Read less than it deserves at the undergraduate level, Apuleius' Metamorphoses tells the story of Lucius the ass-man and his encounters with sex, magic, robbers, storytellers, slaves, and finally the Goddess. From the cruel mockery of the Festival of Laughter to the sweet tale of Cupid and Psyche, from adventures that question human-animal boundaries to the profoundly spiritual conclusion, Apuleius constantly mingles the serious and comic, the bizarre and surreal with the quotidian details of ancient life.
The selections in this Reader are designed both to represent the variety characteristic of the Metamorphoses and to create a coherent narrative of the life and trials of Lucius (and Psyche). Attention is also given to the cultural milieu of its author (second century CE Roman North Africa).
Special Features
- Introduction to Apuleius’ life and works, and to the Metamorphoses’ background, interpretation, and style
- 660 lines of unadapted Latin text selected from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, BOOK 1: 1.1.1–1.2.1 • BOOK 2: 2.1.1–2.2.1; 2.6–7 • BOOK 3: 3.1.1–3.2.5, 3.2.7–9, 3.8.1–4, 3.9.5–3.11.6; 3.21.1–3.22.5; 3.24–26 • BOOK 4: 4.4–5; 4.28.1–4.30.3 • BOOK 5: 5.11.3–4; 5.22–23 • BOOK 6: 6.20–21; 6.23.5–6.24.4 • BOOK 9: 9.12.2–9.13.5 • BOOK 10: 10.16.7–10.17.6 • BOOK 11: 11.1–2; 11.5.1; 11.5.3–4; 11.13; 11.15.1–3; 11.27.9; 11.30.3–5.
- Notes at the back and complete vocabulary
- Appendix on Latin prose rhythm
- One map and four illustrations
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