Apuleius | |
|---|---|
 Late antique ceiling painting c. 330, possibly of Apuleius | |
| Born | c. 124 |
| Died | c. 170 (aged 45–46) |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist, writer, public speaker |
| Notable work | The Golden Ass |
| School | Middle Platonism |
Apuleius (/ˌæpjʊˈliːəs/ APP-yuu-LEE-əs; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170[1]) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician.[2] He was born in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day M'Daourouch, Algeria.[3] He studied Platonism in Athens, travelled to Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt, and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of a wealthy widow. He declaimed and then distributed his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Oea (modern Tripoli, Libya). This is known as the Apologia.
His most famous work is his bawdy picaresque novel the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. It is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the adventures of its protagonist, Lucius, who experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into a donkey. Lucius goes through various adventures before he is turned back into a human being by the goddess Isis.[4]
- ^ "Lucius Apuleius". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ "Apuleius, Apology". George Town University.
- ^ "Berbers". Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 3. Scholastic Library Publishing. 2005. p. 569.
... The best known of them were the Roman author Apuleius, the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, and St. Augustine
- ^ Roman, Luke & Roman, Monica (2010). Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology. Infobase. p. 78. ISBN 9781438126395 – via Google Books.