The Golden Ass
Ancient Roman novel by Apuleius / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as The Golden Ass (Asinus aureus),[1] is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety.[2]
Author | Apuleius |
---|---|
Original title | Metamorphoses |
Translator | William Adlington Thomas Taylor George Head Francis D. Byrne H. E. Butler Robert Graves Jack Lindsay John Arthur Hanson P. G. Walsh Edward John Kenney Joel C. Relihan Sarah Ruden |
Language | Latin |
Genre | Picaresque novel |
Publication date | Late 2nd century AD |
Publication place | Numidia, present Algeria |
Published in English | 1566 |
Media type | Manuscript |
873.01 | |
LC Class | PA6209 .M3 |
Original text | Metamorphoses at Latin Wikisource |
Translation | The Golden Ass at Wikisource |
The protagonist of the novel is Lucius.[3] At the end of the novel, he is revealed to be from Madaurus,[4] the hometown of Apuleius himself. The plot revolves around the protagonist's curiosity (curiositas) and insatiable desire to see and practice magic. While trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird, he is accidentally transformed into an ass. This leads to a long journey, literal and metaphorical, filled with inset tales. He finally finds salvation through the intervention of the goddess Isis, whose cult he joins.