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Apuleius

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Also known as Lucius Apuleius

Apuleius ( ), also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c. 124 – after 170), was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He was born 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 his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magist

AI overview

Apuleius was a Roman-era North African writer and philosopher (c. 124–after 170) best known today for his literary works and his famous legal defense against accusations of practicing magic to seduce a wealthy widow. He matters historically as a rare surviving voice from the ancient world who wrote in Latin about philosophy, rhetoric, and his experiences with various religious mystery cults.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
29

Top works

  • Opera quae supersunt
  • Fabulæ divales, ex narratione Anglica
  • Min en Magie
  • Lucii Apulei Metamorphoseon libri XI
  • L. Apvlegio

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Writing

via TMDB

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
66
Total plays
570

Similar artists

Sebastian FitzekJonathan Safran FoerFranz KafkaSherlock Holmes

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Apuleius">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Apuleius

Quotes

  • Parit enim conversatio contemptum; raritas conciliat admirationem.
  • Ad vivendum velut ad natandum is melior qui onere liberior.
  • Sanus est, qui scit quid sit insania, quippe insania scire se non potest, non magis quam caecitas se videre.
  • En adsum tuis commota, Luci, precibus, rerum naturae parens, elementorum omnium domina, saeculorum progenies initialis, summa numinum, regina manium, prima caelitum, deorum dearumque facies uniformis, quae caeli luminosa culmina, maris salubria flamina, inferum deplorata silentia nutibus meis dispenso: cuius numen unicum multiformi specie, ritu vario, nomine multiiugo totus veneratus orbis.
  • Nam cum coeperis deae servire, tunc magis senties fructum tuae libertatis.
  • Accessi confinium mortis et calcato Proserpinae limine per omnia vectus elementa remeavi, nocte media vidi solem candido coruscantem lumine, deos inferos et deos superos accessi coram et adoravi de proximo.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Philosopher.name
Apuleius
Philosopher.image
Apuleuis.jpg
Philosopher.caption
Late antique ceiling painting , possibly of Apuleius but also possibly of Lactantius
Philosopher.notable_works
The Golden Ass
Philosopher.birth_place
Madaurus, Numidia
Philosopher.occupation
Novelist, writer, public speaker
Philosopher.school_tradition
Middle Platonism

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Apuleuis.jpg
Show 5 more facts
Commons category
Apuleius
date of birth
0200-00-00
date of death
0170-00-00
Commons Creator page
Apuleius
Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

36 objects attributed to Apuleius, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~10 min read

Article

12 sections
Contents
  • Life
  • Works
  • ''The Golden Ass''
  • ''Apologia''
  • Other
  • Spurious
  • Apuleian Sphere
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Apuleius ( ), also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c. 124 – after 170), was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He was born 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 his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Oea (modern Tripoli, Libya). This speech, which Apuleius subsequently published, 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 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.

Gallery (97)

Connections

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