually sentenced to death by the Senate. While in prison, Boethius wrote his philosophical masterpiece "The Consolation of Philosophy" about metaphysical and ethical issues such as fate and death. This book became the most influential philosophical work in the Middle Ages. Boethius is canonized as a saint in Catholicism, and his memorial day is October 23.