Definition:

Lucius Apuleius was a philosopher and rhetorician tried for using magic to win an older, wealthy bride, but he's better known for his novel about the mysteries of Isis, the tale of Cupid and Psyche, and the semi-biographical misadventures of its hero, Lucius.

Apuleius was born in about 124, in Madauros, Numidia, received his education in Carthage and Athens, and then traveled around the Mediterranean learning about religious mystery rites.


In 158 he delivered a speech recorded as Apologia Apuleii 'The Apology of Apuleius' in the multicultural town of Sabratha, Tripolitania (modern Libya), as a defense against the charge of using magic to win a wealthy older bride, Pudentilla. Lucius, in his Apology, provides a glimpse into second century Roman law, the economic and social conditions of Roman North Africa, and the attitude towards magic.

Apuleius died in about 174 A.D., having written his novel, known as either The Golden Ass or The Metamorphoses (also Transformations of Lucius), and the Apology, as well as treatises on Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.

Go to Other Ancient / Classical History Glossary pages beginning with the letter

a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | wxyz
Examples:

Apuleius was tried in A.D. 158. in the North African port city of Sabratha, by Proconsul Claudius Maximus, on the the charge of practicing magic to entice into marriage a rich widow named Pudentilla.

He had acquired a fish supposedly to make his potion, but fish are not connected with love charms. The outcome of the case is unknown, but the Apology of Apuleius was his defense. Guilt could have resulted in execution or exile since magicians were enemies of the Roman state.

Source: "Law, Magic, and Culture in the Apologia of Apuleius," by Keith Bradley. Phoenix, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 203-223.