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Apuleius – The Golden Ass
The Golden Ass – 1st novel written in the west
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After graduating, back home to Madaura, spent his entire life in North Africa
- Famous as a platonic philosopher, orator, politician  a verified local celebrity
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Each of these seems to
problematize, receive the notion: what it means to be a Roman?
 Apuleius: valuable figure to think about antiquity, he reveals: the proper subject of antiquity
is a lot less absolute than people believed
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Period he lived in: 2nd Sophistic (the 1st sophist travelled and gave lecture about philosophy but
have no good reputation in Greece)
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Once Rome started conquered Greece, they started telling themselves that Rome
was a descendant of Greek culture
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Most Romans literature: uncreative
translation or copying of Greek (even Aeneid is just polished version of Homer’s)
In the 2nd Sophistic: Rome still copied and understood itself a continuity of Greek literature, but
started developing
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But this period, the similarity between Apuleius
and Aeneid is quite vague, not really apparent  that’s why we say it’s a development)
 Apuleius gave birth to ‘novel’ which could only born in this time
Apuleius's information about Roman world is historically correct, description is realistic

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3/ The Golden Ass:
- travel through the unrich and not nice part of Roman Empire
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He had journey from capital to province
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He is a distinctively imperial
creature because moving from capital to province, up until his transformation from human to
donkey is culture clashes
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(his aunt is rich, manager of fish market – college
friend…)
 He is someone well-connected, has the immediate access to entire town
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Identified as curiosity (dominant characteristic): He left Rome in search of magic
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4/ Greco-Roman point of view:
The story is fun (comedy), but it signals danger (something bad going to happen)+ trouble
The novel starts out very conservative
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The Golden Ass title in Record Roman view:
+ He finds magic and turns into a donkey – signifies stubbornness, stupidity (ass), but not
dangerous
+ the title presents contradiction: Golden – good, donkey (Ass) – stubborn, stupid
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+ Roman and Greece somehow acknowledged their culture from Egyptian writing
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 Debt of Rome for this antecedent civilization (writing is something proud for Rome and
Greece (invention)
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Egyptian view:
+ Set: an Egyptian God
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His animal: a donkey  he was always depicted
as a donkey
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But TGA has many voices which represent many
different views  it is unclear which one is right, which one is going to win
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6/ Analysis:
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The 1st 2 paragraphs:
+ begin in the middle of a sentence (not invoke the Muses), very artful, beautiful and genius way
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Don't know who is
speaking=> Roman and Greek literature this time was explicit with speaking=> the text knows
that you have read Herodotus
+ "that Milesian manner"=> A short story called Milesian Tale: dirty, funny and ironic =>
inserted in book 10
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let me give those ears a proper, soothing
relaxation":
=> proximity + intimacy (whisper- only 2 involve)
=> related to donkey- giant ears=> big ears to hear what happens around
=> the author is transforming readers into donkeys
+ "papyrus roll" - material of text, tablets: The author means all of technology used is Egyptian
=> clear how this was written + invoke a sense of heritage
=> Egyptian known by Rome + Greek where writing was invented
=> Antecedent of the tale
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+ several Greek famous locations- all tourist attractions in ancient world
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" => the speaker is very well-read and educated
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Genre : episodic narrative (or picaresque narrative from 16 century Spanish literature, "picar"theft, rascal -donkey's story inspired by themes??) :
The plot has long sequences of episodes
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Aristomenes tells a story about Socrates who swears an oath
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He then turns him back into human being
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They have lunch
and sex
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Then comparison between magic and sex: both
are dangerous and come from the same people
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Aristomenes takes Aristoles back to his house
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3 people-
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removes his heart
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Everything is fine, restoring to normal
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Aristomenes gets drunk and dreams
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Purpose of story of Aristomenes- type of uncovering, revelation and metamorphosis
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 Matter of credibility: do we believe Aristomenes- people who are talking? Can we believeLucius the narrator?
 Purpose: entertainment + train us to believe or not in witches
Milo: aristocratic, greedy
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Apuleius, realistic in every detail except the Festival of laughter  100% Apuleius’s invention
(overall he didn’t really invent)
It seems no one is telling the truth
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The end of chap2: what happens the next morning? He was woken up by police from the door
"You're arrested of killing 3 innocent men
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In the theater, torture
before judge the guilty
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No ancient civilization had a festival of
laughter = his invention: he didn't invent much original material but self-consciously imitate
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Though the story is about Locus turning into donkey, the transformation that Apuleius most
interested in is internal, intellectual, spiritual
 Festival of Laughter: most initial important turning point (Lucius is a butt of joke)
Ritual: community event (like Antigone): relation between individual and society => Lucius –
center of attention
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