The Golden Ass

Apuleius

Nov 2022 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

A dangerous interest in magic transforms a young man into a donkey and sends him on a wild journey in this ancient work of fantasy adventure.

The Golden Ass tells the story of Lucius, a hapless young fool recklessly fascinated with witchcraft. It is this obsession that leads him to be changed into a donkey and passed from owner to owner in a series of adventures. Follow along as he meets abusive robbers, poor merchants, a Roman soldier, an amorous noblewoman, a sadistic miller who works his slaves and livestock to death, and even the goddess Isis herself . . .

The only ancient work of fiction written in Latin to survive in its entirety, this novel inspired and influenced writers for centuries like Machiavelli, Boccaccio, Shakespeare, and Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, author of Beauty and the Beast.

About the author

Apuleius was a Numidian Latin–language prose writer, philosopher, and rhetorician. He lived in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day M’Daourouch, Algeria. He studied Platonism in Athens, traveled to Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt, and was an initiate in several cults of mystery. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to attract a wealthy widow. He defended himself before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near ancient Tripoli, Libya. He recounts this story in his work TheApologia.