The Golden Ass

Golden Ass Apuleius' Golden Ass, the only surviving novel of the Roman Empire, is a tale of a Greek nobleman devoting his life to the goddess Isis following his transformation to an ass and back. Although a work of fiction, the novel reveals a great deal about religion in Apuleius' society. This information, however, must be viewed with a critical eye. He incorporates stories from Greco-Roman mythology not to affirm their validity, but to reveal their commonness to society. Apuleius insults

Katelyn White Professor McRae Greek and Roman Lit Spring 2015 Sex, Magic and the Golden Ass The theme of curiosity in The Golden Ass has different relationships with sex, magic and knowledge. The curiosity about magic, turns to the desire to possess the magic and to learn how to use it. The main character of The Golden Ass, Lucius, ignores many warnings about practicing magic and the witch Pamphile who uses it. When Lucius’ lover Photis explains the role that magic had in the prank that was pulled

of The Golden Ass, relative to the other anecdotal interludes. Given the central placement, length and style, many readers have questioned its relevance to the overarching story. Is it an artistic interlude providing a reprieve from harsher circumstances, like the long description of Achilles shield in the Iliad, or does it advance the story? While it is tempting to view the tale as an artistic interlude, the Tale of Cupid and Psyche perpetuates the demonization of women in The Golden Ass, draws

I will argue that the depictions of women in The Golden Ass seem to reinforce the gender stereotype of women to be lustful and manipulative nymphomaniacs because of the qualities of several female characters. The Golden Ass identifies the latent nature of women through several characters, namely: The woman from Corinth, who Lucius sleeps with, The wife from the story, the lover, and the jar, and Photis. First, I will analyze the woman from Corinth who sleeps with Lucius and how her qualities reinforce

A common theme found in both, Campbell McGrath’s Shannon and Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, is facing the consequences for venturing into the unknown. George Shannon and Lucius come face to face with unique obstacles, for instance George’s narrative long struggle to acquire any form of comestible sustenance or Lucius being faced with the seemingly immoral task to murder a woman by having sexual intercourse with her when he is in donkey form, that they must overcome. They used their pride and determination

Apuleius wrote the Golden Ass during the Second Century A.D. In it he talked about many complex allegorical contexts and layers of meaning pertaining to varying religious practices. He was able to do this by essentially switching back and forth between side stories which might or might not intertwine with the overall story. The religion of Isis was predominant in comparing the other lesser known or rather “inferior” religions of the time such as Christianity. It seems as if Isis was praised in a

The Ass, the Witch, and the Roman Empire: Roman Society in The Golden Ass Apuleius’ The Golden Ass is the oldest Latin novel from around the era of the Roman Empire to survive in its entirety. Because of this fact, it means that this novel is a source of great insight into a first hand account, albeit with fictional prose, of Roman society through the eyes of a well-endowed male, Lucius, the narrator of the novel. Through his travels and his various encounters along the way, both as a man and an

in the Roman world experienced a lot of transformations with time. The changes can be observed through the literature depending on when it was written. For instance, some revolutions are noticeable in Book 6 of Virgil’s Aeneid and Apuleius 's The Golden Ass. Book 6 of Aeneid is a sort of prophecy as Virgil gives an account of Aeneas’ journey to the Underworld. The author’s imagination gives an insight into the nature of punishments for sin and that lack of adherence to the virtues of the religion

Eros: Female Souls Thriving and Crumbling The term “Eros,” referring to passionate love in English, has long been the mainstream of themes in drama, literature, arts, and cinematic media. The fascinating power of love has been exhaustively publicized, and the pursuit of love is diffused in streets and lanes. Conversely, in ancient times, many poets, especially Virgil, Ovid and Apuleius, described eros as such an evil spirit that it will destroy the female soul thoroughly, except for the one in

One major difference Apuleius makes in his depiction of Psyche is that he places a premise in her original encounter with Cupid – she is not allowed to know his identity nor to see his face. The sequence of Psyche’s acquaintance with her lover, in fact, plays quite an important role in the story. People often say that, “To see is to believe.” However, it is not always the case. Under the circumstance of love, what one sees will be highly deceptive, as it is human nature that one will prefer individuals