The protagonist of “The Golden Ass” of the person whom Apuleius and the story is told, the young man Lucius, loving life, seeking in it a wonderful adventure. In connection with commercial Affairs, he had to get into Thessaly, in the city of Hypatia.
The hero of Apuleius stops the old man Milona, whose wife was a magician, able to transform into another creature. Lucius wants to experience the mystery of transformation. The maid of Fotida promises the young man to help in this matter and to give the ointment, which is rubbed to turn into a bird; but the girl mixed up the jars and gave him the ointment after rubbing where he turned into a donkey.
In donkey form, he had to endure much suffering: his first night was stolen by the robbers loaded the loot from the Milona good. From the robbers, he comes to the village, then buy it, the priests of the Syrian goddess Cybele, then the hero of Apuleius passes in the hands of Miller, then the poor gardener, who by his power takes soldiers, who soon sold it to two brothers-slaves. Lucius, though in donkey form, but retained the human mind. He sees everything, observes everything.
The end of the novel is clearly autobiographical character: himself Apuleius went to Carthage the way of the priest and a brilliant forensic orator.
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The Golden Ass by Apuleius
- The Narrative
- The Characters
Summary
A special place among the works of Apuleius, is the novel “The Metamorphosis” (“Transformation”). Already in late antiquity, he received the second name, “Ass”, to which admiring readers attached the definition of “gold”. In the “Golden ass” tells of the transformation of the hero of the novel Lucie (Lucia) into a donkey. By itself, this story is attested in the tales of different peoples, from the Greeks, the donkey was considered an animal especially unscrupulous and lustful.
