Apuleius

His most famous work is his bawdy picaresque novel the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. It is the only ancient Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the adventures of its protagonist, 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." Madauros, in whose university Augustine of Hippo later received his early education, was located well away from the Romanized coast, but nonetheless contains some pristine Roman ruins. Apuleius's praenomen is not given in any ancient source; late-medieval manuscripts began the tradition of calling him Lucius after the hero of his novel. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (Apology) and his work Florida, a collection of excerpts from some of his best speeches.

Upon the death of their father, a duumvir, or municipal magistrate, Apuleius and his brother inherited nearly two million sesterces. Apuleius studied with a master at Carthage, where he later settled. After his initial stay in Carthage he moved on to Athens, studying Platonist philosophy among other subjects, and then 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, furthering his knowledge of philosophy and religion but also depleting his inheritance.

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, whom he had befriended in Athens. Pontianus's mother Pudentilla was a very rich widow. With her son's consent – indeed encouragement – Apuleius agreed to marry her. Pontianus's father-in-law, Herennius Rufinus, was indignant that Pudentilla's wealth should pass out of the family; he instigated Pontianus, Pontianus's younger brother Sicinius Pudens, a mere boy, and their paternal uncle, Sicinius Aemilianus, to join him in impeaching Apuleius upon the charge of gaining Pudentilla's affections 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 accuses an extravagant personal enemy of turning his house into a brothel and prostituting his 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 honour by the senate of Carthage and by 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.