Apuleius
Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day M'Daourouch, Algeria. 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 a witty "tour de force" in his own defense  before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near ancient 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. Being an immensely sophisticated narrative that opens up various perspectives onto a rich cultural and social life, "Metamorphoses" was underappreciated until recent decades. It relates the ludicrous adventures of one 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. Life. Apuleius was born in Madauros, a "colonia" in Numidia on the North African coast bordering Gaetulia, and he described himself as "half-Numidian half-Gaetulian." 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. As to his first name, no "praenomen" is given in any ancient source; late-medieval manuscripts began the tradition of calling him "Lucius" from the name of the hero of  his novel. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech ("Apology") and his work "Florida", which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches. His father was a provincial magistrate ("duumvir") who bequeathed at his death the sum of nearly two million sesterces to his two sons. Apuleius studied with a master at Carthage (where he later settled) and later at Athens, where he studied Platonist philosophy among other subjects. He subsequently went to Rome to study Latin rhetoric and, most likely, to speak in the law courts for a time before returning to his native  North Africa. He also travelled extensively in Asia Minor and Egypt, studying philosophy and religion, burning up his inheritance while doing so. Apuleius was an initiate in several Greco-Roman mysteries, including the Dionysian Mysteries. He was a priest of Asclepius and, according to Augustine, "sacerdos provinciae Africae" (i.e., priest of the province of Carthage). Not long after his return home he set out upon a new journey to Alexandria. On his way there he was taken ill at the town of Oea (modern-day Tripoli) and was hospitably received into the house of Sicinius Pontianus, with whom he had  been friends when he had studied in Athens. The mother of Pontianus, Pudentilla, was a very rich widow. With her son's consent – indeed encouragement – Apuleius agreed to marry her. Meanwhile, Pontianus himself married the daughter of one Herennius Rufinus; he, indignant that Pudentilla's wealth should pass out of the family, instigated his son-in-law, together with a younger brother, Sicinius Pudens, a mere boy, and their paternal uncle, Sicinius Aemilianus, to join him in impeaching Apuleius upon the charge that he had gained the affections of Pudentilla by charms and magic spells. The case was heard at  Sabratha, near Tripoli, c. 158 AD, before Claudius Maximus, proconsul of Africa. The accusation itself seems to have been ridiculous, and the spirited and triumphant defence spoken by Apuleius is still extant. This is known as the "Apologia (A Discourse on Magic)". Apuleius accused an extravagant personal enemy of turning his house into a brothel and prostituting his own wife. Of his subsequent career we know little. Judging from the many works of which he was author, he must have devoted himself diligently to literature. He occasionally gave speeches in public to great reception; he had the charge of exhibiting  gladiatorial shows and wild beast events in the province, and statues were erected in his honor by the senate of Carthage and of other senates. The date, place and circumstances of Apuleius' death are not known. There is no record of his activities after 170, a fact which has led some people to believe that he must have died about then (say in 171), although other scholars feel that he may still have been alive in 180 or even 190. Works. Section::::"The Golden Ass". "The Golden Ass" ("Asinus Aureus") or "Metamorphoses" is the only Latin novel that has survived in  its entirety. It is an imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work that relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers Plutarch and Sextus of Chaeronea. Lucius experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way. Within this frame story are found many digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text . The "Metamorphoses" ends with the (once again human) hero, Lucius, eager to be initiated into the mystery cult of Isis; he abstains from forbidden foods, bathes, and purifies himself. He is introduced to the "Navigium Isidis". Then the secrets of the cult's books are explained to him, and further secrets are revealed before he goes through the process of initiation, which involves a trial by the elements in a journey to the underworld. Lucius is then asked to seek initiation into the cult of Osiris in Rome, and eventually is initiated into the "pastophoroi" – a group of priests that  serves Isis and Osiris. The Apologia. Apologia ("Apulei Platonici pro Se de Magia") is the version of the defense presented in Sabratha, in 158–159, before the proconsul Claudius Maximus, by Apuleius accused of the crime of magic. Between the traditional exordium and peroratio, the argumentation is divided into three sections: The main interest of the Apology is historical, as it offers substantial information about its author, magic and life in Africa in the second century. Other works. His other works are: Apuleius wrote many other works which have not survived. He wrote works of poetry and fiction, as well as  technical treatises on politics, dendrology, agriculture, medicine, natural history, astronomy, music, and arithmetic, and he translated Plato's "Phaedo". Spurious works. The extant works wrongly attributed to Apuleius are: Apuleian Sphere. The Apuleian Sphere described in "Petosiris to Nechepso", also known as "Columcille's Circle" or "Petosiris' Circle", is a magical prognosticating device for predicting the survival of a patient.