The Golden Ass: Apuleius

Lucius A. Apuleius, or Lucio Apuleio, was a Roman writer and Middle Platonic philosopher. Apuleius was born in Madaura, a small but important Roman colony. His family, originating from Italy, was wealthy and influential: his father had been a consul, the highest municipal magistracy in ancient Rome, and left his two sons a substantial inheritance of nearly two million sesterces. After his early studies in grammar and rhetoric, he moved to Carthage, where he deepened his knowledge of poetry, geometry, music, and especially philosophy, which he later completed in Athens. He was also interested in esoteric rites: in Carthage, in the mysteries of Aesculapius, the Roman equivalent of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing, and in Athens, in the Eleusinian mysteries. He married a wealthy widow, Aemilia Pudentilla, and was accused by his wife's relatives of using magic to win her love. He defended himself through a famous Apologia, which has survived to this day. His most famous work is "Metamorphoseon Libri XI," better known as "The Golden Ass." Apuleius also wrote "Florida" and "De Deo Socratis."