The Golden Asse

What It's About

The Golden Asse follows Lucius, a young man whose curiosity about witchcraft leads him to dabble with a magic ointment in Thessaly, a region famed for sorcery. A mistake with the potion transforms him into a donkey, though he keeps his human mind. Trapped in animal form, Lucius passes from owner to owner - robbers, priests, soldiers, and traders - enduring cruelty, humiliation, and a string of bizarre, often comic misadventures. Interwoven throughout are numerous digressions and inset tales, most famously the story of Cupid and Psyche, told by an old woman to comfort a captive bride. Lucius's long ordeal eventually leads him toward the worship of the goddess Isis, whose mysteries offer him a path back to his true form.

Key Concepts

The novel blends adventure, satire, and religious experience, poking fun at greed, superstition, and vice while also taking magic and mystery cults seriously. Its playful, digressive structure - stories nested within stories - was hugely influential on later prose fiction, and the embedded tale of Cupid and Psyche has inspired countless artists and writers in its own right. The book also reflects real anxieties about witchcraft in the Roman world; Apuleius himself was later put on trial on charges of using sorcery to win a wealthy wife.

About the Author

Apuleius (c. 124 - after 170 AD) was born in Madauros, in Roman Numidia (present-day Algeria). Educated in rhetoric at Carthage and in philosophy at Athens, he became a noted orator and Platonist philosopher, and later a priest of the imperial cult in Roman Africa. He was once put on trial, accused by his wife's family of using magic to secure her hand in marriage - a charge he defended himself against in court.

About This Edition

This is a 1566 translation by William Adlington.