Apuleius

Apuleius was a philosopher and rhetorician tried for using magic to win an older and richer bride. He's better known for his novel about the cult of Isis, the tale of Cupid and Psyche, and the adventures of its hero, Lucius.

Apuleius was born in about 125, in Madauros, Numidia. It is not known what his first name was, although writers in the Middle Ages often called him "Lucius Apuleius" because the hero of his novel was called Lucius.P. G. Walsh, (1999) The Golden Ass, page xi. Oxford University Press.Julia Haig Gaisser, (2008), The fortunes of Apuleius and the Golden Ass: a study in transmission and Reception, page 69. Princeton University Press. Apuleius was educated in Carthage and Athens, and then traveled around the Mediterranean learning about religious cults. In 158 he delivered a speech recorded as Apologia Apuleii 'The Apology of Apuleius' in the town of Sabratha, Tripolitania (modern Libya), as a defense against the charge of using magic to win a richer and older bride called Pudentilla. Apuleius, in his Apology, provides a glimpse into second century Roman law, the economic and social conditions of Roman North Africa, and the attitude towards magic.

Apuleius died in about 175 A.D., having written his novel, known as either The Golden Ass or The Metamorphoses (also Transformations of Lucius), and the Apology, as well as books on Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.

References

 Other websites 

Apuleius (123–180 CE) the Famous Berber writer 
Apulei Opera (Latin texts of all the surviving works of Apuleius) at The Latin Library
English translation of Florida by H. E. Butler (PDF)
English translation of the Apologia by H. E. Butler 
English translation of the God of Socrates by Thomas Taylor 
English translation of the Apologia by H. E. Butler (PDF)
Apuleius – Apologia: Seminar  (Latin text of the Apologia with H. E. Butler's English translation and an English crib with discussion and commentary)
Apology as Prosecution: The Trial of Apuleius
 Apuleius' works: text, concordances and frequency list


Category:120s births
Category:170s deaths
Category:Ancient Roman philosophers
Category:Ancient Roman writers
Category:African novelists
Category:Magic (paranormal)
Category:Berber people
Category:2nd-century writers