May 7, 1969) was a scholar and archaeologist of the Etruscan

Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...

 culture. Boëthius was primarily a student of Etruscan and Italic architecture. His father was the historian Simon Boëthius.

As a student, Boëthius studied at the Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1918. He taught at Uppsala (1921–24) during which time he excavated at Mycenae

Mycenae

Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...

 in Greece. In 1925 he was selected as the first director of the Swedish Institute at Rome

Swedish Institute at Rome

The Swedish Institute in Rome is a research institution that serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy...

 by the Swedish crown prince Gustav Adolf

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...

 (also known as an accomplished amateur archaeologist). He became professor of archaeology at the Göteborg University in 1934, a post he held until 1955. He also served as rector of the university (1946–51). In 1955, he retired to Italy. There he published his book Golden House of Nero in 1960, which was the product of the Thomas Spencer Jerome Lectures given in Rome. Boëthius, working together with John Bryan Ward-Perkins

John Bryan Ward-Perkins

John Bryan Ward-Perkins CMG, CBE, FBA was a British Classical architectural historian and archaeologist, and director of the British School at Rome.-Background:...

, wrote the section on Etruscan architecture for the prestigious Pelican History of Art series. The volume was published in 1970, shortly after his death in 1969.

Publications

• [dissertation:] Die Pythaïs: Studien zur Geschichte der Verbindungen zwischen Athen und Delphi. Uppsala: Almquist & Wiksells, 1918.
• and Ward-Perkins, John. Etruscan and Roman Architecture. Pelican History of Art 32. Baltimore: Penguin, 1970.
• The Golden House of Nero: some Aspects of Roman Architecture. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press,1960.
• and Sahlen, Nils G. Etruscan Culture, Land and People: Archaeological Research and Studies Conducted in San Giovenale
  San Giovenale
  San Giovenale is the modern name of the location of an ancient Etruscan settlement close to the modern village of Blera, Italy. It was excavated by the Swedish Institute at Rome in the 1950s and 1960s with King Gustaf VI Adolf as one of the participating archaeologists...
  
  and its Environs by Members of the Swedish Institute in Rome. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963.