The famous work of Apuleius "Metamorphoses", created in the II century, is still the subject of scientific analysis. The studies devoted to him number in the hundreds, and the readerâs interest in him does not fade away for almost two millennia, which is not surprising. From the variety of motifs, plots and effects, Apuleius created a single work that is admirable.
A bit about the author
In the biography of Lucius Apuleius, the author of the famous ancient novel "The Golden Donkey", like many writers of antiquity, there are white spots. Presumably, he was born in 124-125 in the city of Madavra, North Africa. The father was an official and provided his son with an excellent education. From an early age, the child revealed the ability to rhetoric and philosophy. Lucius studied them in his hometown, then in Carthage and Athens. After moving to Rome, Apuley appeared in court, then returned to Madavr and served as an official. Passion for travel forced him to leave his hometown, and the writer moved to Carthage, where he soon became known not only as a wonderful speaker and writer, but also as a magician.
At 25, he married the 40-year-old widow Pudentilla. Relatives of her first husband were convinced that Apuleius was tempted by widow's wealth. They filed a lawsuit against him, where Lucius made a brilliant speech in his defense called âApologyâ. He had to mobilize all his skills as a speaker in order to refute the second accusation that he had âbewitchedâ the widow with the help of âmagicâ, he bought and opened fish for these suspicious purposes. Apuley managed to convince the judges that he bought fish exclusively for anatomical research. He was acquitted. Starting acquaintance with Apuleiusâs novel The Golden Donkey, with a brief summary of it, you need to consider the features of the work of its author.
Creativity Apulia
Numerous historical and philosophical works belong to this author. The present lectures and speeches of Apuleius, known as âApologyâ and âFlorids,â books âOn the teachings of Plato,â âOn the deity of Socrates,â and the treatise âOn Peace,â have survived to the present day. Some verses of the ancient author have also been preserved; his work includes the novel Hermagor and numerous translations. But no matter how interesting the philosophical and rhetorical works of the writer, he is known primarily as the author of the novel "Metamorphoses".
Apuley, an experienced speaker, is leaning towards a sublime and magnificent style. The language and style of the writer is colorful and diverse. Each of his works is written in its own way. Numerous archaisms, neologisms, Greek borrowings are drawn from him from living speech. Contemporaries highly appreciated this author, but real interest in his works began in the Renaissance. Some short stories from the famous âMetamorphosesâ were used by Cervantes, Boccaccio, Smollett, Fielding. The interpretation of the plot about Amur and Psyche was offered by the French poet Lafontaine, the Russians Bogdanovich and Aksakov, and many others.
"Metamorphoses"
The exact date of the creation of Metamorphosis is unknown. The Golden Donkey (another name for this work) consists of 11 books and has survived to our time with almost no loss. And the epithet "golden" testifies to its high artistic merits. There are different versions about the sources of this work. But in the very first sentence of the novel, the author informs the reader of the intention to âweaveâ the fables in the âMilesian mannerâ. Thus, Apuleius pointed to the proximity of âMetamorphosisâ to the Milesian collections, consisting of love stories, united by a common plot frame. They got their name from the collection of Aristide of Miletus (II century BC).
Another source is Lucianâs novel âLucius, or the Donkeyâ. This short piece outlines many episodes of the Apulean novel. Of course, they are offered in a brief form, they are devoid of colorfulness and style richness. The work of Lucian, in turn, represents the retelling of "Metamorphosis" by Lucius of Patra, who in his writings combined stories of the transformation of people into animals. The motive of transformations itself comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, written from 2 to 8 years. n e. The most probable variant is that the âMetamorphosesâ of Lucius from Patras became a model for both Lucian and Apuleius. The first author reduced the original source, and the second - Apuley, on the contrary, inserted new episodes and short stories, expanding this composition to 11 books.
The Golden Donkey
Before you get acquainted with the summary of Apuleius' Golden Donkey, you should start with the fact that the narration in the novel is conducted on behalf of the main character Lucius. Is the coincidence of the names of the author and the main character? As well as the question of the source, researchers are interested in the autobiographical nature of the novel. The former categorically deny that the work is autobiographical, while the latter, on the contrary, are sure that many of the information in the book relates to Apuleius himself. But none of them deny that the work âThe Golden Donkeyâ reflects some features of the author. For example, details such as good looks, interest in miracles and magic, numerous initiations, and classes in Athens relate to the author. Undoubtedly, some facts from the life of Apuleius are mentioned in the novel.
The reflection of the thoughts and emotions of the writer does not give the work of documentary, but they convey a valuable quality - emotionality. For example, the desire to learn the secrets of magic played a fateful role in the life of the hero of the novel. Apuley also suffered punishment for this character trait. Curiosity dragged the protagonist into various misadventures. So the curiosity of the author himself determined the path of life: the pursuit of science, travel, practice in medicine. Apuley was a brilliant rhetorician and sophist, and in the episode about the murder, the authorâs oratorical preparation appeared. The scene on Olympus in the story of Amur and Psyche, when Venus does not want to recognize the marriage of her son Amur as legal, reflects the mood of the writer himself, who remembered his marriage to a rich widow. It is the authorâs emotional presence that puts this work at a higher level than the Greek novel.
Turning
A brief summary of Apuleius' Golden Donkey should begin with the fact that a young man named Lucius, who was Greek by birth, was traveling on business to Thessaly. Staying with a good friend of his father in the city of Gipate, he decided to stay here for a while to find out more about the magic and wonders that this place was famous for. Having met on the street with his relative Birrena, he finds out that what he is interested in is in the house where he was staying. Pamphilas, wife of Milon, is perhaps the first witch in their town.
Wanting to learn the secrets of Pamphila, Lucius makes an affair with a cheerful maid Fotida, who promises to show him the witching manipulations of the hostess. Soon the case presented itself, and the young man, hiding in the attic, looked with all his eyes as Pamfila turned into an owl and flew away to her lover. What he saw did not give rest to Lucius, and he wanted to experience a miracle on himself. Fotida took out an ointment that would turn the young man into a bird. But the maid accidentally mixed up the jars, and Lucius turned into a donkey. But in the "special": the mind and feelings, like a person, and the appearance of a donkey.
Ordinary rose petals can restore his human appearance. The only condition: you need to eat the petals in the morning, and spend the night in the form of a donkey. The robbers attacked Milonâs house at night. Thus began the adventures, or rather, the misfortunes of Lucius.
Donkey Skin Adventures
We continue the retelling of Apuleius âworkâ The Golden Donkey â(a brief summary of it) by the story of how the newly appeared donkey as a pack animal fell into the gang of robbers. In search of prey, he wanders with them, suffers beatings for disobedience: "I was more likely dead than alive." Once robbers kidnap the bride on the eve of the wedding, then bring her to the cave. As a consolation, the old cooker tells the girl a wondrous tale of Psyche and Cupid - this is the most famous of the novel's inserted novels. Lucius-donkey and the girl are trying to escape. But they were caught. The girlâs bridegroom saves them from death.
From the cave of the robbers, the ass-Lucius falls into the hands of cruel lumberjacks, which force him to overwork. Then he travels with the priests, lives in a mill, where he is tormented by work, serves as a gardener and a soldier. In the long wanderings of Lucius in donkey skin, he experiences many adventures, listens to several stories: about a slave who entered into a love affair with her mistress; about the unfaithful wife of Bochar; about a lover who pretended to be a sneeze. Lucius-donkey passes from hand to hand, falls to a freedman who taught him funny tricks.
And finally, a wonderful animal came to the brothers working with a noble man. Having noticed human qualities of a donkey, they tell about them to the owner, who is planning a grandiose spectacle - a public marriage of a donkey with a criminal sentenced to death. Terrified of this venture, Lucius the donkey escapes.
Appeal
The adventures of the hero of Apuleiusâs novel Metamorphoses, or the Golden Donkey did not end there. Once on the seashore, donkey Lucius "plunges into the sea seven times" and begs the deity to rid him of the donkey skin. In a dream, the goddess Isis appears to him and promises to help if he will faithfully serve her. The next morning, Lucius the donkey met a religious procession, in the hands of the priest was a wreath of roses. After drinking rose petals, the young man acquires a human appearance and returns home.
Friends flock to him, who decided that he was no longer alive. Surprisingly, his servants, things, a horse are returned to him. The young man saw this as a âspecial signâ and indulged in religious duties, wanting to accept initiation. With this decision, Lucius goes to Rome. The novel concludes with a chapter on religious ordinances. Having passed through the rites, having learned the sacraments of initiation, Lucius in a higher rank returns to the activities of a lawyer, leads a pious and pious life.
Insert novels
The background of Apuleiusâs novel âMetamorphoses, or the Golden Donkeyâ is enriched with sixteen extra-plot insertions. They have an element of magic and mystery. The novel opens with a story about the slutty Kabatitsa Meroe, who turns men into animals. Lover, who dared to fall in love with another, Meroia âin a single wordâ turned into a beaver. The competing kabachka has become a frog and is now meeting its visitors with a "kind croak." She turned the judgeâs judge, who dared to speak out against her, into a ram - âsheâs doing things like a ramâ.
All false stories are imbued with moralizing tendencies. For example, the author talks about the trial of a stepmother who fell in love with a stepson. When a young man rejected her love, she tries to poison him. Some insets are directly constructed as criminal tales. About a woman-criminal, who killed out of jealousy both her husband and her rival, not knowing that this is his own sister. To hide the traces of a crime, a woman kills a doctor who sold her poison. And finally, to become the only heiress, gets rid of his daughter. Her crimes are uncovered, and the criminal is torn to pieces by wild animals.
In the work there are also stories typical of Greek novels. For example, about the beautiful girl Harita. She marries her lover Tlepolem, but their happiness was prevented by Frazill, inflamed with a passion for Harita. During the hunt, he kills her husband and tries to persuade the girl to marry him. Pretending to agree, Harita lures Frazilla into the bedroom. After killing him, Harita committed suicide.
Cupid and Psyche
We conclude our acquaintance with the work âMetamorphoses, or the Golden Donkeyâ with a brief summary of the most famous of the insertion short stories - the tale of Cupid and Psyche. Already her beginnings, "Once upon a time there was a king with a queen," takes the reader into a folk-fairytale atmosphere. They had three daughters. All beauties, but the youngest exceeded all. About the beauty of her rumor spread throughout the world, the glory of Psyche eclipsed even Venus, whose sacrifices were becoming smaller. The deity, deprived of honors, does everything so that the girl regrets her beauty. She demands from her son Amur to kindle in the girlâs heart a love for a wretched and miserable person. Time is running. Everyone gets married, but nobody marries Psyche.
The father heeded the advice of the oracle and, in order to facilitate the fate of his daughter, took her to a deserted rock. The wind god Zephyr carries Psyche to the fairy-tale palace, where on the very first night an invisible lover appeared in her bedroom, âmade Psyche his wifeâ and hastily left. Neither her husband's affection, nor luxury can satisfy the sorrow of a girl at home. Marshmallow brings her sisters to the house of Psyche. Cupid takes a promise from Psyche - to keep his secret. But envious sisters by cunning trick the girl into secrecy and harm her in every way. Cupid, having learned that their secret has been revealed, disappears. Psyche decided to take revenge on the ungrateful sisters and tells them that Cupid wants to marry one of them. They abandon their husbands, and soon die.
Psyche sets off in search of her husband, who, with burnt wings, is locked in his motherâs house. For the sake of love, the girl suffers humiliation from Venus. But not all deities are evil - the goddesses Juno and Ceres in every way help Psyche. Soon, Cupid breaks out of captivity, an injection of an arrow strengthens her love for him in a girl and hurries for help to Jupiter. The supreme god collects all the gods and tells Venus his decision: "Cast aside all sorrow, daughter, and do not be afraid that your family will suffer from marriage with a mortal." Venus had to submit. Psyche was granted immortality and reckoned among the gods. After a magnificent wedding, a girl was born between her and Amur. The fruit of their love was called Delight.