The Golden Ass By Apuleius: Summary

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“The Golden Ass” by Apuleius tells the story of Lucius, a Roman-named Greek youth of means and prominent family. His curiosity about magic gets him changed into a donkey, a transformation that gives him a unique perspective on the foibles, hypocrisies, and misplaced lusts of human beings. Lucius cannot escape his state until he dedicates himself to the worship of the goddess Isis. In book one, the book establishes an audience an a speaker, who defines himself by location, education, and occupation. The narrator journeys to Thessaly on business. On the way, he runs into Aristomenes and an unnamed traveler. The unnamed traveler refuses to believe Aristomenes’ story. The narrator scolds the unnamed traveler and tells a short story about a sword swallower. He promises Aristomenes a free lunch if he will retell his story. The narrator believes Aristomenes’ tale and becomes more…show more content…
After hearing the news of their master’s death, the slaves run away, taking Lucius with them. The large group of travelling slaves is mistaken for a band of robbers and attacked by farmhands of a rich estate. Several other misfortunes befall the travelers until they reach a village. Lucius is eventually sold to a catamite priest. He is entrusted with carrying the statue of a goddess on his back while he follows around the group of sinful priests. While enraging in lewd activity with a local boy, the group of priests is discovered by a man in search of a stolen donkey who mistakes Lucius’ braying for that of his own animal. The priests flee to a new city where they are well received by one of its chief citizens. They are preparing to dine when his cook realizes that the meat that was to be served was stolen by a dog. The cook, at the suggestion of his wife, prepares to kill Lucius in order to serve his meat

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