Apuleius

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will have as its object the novel Metamorphoses, aka The Golden Ass, written by Apuleius of Madaurus in the 2nd century AD. Written on the basis of a Greek novel, Apuleius’s Latin version represents a milestone both in the tradition of ancient novel as a genre and specifically in the development of Latin prose artistry, as well as having been a model for later novelists. Far from employing the weighty prose of historians or the vehement style of orators, Apuleius entertains readers with funny puns and clever narrative twists while they read of the adventurous, scary or magical episodes in the life of Lucius, a young man who at some point morphs into a donkey and has to endure multiple vicissitudes until a goddess finally gives him back his human form. Students will read large portions of novel in Latin (the remainder in English), from both the main story and the secondary tales. While the skill to read Apuleius’s brand of Latin will be a worthy achievement in itself, special attention will also be paid to broader literary questions of genre, narratology and style.