Walter F. Otto was born to pharmacist Hermann Ernst Otto in
Hechingen (
Baden-Württemberg),
Germany in 1874. In 1882, after his family moved to Stuttgart, Otto began attending the
Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium. Instead of completing the
Abitur, he took the so-called
Konkurs exam, the successful completion of which secured him admission to the
Tübinger Stift. As was expected of him by the Stift, Otto began studying Protestant theology, but switched to classical philology after two semesters, and continued his studies under professors
Otto Crusius,
Ludwig Schwabe and
Wilhelm Schmid. Schmid convinced Otto to transfer from Tübingen to
Bonn, where he completed his studies under
Hermann Usener and
Franz Bücheler. Bücheler, renowned for his work as a Latinist, influenced the young Otto to such a degree that the latter dedicated the bulk of the following 20 years to topics centred on Roman culture and literature - this, despite the fact that he is principally remembered as a Hellenist. Otto graduated in 1897 with the thesis
Nomina propria latina oriunda a participiis perfecti ("Latin Personal Names derived from the Perfect Participle"). Shortly thereafter, he acquired the license to teach in secondary schools. The following year, he became an assistant to the preparations of the
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae and moved to
Munich to carry out his new duties. He served in the positions of editor and author of the
Onomasticum Latinum until 1911, by which time he had completed his doctoral work under Crusius. In the Fall of that year, Otto was offered and accepted a professorship at
Vienna, where he met fellow philologist Hans von Arnim, and the two became close friends. Two years later, in 1913, Otto transferred to
Basel, where he took up the position of
Ordinarius. The following year he transferred again, this time to the newly founded
University of Frankfurt, where he remained for next 20 years as professor for classical philology. During this time, he developed a close friendship with Hellenist Karl Reinhardt. In 1934, the Nazi regime forced Otto to accept the offer to serve as the successor to
Paul Maas, who was removed from his position for being of Jewish descent, in Königsberg. From 1933 to 1945, Otto was a member - and from 1935, the administrator - of the "Scientific Committee" of the Nietzsche Archive. In 1939 and 1940, he, together with Karl Reinhardt and Ernesto Grassi, published a yearbook entitled
Geistige Überlieferung ("Spiritual Tradition"). In the introduction, Otto expressed his concern regarding the destiny of the classical tradition, and the yearbook was subsequently banned by the government. He was able to flee Königsberg in 1944, but through the process lost all of his possessions, including his personal library and manuscripts. From that point until the end of the Second World War, Otto found refuge in Elmau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, where he entertained the local community with lectures and small theatrical performances. After the war, Otto was only able to secure positions as a substitute: 1945 in Munich, 1946 in Göttingen and, later, in Tübingen as visiting professor. After the reinstitution of the department in Tübingen, he was a member of the faculty of the university as professor emeritus. In Tübingen, Otto was able to settle in, and found good working conditions and students: at 83, he was still holding lectures and colloquia. He died there in the Fall of 1958 while working on the essay
Die Bahn der Götter ("The Path of the Gods"). His remains were interred in the Tübingen Woodland Cemetery. ==Reception==