Metamorphoses is a latin narrative poem by ovid that was first published in 8 ad. The golden ass, or the metamorphoses, written by apuleius in the second century ad, holds a unique place in world literature as the only complete latin novel to survive from antiquity. Apuleius, the golden ass based upon a translation by william adlington 1566 i have updated the spelling and idiom of the text, and have added chapter numbers. A literal interlinear translation of the first book on the plan recommended by mr. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. He also published a monograph on aulus gellius gellius the satirist. The plot revolves around the protagonists curiosity curiositas and insatiable. With an introduction, in which the meaning of the fable is unfolded. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses. Book xi the death of orpheus, midas, the foundation and destruction of troy, peleus and thetis, daedalion. The question of whether book 11 of apuleius metamorphoses is a sincere.
Apuleius famous novel, the metamorphoses,tells the story of a man who was magically changed into an ass, and whohad various humorous, sad, exciting, disturbing, erotic, horrificadventures before he regained his human. Apuleius metamorphoses book 3 hackett publishing company. A new complete downloadable english translation of the roman novel. Nancy shumate in her book crisis and conversion in apuleius metamorphoses 1996 deals primarily with texts written after often well after the time of apuleius.
In this paper, i argue lucius lyrical prayer to the moon at the start of book 11 of apuleius metamorphoses met. Translated by sir samuel garth, john dryden, et al. At the end of the novel, he is revealed to be from madaurus, the hometown of apuleius himself. Note that the numbers without brackets refer to the english text. Locke, was published in 1839, which had been already preceded by a selection from the metamorphoses of ovid, adapted to the hamiltonian system, by a literal and interlineal translation, published by james hamilton, the author of the hamiltonian system. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Apuleius group, as well as of the team project on writing a commentary on book 11 of the metamorphoses. Apuleius with a literal running translation, three appendices, and a large. His extant works are the novel metamorphoses in xi books also known as the golden ass, defense, or a discourse on magic, and florida, a collection of excerpts from speeches and rhetorical declamations. The life of lucius apuleius briefly described lucius apuleius african, an excellent follower of plato his sect, born in madaura, a countrey sometime inhabited by the romans, and under the jurisdiction of syphax, scituate and lying on the borders of numidia and getulia, whereby he calleth himself half a numidian and half a getulian. A seriocomic interpretation of apuleius, metamorphoses 11. Metamorphoses the golden ass, vol 2, books 7 11 book. Despite the presence in it of the isisbook, or perhaps because of it, the.
He was a poet, philosopher, and rhetorician from whom numerous works survive some of doubtful authenticity. Mother, forgive me, and in my harsh misfortune, show a little human kindness. Apuleius article about apuleius by the free dictionary. In a translation that is the most faithful and the most entertaining to date, ruden reveals to modern readers the vivid, farcical ingenuity of apuleiuss style. Edited with an introduction, translation and commentary by j. Metamorphoses, the golden ass being the metamorphoses of lucius apuleius. His curiosity about magic gets him changed into a donkey. Sarah rudens new translation of apuleius neoplatonist romp about a guy who magically turns into a donkey. Summary using a transdisciplinary approach for a thorough assessment of the muchdebated religious ending of the metamorphoses, this new and detailed commentary on apuleius isis book will elucidate the narrative in its literary, religious, archaeological and cultural context. The story unfolds from lucius perspective and begins with his travels to thessaly, a region reputed to be.
Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The golden ass the metamorphoses of apuleiuslucius. Metamorphoses apuleius famous novel, the metamorphoses, tells the story of a man who was magically changed into an ass, and who had various humorous, sad, exciting, disturbing, erotic, horri. Wytse keulen currently teaches latin at the university of rostock. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Madaurus was the same colonia where augustine of hippo later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the romanized coast, is today the site of some pristine roman ruins. Occasionally i have added to the translation where adlington has omitted certain passages. Religion and narrative in the metamorphoses of apuleius. There is plenty of room, as the text with notes is only 63 pages long. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Id like to string together various tales in the milesian style, and charm your kindly ear with seductive murmurs, so long as youre ready to be amazed at human forms and fortunes changed radically and then restored in turn in mutual exchange, and dont object to reading egyptian papyri, inscribed by a sly reed from the nile. Bibliography includes bibliographical references pages 567607 and indexes. Critical essay by medieval and renaissance drama in england. Often treated as a standalone text, cupid and psyche has given rise to treatments in the last 400 years as diverse as plays, masques, operas, poems, paintings and novels, with a range of diverse approaches to the text.
Latin text, with facing translation, substantial introduction and. Costas panayotakis teaches latin language and literature at the. Numerous english translations of the work have been made, the first by william caxton in 1480. Bookes of the golden asse, conteininge the metamorphosie of lucius apuleius, enterlaced with sondrie pleasaunt. Apuleius madaurensis metamorphoses, book xi, the isis. His commentary on apuleius metamorphoses book i groningen commentaries on apuleius appeared in 2007. I didnt think there was much to go on in choosing a translation for this book. This page contains details about the fiction book the golden ass metamorphoses.
The metamorphosis, also known as the golden ass, is one of the very few novels of the ancient world that survived to our days. The metamorphoses is a latin narrative poem by the roman poet ovid, considered his. Full text of apuleius the golden ass penguin classics. The golden ass metamorphosis or the golden ass by lucius. Approaches to magic in apuleius metamorphoses trends in classics supplementary volumes volume 2. Bryn mawr commentaries provide clear, concise, accurate, and consistent support for students making the transition from introductory and intermediate texts to the direct experience of ancient greek and latin literature. Apuleius tale of cupid and psyche has been popular since it was first written in the second century ce as part of his latin novel metamorphoses. Over the course of eleven books, apuleius recounts the strange adventures of a young man named lucius. Metamorphosis or the golden ass by lucius apuleius c.
All these works have been published in russian translation. Apuleius was born in madauros, a colonia in numidia on the north african coast bordering gaetulia, and he described himself as halfnumidian halfgaetulian. The isisbook metamorphoses, book xi edited with an. Please note that, in spite of my updating, this is still an old translation. Readings of apuleius metamorphoses in honor of maike zimmerman ancient narrative supplelemtum 6. A new english translation of the transformations of lucius apuleius, and the rites of isis.
As soon as darkness had dispersed and the rising sun brought daylight, i emerged from sleep and bed. See a complete list of the characters in metamorphoses and indepth analyses of. The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety the protagonist of the novel is called lucius. The golden ass edition 1 by apuleius 9780253200365. Apuleius madaurensis metamorphoses, book xi, the isis book. The death of orpheus here, while the thracian bards enchanting strain sooths beasts, and woods, and all the listning plain, the female bacchanals, devoutly mad. This book is the 751st greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. Apuleius metamorphoses or golden ass written in a highly ornate and archaizing latin probably in the 160s or so, apuleius prose novel, the metamorphoses known to saint augustine as the golden ass, tells the story of lucius, a romannamed greek youth of means and prominent family. The golden ass the metamorphoses of apuleiuslucius apuleius. Apuleius the metamorphoses book 1 annotated edition. Fiction, classical mythology, metamorphosis, latin fiction, translations into english, translations into italian, translations into spanish, translations into french, isis egyptian deity, metamorphosis in literature, latin literature, translations into russian, mythology, classical, in literature, translations into. Psyche, pleasantly reclining in that grassy place on a bed of dewwet grass, free of her mental perturbation, fell peacefully asleep, and when she was sufficiently refreshed by slumber, rose, feeling calm. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses sarolta a. Book 11 editions published between 1998 and 2015 in english and held by.
Book 3 a new complete downloadable english translation with comprehensive index, and other poetry translations including baudelaire, chinese, european. Apuleius metamorphoses or the golden ass, our only complete latin novel, tells the story of lucius, a young man turned into a donkey by magic because of his unfettered curiosity. Anxious as ever to investigate, with all my excessive eagerness, the rare and marvellous, and knowing that there i was in the heart of thessaly, the home of those magic arts whose powerful spells are praised throughout the world, and remembering that my dear friend. The experiences of a long life have not, i think, exhausted the springs of pity in that revered grey head of yours. Summary of the metamorphoses the spectacles of apuleius.