The golden ass study guide contains a biography of apuleius, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Please note that, in spite of my updating, this is still an old translation. The tales that comprise the novel, long known for their bawdiness and wit, describe the adventures of lucius, a man who is transformed into an ass. The nexus of adulterytales in book 9 of apuleius metamorphoses has been the subject of considerable scholarly investigation. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
But how can we be full of the book that has no plot. Metamorphoses apuleius famous novel, the metamorphoses, tells the story of a man who was magically changed into an ass, and who had various humorous, sad, exciting, disturbing, erotic, horri. It will be argued that the underworld in apuleius novel is a literary. An interpretation of apuleius metamorphoses ben edwin perry when macrobius 1 expresses surprise that apuleius, the professed student of plato, should have stooped to the writing of fiction, he voices thereby not only the ancient reaction toward such a performance on the part of a selfrespecting rhetor, but likewise that of the modern. In the metamorphoses of apuleius, also known as the golden ass, we have the only latin novel which survives entire.
The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety the protagonist of the novel is called lucius. Nancy shumate is associate professor of classical languages and literatures, smith college. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses. The famous first book of the novel introduces the protagonists character. Apuleius group, as well as of the team project on writing a commentary on book 11 of the metamorphoses.
This paper aims to be both a contribution to the history of scholarship and a stimulus to further research. Costas panayotakis teaches latin language and literature at the. In the metamorphoses of apuleiusthe golden ass, we have the only latin novel which survives entire. Nancy shumate in her book crisis and conversion in apuleius metamorphoses 1996 deals primarily with texts written after often well after the time of apuleius. The golden ass, or the metamorphoses, written by apuleius in the second century ad, holds a unique place in world literature as the only complete latin novel to survive from antiquity. Crisis and conversion in apuleius metamorphoses will be of interest to classicists and scholars of silver latin and of the increasingly popular ancient novel, as well as to students of psychology and the sociology of religious experience.
This book is the 751st greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. If youre looking for a free download links of a companion to the prologue to apuleius metamorphoses pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. Apuleius metamorphoses or the golden ass, our only complete latin novel, tells the story of lucius, a young man turned into a donkey by. Madaurus was the same colonia where augustine of hippo 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. The golden ass books 1011 summary and analysis gradesaver. The metamorphosis, also known as the golden ass, is one of the very few novels of the ancient world that survived to our days. Full text of apuleius the golden ass penguin classics see other formats. The title of the book apuleius and the metamorphoses of platonism. The transformations of lucius apuleius, and the rites of isis. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety. Whether the ending of apuleius metamorphoses is religiously nest, fundamentally satiric, or. The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses sarolta a.
Project muse an interpretation of apuleius metamorphoses. The subject has not been ignored in recent scholarship on individual characters in the work, but the lack of an earlier general overview of the topic reflects the general history of scholarship on the metamorphoses. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Apuleius was born in madauros, a colonia in numidia on the north african coast bordering gaetulia, and he described himself as halfnumidian halfgaetulian. Apuleius metamorphoses and jewishchristian literature. In it i seek to follow some key themes in the scholarly reception of apuleius metamorphoses before and after the work of ben edwin perry, and to show how the critical constructions of literary works are necessarily affected by contemporary ideological prejudices, which change over. His commentary on apuleius metamorphoses book i groningen commentaries on apuleius appeared in 2007. Occasionally i have added to the translation where adlington has omitted certain passages.
In a surprising denouement, he is restored to human shape and, now spiritually regenerated, is. Like phaeton in book ii, who could not control his fathers chariot, midas cannot master the power he has been given. After many adventures he is finally saved by the goddess isis, whose follower he becomes. This is the first volume dedicated to the topic of characterisation in apuleius metamorphoses, the latin novel from the second century ce. Stelios panayotakis underworld journeys in apuleius metamorphoses introduction in the. These and many other anomalies are due mainly to the interpolation of new and poorly assimilated material into the framework of a greek original that was itself undoubtedly straightforward and. Comic invention and superstitious frenzy in apuleius metamorphoses. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. Metamorphoses the golden ass, vol 2, books 711 by apuleius. A dull fellow and a poor artist, midas makes a foolish request for a golden touch. Summary of the metamorphoses the spectacles of apuleius.
Summing up the plot of ovids metamorphoses is easy. The metamorphoses the golden ass of apuleius born c. A companion to the prologue to apuleius metamorphoses pdf. The bulk of the novel recounts his adventures as an animal, but lucius also recounts many stories he overhears, including that of cupid and psyche. Apuleius famous novel, the metamorphoses, tells the story of a man who was magically changed into an ass and had various entertaining adventures before regaining his human form. Augustine referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus is the only latin novel to survive in its entirety. One major focus has been on the way in which these tales relate to an overall interpretation of the novel. At the end of the novel, he is revealed to be from madaurus, the hometown of apuleius himself. Lucius wants the sensations of a bird, but by pharmaceutical accident becomes an ass. Bryn mawr commentaries provide clear, concise, accurate, and consistent support for students making the transition from introductory and intermediate texts to the direct experience of ancient greek and latin literature. Vincent hunink has argued that apuleius probably had some knowledge of christianity, and that his antipathy toward it may be shown in his trial for witchcraft by his sympathetic attitude toward lollius urbicus, the city prefect in rome who had prosecuted apuleius enemy, aemilianus apology 2,11.
This book examines the comic and philosophical aspects of apuleius metamorphoses, the ancient roman novel also known as the golden ass. The bulk of the reader consists of 75 passages enough for a semesters worth of readings, each denoted by the book number from apuleius metamorphoses and then a letter since each passage. Summary using a transdisciplinary approach for a thorough assessment of the muchdebated religious ending of the metamorphoses, this new and detailed commentary on apuleius isis book will elucidate the narrative in its literary, religious, archaeological and cultural context. The story unfolds from lucius perspective and begins with his travels to thessaly, a region reputed to be.
The reader of apuleius metamorphoses is puzzled at times by the great variety of diverse incidents, and by the apparent absence, in many cases, of any clear or logical connection between them. Full text of apuleius the golden ass penguin classics. The golden ass, being the metamorphoses of lucius apuleius. Apuleius metamorphoses book 3 hackett publishing company. Bibliography includes bibliographical references pages 567607 and indexes. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Apuleius famous novel, the metamorphoses,tells the story of a man who was magically changed into an ass, and whohad various humorous, sad, exciting, disturbing, erotic, horrificadventures before he regained his human. This book contains selections and is aimed at students moving on to genuine, unsimplified latin prose after completing an introductory latin course. Ovid implies that only true artists can use talent responsibly. The adulterytales of apuleius, metamorphoses book 9.
This book aims at considering apuleius as a philosophus platonicus who, at the same time, is a latin sophist. He was a poet, philosopher, and rhetorician from whom numerous works survive some of doubtful authenticity. Read the golden ass metamorphoses by apuleius available from rakuten kobo. This page contains details about the fiction book the golden ass metamorphoses. Wytse keulen currently teaches latin at the university of rostock. What they fail to mention is that the versions with the full text are merely reprints of the original latinwhich you can find for free all over the internet, and they provide zero assistance for deciphering the text. He also published a monograph on aulus gellius gellius the satirist. Possible allusions to christians in metamorphoses 6 to 10. Apuleius, the golden ass based upon a translation by william adlington 1566 i have updated the spelling and idiom of the text, and have added chapter numbers. Over the course of eleven books, apuleius recounts the strange adventures of a young man named lucius. Some of the stories are as indecent as they are witty, and two in the ninth book were deemed by boccaccio worthy of inclusion in the decameron.
Pdf underworld journeys in apuleius metamorphoses stelios. The hero, lucius, eager to experience the sensations of a bird, resorts to. The plot revolves around the protagonists curiosity curiositas and insatiable. Religion and narrative in the metamorphoses of apuleius. The soldier takes lucius, outfits him in military adornments, and eventually leaves him with a slave so he could report to his superior. It is among the works heavily referenced and emulated by cervantes in don quixote.
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