# The Consolation of Philosophy — Character guide

> Key figures in The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.

- [Boethius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/boethius.md): Boethius opens the book as a man who has lost everything—rank, freedom, and the favor of Fortune—and cannot stop rehearsing the bitterness of past happiness. His complaint is not merely sorrow but a spiritual illness: he
- [Philosophy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/philosophy.md): Philosophy arrives not to comfort but to diagnose, reproving Boethius for the foolishness of his complaints and reminding him that Fortune's nature is caprice. She speaks with the authority of a physician and the tendern
- [Fortune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/fortune.md): Fortune is the power whose gifts—riches, honor, friendship—Boethius mourns as if they were his own, though Philosophy insists they never were. She is described as a Siren whose pretended friendship entraps victims only t
- [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/plato.md): Greek philosopher frequently cited by Philosophy as an authority on virtue and governance.
- [Nero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/nero.md): Roman emperor used as an example of tyranny and moral corruption.
- [Aristotle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/aristotle.md): Greek philosopher referenced in discussions of logic and natural philosophy.
- [Cicero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/cicero.md): Roman statesman and philosopher, cited as an example of eloquence and political virtue.
- [Seneca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/seneca.md): Stoic philosopher and advisor to Nero, mentioned as a victim of tyranny.
- [Symmachus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/symmachus.md): Boethius's father-in-law, a respected Roman senator and philosopher.
- [Theodoric](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/theodoric.md): Ostrogothic king who imprisoned Boethius, representing unjust political power.
- [Regulus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/regulus.md): Roman general and consul, cited as a model of integrity and endurance.
- [Busiris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/busiris.md): Mythical Egyptian king known for sacrificing foreigners, used as a tyrant example.
- [Phoebus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/phoebus.md): The sun god, invoked in poetic imagery for light and truth.
- [Phoebe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/phoebe.md): The moon goddess, used in astronomical and poetic metaphors.
- [Hesper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/hesper.md): The evening star, personified in poetic descriptions of the sky.
- [Siren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/siren.md): Mythological creature symbolizing destructive pleasure, used as a warning.
- [Jowett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_consolation_of_philosophy_se/characters/jowett.md): Translator or editor referenced in the endnotes of this edition.

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