Apuleius: Encyclopedia - Apuleius

Apuleius

Lucius Apuleius (c. A.D. 123/5 - c. A.D. 180), an utterly Romanized Berber who described himself as "half-Numidian half-Gaetulian", is remembered most for his bawdy picaresque Latin novel The Golden Ass or, in Latin, the Aureus Asinus (where the Latin word aureus - golden - connoted an element of blessed luckiness).

He was born in Madaurus (now Mdaourouch, Algeria), a Roman colony in Numidia on the North African coast, bordering Gaetulia; this is the same colonia where Saint Augustine later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the Romanized coast, is today the site of some pristine Roman ruins. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (see below) and a work entitled "Florida," which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches. There is also a desire on the part of many to take details from his seemingly autobiographical novel and apply them to Apuleius, but this is not a reliable source -- most notably, the novel is misused as evidence that Apuleius was a worshiper of Isis, though there is good reason to think that this was not the case. (Another dubious conclusion is that "Lucius," the first name of the main character of the novel, was also the first name of Apuleius -- wishful thinking for which there is no concrete evidence.)

Apuleius inherited a substantial fortune from his father, a provincial magistrate. Apuleius studied with a master at Carthage and later at Athens, where he studied Platonic philosophy among other subjects. He subsequently went to Rome to study Latin oratory and, most likely, to declaim in the law courts for a time before returning to his native North Africa. He also travelled extensively in Asia Minor and Egypt, studying philosophy and religion, burning up his inheritance while doing so.

After being accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of the wealthy widow he married (the mother of a school chum from his days in Athens), he declaimed and then distributed a witty tour de force in his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Tripoli, the Apologia (A Discourse on Magic). The work has very little to do with magic, and a lot to do with making mincemeat of his opponents, with hilarity and panache. It is among the funniest works that have come down to us from Antiquity -- it is certainly the most entertaining example of Latin courtroom oratory to survive, though some fans of Cicero might disagree -- and firmly places Apuleius among the great humorists of his day.

His other works include On the God of Socrates, Florida, On Plato and his Doctrine, and possibly On the Universe.

The Golden Ass is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It is an imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work that relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who experiments in magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way (see SPOILER below). Within this frame story are found multiple digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche.

The ending of "The Golden Ass" is unexpected, and should not be spoiled for those who have not read the book. However, since it is an important aspect of Apuleius's masterpiece, it cannot be omitted from this site -- thus the use of this warning.

"The Golden Ass" ends with the hero, Lucius, being rescued by Isis and transformed back from his donkey form. Lucius subsequently becomes a worshiper of Isis, and Apuleius provides a lengthy account of his initiation into the mysteries of Isis, which some see as autobiographical. But Apuleius need not have been a worshiper of Isis to know the details he provides, and this work is more likely to belong to a sub-genre of stories involving rescue by Isis. It is even possible that he is mocking such intensely devout worshipers of the goddess.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Apuleius", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki