1st Edition

Religion and Apuleius' Golden Ass The Sacred Ass

By Warren S. Smith Copyright 2023
208 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

208 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

208 Pages 12 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This volume examines Apuleius’ comic donkey novel, The Golden Ass , within the context of the popular beliefs and Jewish and Christian writings that were part of the intellectual culture of his own day in 2 nd century C.E. North Africa, a culture which can also be glimpsed in some early Arabic writings. The novel was written against a cultural and religious background in which the donkey had... Read more

1. Asinine Thinking; 2. Magical Thinking: The Witchcraft Narrative; 3. Fortune Competes With Providence: The Meaning of Laughter; 4. Robbers Think Like Heroes; 5. Cupid and Psyche: Thinking Like A Winged Creature; 6. Thinking Like A Christian Apologist; 7. Is the Golden Ass a God?; 8. Thinking Like A Christian; 9. Christian and Jewish Apocalyptic Writings; 10. Balancing Judaism and Christianity; Appendix: Lucius ‘Becomes’ Apuleius.

Biography

Warren S. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA, and has also taught in Kenya and the Philippines. He has edited Erasmus’ Annotations on Romans and Satiric Advice on Women and Marriage From Plautus to Chaucer.

"Smith presents a coherent set of arguments...he has shown surprising, often compelling, correspondences between these texts and the Metamorphoses, and this book will form a valuable addition to our studies of Apuleius’ elusive novel." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"S.’s book is the fruit of a life-long study of The Golden Ass and it is an excellent read. Moreover, it offers a new perspective not only on the relationship between Apuleius and early Christianity, but also on how the pagan elite was perceiving the new religion and reacting to it."Censurae Librorum

"...este  volumen  resulta  de  gran  relevancia  para  todo  estudioso  que  quiera  comprender  mejor  la  esfera  religiosa  en  Apuleyo  y  las  relaciones  intertextuales  que se establecen con otras obras."

[this volume is of great relevance to any scholar who wishes to better understand the religious sphere in Apuleius and the intertextual relationships established with other works.]Emerita Revista