:''Apuleius should not be confused with [[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus]], a Roman demagogue or with [[Pseudo-Apuleius]], an author.''
[[Image:Apuleius - Project Gutenberg eText 12788.png|thumb|Sketch of Apuleius]]

'''Lucius Apuleius Platonicus''' (c. AD [[123]]/[[125]]-c. AD [[180]]), an utterly [[Roman Empire|Romanized]] [[Berber people|Berber]] who described himself as "half-[[Numidia]]n half-[[Gaetulia]]n", is remembered most for his bawdy [[Picaresque novel|picaresque]] [[Latin]] [[novel]] the ''Metamorphoses'', otherwise known as ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' or, in Latin, the '''Aureus Asinus''' (where the Latin word ''aureus'' - golden - connoted an element of blessed luckiness).

He was born in [[Madaurus]] (now [[M'Daourouch]], [[Algeria]]), a [[Roman colony]] in Numidia on the North African coast, bordering Gaetulia. This is the same ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]'' where [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] 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. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (see below) and a work entitled "Florida," which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches.

Apuleius inherited a substantial fortune from his father, a provincial magistrate. Apuleius studied with a master at [[Carthage]] (where he later settled) and later at [[Athens]], where he studied [[Platonic philosophy]] among other subjects. He subsequently went to [[Rome]] to study [[Latin]] [[oratory]] and, most likely, to declaim 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 cults or mysteries, including the Dionysian mysteries.<ref>As he proudly claims in his ''Apologia''. (Winter, Thomas Nelson (2006) [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=classicsfacpub ''Apology as Prosecution: The Trial of Apuleius''])</ref> He was a priest of Aesculapius<ref>''Florida'' 16.38 and 18.38</ref> and, according to Augustine,<ref>Augustine, ''Epistle'' 138,19.</ref> ''sacerdos provinciae Africae'' (i.e. priest of the province of Carthage).

After being accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of the wealthy widow he married (the mother of a school chum from his days in Athens), 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 [[Tripoli]]. This is known as the ''Apologia (A Discourse on Magic)''. The work has very little to do with magic, and a lot to do with making mincemeat of his opponents, with hilarity and panache. It is among the funniest works that have come down to us from Antiquity -- it is certainly the most entertaining example of Latin courtroom oratory to survive, though some fans of [[Cicero]] might disagree -- and firmly places Apuleius among the great humorists of his day.

His other works include ''On the God of Socrates'', ''Apologia'', ''Florida'', ''On Plato and his Doctrine'', and possibly ''On the Universe''.

The ''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 experiments in magic and is accidentally turned into an [[donkey|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 multiple [[story within a story|digressions]], the longest among them being the well-known tale of [[Cupid and Psyche]].

The ''Metamorphoses'' ends with the hero, Lucius, eager to be initiated into the [[mystery cult]] of [[Isis]], abstains from forbidden foods, bathes and purifies himself. Then the secrets of the cult's books are explained to him, and further secrets revealed before going 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.<ref>Iles Johnson, Sarah, ''Mysteries'', in ''Ancient Religions'' pp.104-5, The Belknap Press of Harvard University (2007), ISBN 978-0-674-02548-6</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscat|Apuleius}}
{{wikisource author|Lucius Apuleius}}
*{{gutenberg author|id=Apuleius|name=Apuleius}}
*[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/apuleius.html Apulei Opera] (Latin texts of all the surviving works of Apuleius) at [[The Latin Library]]
*[http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/stack/Apologia.html English translation of ''Florida'' by H. E. Butler (PDF)]
*[http://www.chieftainsys.freeserve.co.uk/apuleius_apology01.htm English translation of the ''Apologia'' by H. E. Butler]
*[http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/stack/Apologia.html English translation of the ''Apologia'' by H. E. Butler (PDF)]
*[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/apuleius/index.html Apuleius - Apologia: Seminar] (Latin text of the ''Apologia'' with H. E. Butler's English translation and an English crib with discussion and commentary)
*[http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/classicsfacpub/4/ ''Apology as Prosecution: The Trial of Apuleius'']
* [http://www.intratext.com/Catalogo/Autori/AUT23.HTM Apuleius' works]: text, concordances and frequency list

[[Category:2nd century philosophers]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman rhetoricians]]
[[Category:Classical Latin novelists]]
[[Category:Silver Age Latin authors]]
[[Category:120s births]]
[[Category:180 deaths]]

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