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{{Short description|2nd-century Numidian Latin-language writer, rhetorician and philosopher}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus]], a Roman demagogue, or others with the name Apuleius or [[Appuleia (gens)|Appuleius]]}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| name = Apuleius
| image = Apuleuis.jpg
| caption = Late antique ceiling painting {{circa|330}}, possibly of Apuleius but also possibly of [[Lactantius]]
| birth_date = {{circa|124}}
| birth_place = [[Madaurus]], [[Numidia (Roman province)|Numidia]]
| death_date = {{circa|170|190}}
| death_place = <!--Unknown-->
| occupation = [[Novelist]], writer, public speaker
| notable_works = ''[[The Golden Ass]]''
| school_tradition = [[Middle Platonism]]
}}
'''Apuleius''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|j|ʊ|ˈ|l|iː|ə|s}} {{respell|APP|yuu|LEE|əs}}), also called '''Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis''' (c. 124 – after  170<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/30917/Lucius-Apuleius "Lucius Apuleius"]. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''.</ref>), was a [[Numidians|Numidian]] [[Latin]]-language prose writer, [[Platonist]] philosopher and rhetorician.<ref name="GTUApo">{{cite web |url=https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/apuleius/ |title=Apuleius, Apology |work=George Town University}}</ref> He was born in the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Numidia (Roman province)|province of Numidia]], in the [[Berbers|Berber]] city of [[Madauros]], modern-day [[M'Daourouch]], [[Algeria]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Berbers |quote=... The best known of them were the Roman author Apuleius, the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, and St. Augustine |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Americana]] |publisher=Scholastic Library Publishing |year=2005 |volume=3 |page=569}}</ref> He studied Platonism in [[Athens]], travelled to [[Roman Italy|Italy]], [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia Minor]], and [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], and was an initiate in several cults or [[Greco-Roman mysteries|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 and then distributed his own defense before the [[proconsul]] and a court of magistrates convened in [[Sabratha]], near Oea (modern [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], Libya). This 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]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Roman |first1=Luke |last2=Roman |first2=Monica |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology |page=78 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=9781438126395 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOgWfjNIxoMC |via=Google Books}}</ref>

== Life ==
[[File:Apuleius-Kontorniat-2.jpg|thumb|left|Imagined portrait of Apuleius on a medallion of the 4th century.]]
[[File:Apuleius, Opera omnia, 1621 - BEIC 9468424.tiff|thumb|''Apuleii Opera omnia'' (1621)]]
Apuleius was born in Madauros, a ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]'' in [[Numidia (Roman province)|Numidia]] on the [[North Africa]]n coast bordering [[Gaetuli]]a, and he described himself as "[[Berbers|half-Numidian half-Gaetulian]]."<ref name="Apuleius, Apology, 24">Apuleius, ''Apology'', 24</ref> Madaurus was the same ''colonia'' where [[Augustine of Hippo]] later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]] coast, is today the site of some pristine Roman ruins. As to his first name, no ''[[praenomen]]'' is given in any ancient source;{{sfn|Walsh|1999|p=xi}} late-medieval manuscripts began the tradition of calling him ''Lucius'' from the name of the hero of his novel.<ref>{{citation |first=Julia Haig |last=Gaisser |year=2008 |title=The fortunes of Apuleius and the Golden Ass: a study in transmission and Reception |page=69 |publisher=Princeton University Press}} {{isbn|0691131368|9780691131368}}</ref> Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (''[[Apology (Apuleius)|Apology]]'') and his work ''[[Florida (Apuleius)|Florida]]'', which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches.

His father was a municipal magistrate (''[[Duumviri|duumvir]]'')<ref name="Apuleius, Apology, 24" /> who bequeathed at his death the sum of nearly two million [[sesterces]] to his two sons.<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 23</ref> Apuleius studied with a master at [[Carthage]] (where he later settled) and later at [[Athens]], where he studied Platonist philosophy among other subjects. He subsequently went to [[Rome]]<ref>Apuleius, ''Florida'', 17.4</ref> 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, studying philosophy and religion, burning up his inheritance while doing so.

Apuleius was an initiate in several [[Greco-Roman mysteries]], including the [[Dionysian Mysteries]].{{refn |group=note|As he proudly claims in his ''Apologia''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Winter |first=Thomas Nelson |year=2006 |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=classicsfacpub |title=Apology as Prosecution: The Trial of Apuleius |journal=Faculty Publications, Classics and Religious Studies Department |issue=4}}</ref>}} He was a priest of [[Asclepius]]<ref>Apuleius, ''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).

Not long after his return home he set out upon a new journey to [[Alexandria]].<ref name="Apuleius, Apology, 72">Apuleius, ''Apology'', 72.</ref> On his way there he was taken ill at the town of [[Oea]] (modern-day [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]) and was hospitably received into the house of Sicinius Pontianus, with whom he had been friends when he had studied in Athens.<ref name="Apuleius, Apology, 72" /> The mother of Pontianus, Pudentilla, was a very rich widow. With her son's consent&nbsp;– indeed encouragement&nbsp;– Apuleius agreed to marry her.<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 73</ref> Meanwhile, Pontianus himself married the daughter of one Herennius Rufinus; he, indignant that Pudentilla's wealth should pass out of the family, instigated his son-in-law, together with a younger brother, Sicinius Pudens, a mere boy, and their paternal uncle, Sicinius Aemilianus, to join him in impeaching Apuleius upon the charge that he had gained the affections of Pudentilla by charms and magic spells.<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 53, 66, 70, etc</ref> The case was heard at [[Sabratha]], near Tripoli, c.&nbsp;158&nbsp;AD, before [[Claudius Maximus]], [[proconsul]] of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]].<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 1, 59, 65</ref> 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)''.<ref name="GTUApo" />

Apuleius accused an extravagant personal enemy of turning his house into a brothel and prostituting his wife.<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 75–76</ref>{{sfn|Flemming|1999|p=41}}

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 of other senates.<ref>Apuleius, ''Apology'', 55, 73</ref><ref>Apuleius, ''Florida'', iii. n. 16</ref><ref>Augustine, ''Ep. '' v.</ref>

The date, place and circumstances of Apuleius' death are not known.<ref name="Gollnick2006">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1g9DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |title=The Religious Dreamworld of Apuleius' Metamorphoses: Recovering a Forgotten Hermeneutic |last=Gollnick |first=James |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-88920-803-2 |page=17}}</ref><ref name="Apuleius2004">{{cite book |author=Apuleius |title=The Golden Ass, Or, The Metamorphoses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRwMi58gjdMC&pg=PR13 |year=2004 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Publishing |isbn=978-0-7607-5598-3 |page=13 |via=Google Books}}</ref> 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.<ref name="LondeyJohanson1987">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZ03AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA11 |title=The Logic of Apuleius: Including a Complete Latin Text and English Translation of the Peri Hermeneias of Apuleius of Madaura |last1=Londey |first1=David George |last2=Johanson |first2=Carmen J. |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=1987 |isbn=90-04-08421-5 |page=11 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

== Works ==
[[File:ApuleiusFrontispiece.jpg|right|thumb|Frontispiece from the ''[[Bohn's Classical Library]]'' edition of ''The Works of Apuleius'': a portrait of Apuleius flanked by Pamphile changing into an owl and the Golden Ass]]

=== ''The Golden Ass'' ===
{{Main|The Golden Ass}}

''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus Aureus'') or ''Metamorphoses'' is the only [[Latin]] novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers [[Plutarch]] and [[Sextus of Chaeronea]]. Lucius experiments with 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 many [[story within a story|digressions]], the longest among them being the well-known tale of [[Cupid and Psyche]]. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text.<ref name=":0" />

The ''Metamorphoses'' ends with the (once again human) hero, Lucius, eager to be initiated into the [[mysteries of Isis|mystery cult of Isis]]; he abstains from forbidden foods, bathes, and purifies himself. He is introduced to the ''[[Navigium Isidis]]''. Then the secrets of the cult's books are explained to him, and further secrets are revealed before he goes through the process of initiation, which involves a trial by the elements on 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''&nbsp;– a group of priests that serves Isis and Osiris.<ref>{{citation |last=Iles Johnson |first=Sarah |chapter=Mysteries |title=Ancient Religions |pages=104–105 |publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-674-02548-6}}</ref>

=== ''Apologia'' ===
<!-- [[Apologia (Apuleius)]] redirects here: please update if changing section title-->
{{lang|la|Apologia}} ({{lang|la|Apulei Platonici pro Se de Magia}}) is the version of the defence presented in [[Sabratha]], in 158–159, before the proconsul [[Claudius Maximus]], by Apuleius accused of the crime of magic. Between the traditional exordium and peroratio, the argumentation is divided into three sections:
# Refutation of the accusations levelled against his private life. He demonstrates that by marrying Pudentilla he had no interested motive and that he carries it away, intellectually and morally, on his opponents.
# Attempt to prove that his so-called "magical operations" were in fact indispensable scientific experiments for an imitator of Aristotle and Hippocrates, or the religious acts of a Roman Platonist.
# A recount of the events that have occurred in Oea since his arrival and pulverize the arguments against him.
The main interest of the {{lang|la|Apologia}} is historical, as it offers substantial information about its author, magic and life in Africa in the second century.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1989 |title=Apulée |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopédie berbère]] |publisher=Edisud |url=http://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2565 |last=Cèbe |first=Jean-Pierre |location=Aix-en-Provence |volume=6 {{!}} Antilopes – Arzuges |issue=6 |pages=820–827|doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2565 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Other ===
His other works are:
* ''Florida''. A compilation of twenty-three extracts from his various speeches and lectures.
* ''De Platone et dogmate eius (On Plato and His Doctrine)''. An outline in two books of [[Plato]]'s physics and ethics, preceded by a life of Plato
* ''{{visible anchor|De Deo Socratis}} (On the God of Socrates)''. A work on the existence and nature of [[Daemon (classical mythology)|daemons]], the intermediaries between gods and humans. This treatise was attacked by [[Augustine of Hippo]] in ''[[The City of God]]'' (Books VIII to X), while [[Lactantius]] reserved it for short-lived creatures.<ref>{{Cite journal|language=it|author=Moreschini, Claudio ([[Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa]])|date=1972|title=La Polemica Di Agostino Contro La Demonologia Di Apuleio|journal=Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Classe di Lettere e Filosofia|volume=2|issue=2|pages=583–596|access-date=2025-04-09|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24301469}} (related [https://journals.sns.it/index.php/annalilettere/article/view/2185 bibliographic record])</ref><ref>Augustine played a decisive role in the transmission of Apuleius' texts up to the present day. Cfr. {{Cite book |author=Carandino, Martina |title=Apuleio e Agostino: tra ricezione e demonologia |access-date=2025-04-09 |language=it |publisher=[[Academia.edu]] |url=https://www.academia.edu/31025358/Apuleio_e_Agostino_tra_ricezione_e_demonologia}}</ref> ''De Deo Socratis'' contains a passage comparing gods and kings which is the first recorded occurrence of the proverb "'''familiarity breeds contempt'''":<ref>{{citation |page=149 |title=Apuleius |first=S. J. |last=Harrison |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-927138-2}}</ref>{{Blockquote|''parit enim conversatio contemptum, raritas conciliat admirationem''<br />(familiarity breeds contempt, rarity brings admiration)|sign=|source=}}
* ''On the Universe''. This Latin translation of [[Pseudo-Aristotle]]'s work ''[[De Mundo]]'' is probably by Apuleius.

Apuleius wrote many other works which have not survived. He wrote works of [[poetry]] and [[fiction]], as well as technical treatises on [[politics]], [[dendrology]], [[agriculture]], [[medicine]], [[natural history]], [[astronomy]], [[music]], and [[arithmetic]], and he translated Plato's ''[[Phaedo]]''.{{sfn|Walsh|1999|pp=xiv–xv}}

=== Spurious ===

Extant works wrongly attributed to Apuleius include:<ref>{{cite book |last=Morford |first=Mark P. O. |title=The Roman Philosophers |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |page=227}}</ref>
* ''Peri Hermeneias'' (''On Interpretation''). A brief Latin version of a guide to [[Aristotelian logic]].
* ''Asclepius''. A Latin paraphrase of a lost Greek dialogue (''The Perfect Discourse'') featuring [[Asclepius]] and [[Hermes Trismegistus]].
* ''Herbarium Apuleii Platonici'' by [[Pseudo-Apuleius]].

== Apuleian Sphere ==
The Apuleian Sphere described in ''[[Petosiris to Nechepso]]'', also known as "[[Columcille the Scribe|Columcille's]] Circle" or "Petosiris' Circle",<ref>{{cite web |last=Kalesmaki |first=Joel |title=Types of Greek Numerology |work=Theology of Arithmetic |date=18 November 2006 |url=http://www.kalvesmaki.com/Arithmetic/GreekNumerology.html |access-date=26 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514012910/http://www.kalvesmaki.com/Arithmetic/GreekNumerology.html |archive-date=14 May 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> is a magical prognosticating device for predicting the survival of a patient.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rust |first=Martha Dana |year=1999 |title= Art of Beekeeping Meets the Arts of Grammar: A Gloss of 'Columcille's Circle'|journal=[[Philological Quarterly]] |volume=78 |issue=4 |pages=359–387 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/211225560|id={{ProQuest|211225560}} }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Boethius]]
* [[Square of opposition]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |author=Apuleius |translator=Patrick Gerard Walsh |translator-first= |year=1999 |title=The Golden Ass |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{cite book |author=Apuleius |title=Rhetorical Works |translator1=Stephen Harrison |translator2=John Hilton |translator3=Vincent Hunink |editor-first=Stephen |editor-last=Harrison |name-list-style=amp |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001}}
* {{cite book |last=Finkelpearl |first=Ellen D. |title=Metamorphosis of Language in Apuleius: A Study of Allusion in the Novel |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=The University of Michigan Press |year=1998}}
* {{cite journal |last=Flemming |first=Rebecca |year=1999 |title=''Quae corpore quaestum facit'': The Sexual Economy of Female Prostitution in the Roman Empire |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |volume=89 |pages=38–61 |doi=10.2307/300733 |jstor=300733 |s2cid=162922327 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last=Frangoulidis |first=Stavros |title=Witches, Isis and narrative: approaches to magic in Apuleius' Metamorphoses |location=Berlin; New York |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2008 |series=Trends in classics – Supplementary volumes |volume=2}}
* {{cite book |last=Graverini |first=Luca |title=Literature and Identity in the Golden Ass of Apuleius |location=Columbus/Pisa |publisher=Ohio State University Press/Pacini |year=2012 |edition=original |language=it  |orig-year=2007 |isbn=978-0814292921}}
* {{cite book |last=Moreschini |first=Claudio |title=Apuleius and the Metamorphoses of Platonism |location=Turnhout |publisher=Brepols Publishers |year=2016 |series=Nutrix. Studies in Late Antique, Medieval and Renaissance Thought |volume=10 |isbn=978-2-503-55470-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Pasetti |first=Lucia |title=Plauto in Apuleio |location=Bologna |publisher=Patron Editore |year=2007 |language=it}}
* {{cite book |last1=Pecere |first1=Oronzo |last2=Stramaglia |first2=Antonio |name-list-style=amp |title=Studi apuleiani. Note di aggiornamento di L. Graverini |location=Cassino |publisher=Edizioni dell' Università degli Studi di Cassino |year=2003 |language=it |isbn=88-8317-012-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Sandy |first=Gerald |title=The Greek World of Apuleius: Apuleius and the Second Sophistic |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |year=1997}}
* {{cite book |last=Schlam |first=Carl C. |title=The Metamorphoses of Apuleius: On Making an Ass of Oneself |location=Chapel Hill-London |year=1992 |publisher=Duckworth}} {{isbn|9780715624029}}
* {{cite book |last=Walsh |first=P. G. |chapter=Preface |year=1999 |title=The Golden Ass |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Apuleius}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Apuleius
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/apuleius}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=685}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Apuleius&redirect=true Works by Apuleius at Perseus Digital Library]
* {{Librivox author |id=2204}}
* {{OL author}}
* [https://archive.org/details/operaomnia01apuluoft L. Apuleii Opera Omnia, Lipsia, sumtibus C. Cnoblochii, 1842, pars I] (the ''Metamorphoses'') and [https://archive.org/details/operaomnia02apuluoft pars II] (''Florida, De Deo Socratis, De Dogmate Platonis, De Mundo Libri, Asclepius, Apologia'' et Fragmenta), in a [[critical edition]] with explanatory notes
* [https://archive.org/details/worksofapuleiusc00apulrich The works of Apuleius, London, George Bell and sons, 1878] (English translation)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080920112552/http://www.kabylia.info/apuleius-123-ad-180-famous-berber-writer Apuleius (123–180 CE) the Famous Berber writer]
* [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/apuleius.html Apulei Opera] (Latin texts of all the surviving works of Apuleius) at [[The Latin Library]]
* [http://www.attalus.org/translate/florida.html English translation of ''Florida'' by H. E. Butler]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110720172359/http://www.chieftainsys.freeserve.co.uk/ English translation of the ''Apologia'' by H. E. Butler]
* [http://www.prometheustrust.co.uk/html/14_-_apuleius.html English translation of the ''God of Socrates'' by Thomas Taylor]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040607030012/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
* [https://sites.google.com/site/apuleiusandafrica/HOME/ Ongoing website for "Apuleius and Africa" conference]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/apuleiusandafrica/prolegomena-and-bibliography/bibliography Apuleius and Africa Bibliography]
* [http://thespectaclesofapuleius.weebly.com/index.html The Spectacles of Apuleius]: a [[digital humanities]] project
* [https://archive.org/details/luciusapuleius Free public domain audiobook version of ''Apuleius on the Doctrines of Plato''] translated by George Burges

{{Ancient Rome topics|state=collapsed}}
{{The Golden Ass}}
{{Roman religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}

[[Category:2nd-century Berber people]]
[[Category:124 births]]
[[Category:2nd-century clergy]]
[[Category:2nd-century writers]]
[[Category:2nd-century philosophers]]
[[Category:2nd-century Romans]]
[[Category:2nd-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman rhetoricians]]
[[Category:Appuleii]]
[[Category:Berber writers]]
[[Category:Classical Latin novelists]]
[[Category:History of magic]]
[[Category:Middle Platonists]]
[[Category:People from Souk Ahras Province]]
[[Category:Priests from the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Romans from Africa]]
[[Category:Silver Age Latin writers]]