Apuleius’ work The Golden Ass, a literary autobiography dating back eighteen hundred years, reflects the wisdom gained from accumulated experience regarding the virtues and vices of human nature. This sole surviving novel from the Greco-Roman world continues to captivate attention with its “golden” content, which cleverly and wittily compares and analyzes the relationship between man and his dual nature.
The novel The Golden Ass or Metamorphoses is temporally associated with the 2nd century and the Hellenistic period, when Greek cultural dominance weakened and Rome, strongly influenced by Greek cultural and philosophical heritage, gained increasing military and political superiority in the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire, spanning from Spain in the west to deep into Asia, had to confront diverse cultural traditions that preceded Rome, including the religious experiences of the Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Syrians, and Greeks, while accepting the fact that the newly established empire existed within a space permeated with varying and diverse With alternative perceptions of life and existence. The Hellenistic era is characterized by a blending of languages, cultures, and traditions, with a strong presence of mystical religions. Through secret cults, humans found a way to connect with the divine, with something that transcends them and their mundane everyday life, thus elevating their existence and deepening their sense of life. Hellenism is filled with examples that speak of the experiences of searching, through which attempts were made to touch the “source”.
The Golden Ass is precisely such a story that depicts the influence of mystical religions and cults on individuals in the Hellenistic era. In this work, Apuleius, greatly inspired by his own experience, follows the life and quest adventures of the young man Lucius and describes the metamorphosis and spiritual transformation that leads from a donkey to a man.
The manuscript of the novel The Golden Ass was rediscovered by Boccaccio during the Renaissance. After being translated into Italian, this work gained great popularity, and soon it was translated into other European languages. “European languages.”
Apuleius’ Biography
Lucius Apuleius was born in 125 AD in the city of Madaurus, in the African province of the Roman Empire (modern-day Algeria). He completed his education in the Phoenician city of Carthage. His native language was Punic, and after mastering Greek and Latin, he went to Athens where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, geometry, music, and poetry. At the same time, he was deeply interested in questions of history, nature, and life in general. After completing his studies, he traveled extensively in the Hellenistic East, gaining numerous experiences, and upon his return, he settled in Rome where he worked as a legal advocate.
One particular event in Apuleius’ life had a profound impact on the author’s life and is important for understanding the allegory presented in “The Golden Ass.” During one of his journeys, Apuleius fell ill and stayed in the city of Oea, modern-day Tripoli, where he received treatment in the wealthy widow’s family. The two sons of the widow, especially the older one, whom A Apulej was a teacher in Athens, and they tried to convince him in various ways to stay with them and become a husband to their mother. Apulej was not thrilled about this idea, but eventually he gave in to their persuasion. However, the family of the late husband’s widow could not come to terms with it and openly expressed their hostility towards Apulej. In the end, it happened that the younger son of the widow fell ill and died, and Apulej was accused of casting “evil spells” on the child, and using a love potion to force Pudentilla into marriage in order to gain her wealth. It is known that at that time the Roman authorities persecuted makers of “love potions”, treating them as poisoners, and Roman law even provided for the death penalty for such acts. Apulej, therefore, had to face a very serious charge. During the trial, Apulej presented his defense, and since it was not possible to prove his guilt, he was finally acquitted. Inspired by this event, he published his Apology in defense of himself. or
This unusual life experience prompted the creation of his novel The Golden Ass in which one can easily see the connection between Apuleius’s personal experience and the misfortunes that the main character of the novel, also named Lucius, goes through.
Apuleius left behind a diverse literary opus, and besides his most famous works, The Apology and The Golden Ass, twenty-three rhetorical chapters of Florida, and philosophical works such as On Plato and His Teaching, On the God of Socrates, and On the Universe have also been recorded. Other works are only preserved in fragments, such as the novel Hermagoras, translations of Plato, translations of the Neopythagorean Numenius (Arithmetic Art), and encyclopedic texts such as On Proverbs, On Medicines, On Agriculture, On Trees, and On Music.
This gives us a picture of a versatile individual who reflects on various issues, a skilled political speaker, writer, moralist, teacher, lawyer, and philosopher who was willing to dedicate his life to nevjerojatno iskustvo i znanje ostavljeno je u zalogu čovječanstvu.
Jedan od primjera koji to ilustrira je Izidin hram u Pompejima
Parabola o ljudskoj prirodi – Zlatni magarac
Roman Zlatni magarac počinje pričom o Luciju koji dolazi iz Grčke u tesalijski grad Hipata, poznat po svojim vradžbinama i magiji. Lucije žudi upoznati čarolije i magijske vještine te odsjeda kod bogataša Milona u Hipati, gdje otkriva tajnu Milonove supruge Pamfile: ona je vještica koja poznaje tajne koje joj omogućuju “kontroliranje duša mrtvih, utjecanje na kretanje zvijezda, zapovijedanje bogovima”.1 Lucije, iskušan njenim moćima, želi postići istu stvar i njegova znatiželja biva zadovoljena kada mu sluškinja donosi “čarobnu mast” svoje gospodarice. No, nažalost, nakon nanošenja masti, Lucije se nezgodno pretvara u magarca. U Grčkoj je magarac bio povezan s razuzdanim Dionizom, dok su ga u Izidinom kultu smatrali simbolom mržnje prema Setu. Stoga, transformacija u magarca simbolički prikazuje mračne sklonosti ljudske prirode. sabytes, ogledaju se kao simbolični prikazi moralnog pada i degradacije čovječanstva. Apulejeva poruka je da je ljubav prema fizičkim zadovoljstvima i niskim žudnjama opasna i destruktivna te da je duhovna preobrazba neophodna za povratak ljudskoj pristojnosti i moralnosti. The stones serve as a foundation for the development of the idea of self-awareness, the descent into matter that weighs down the soul and keeps it distant from its divine source. Distortion in the foreground enhances the absurdity of godless wandering and the need to find the source of salvation.
The scene from the wall painting in Herculaneum depicts a ceremony in honor of the Egyptian goddess Isis. At one point, the cult of Isis took on the significance of an unofficial religion in Pompeii. Its significance is also evidenced by Apuleius’ work, The Golden Ass.
Ultimately, Lucius, after all his travels, prays fervently to fate to restore his human form, that is, all the potential for spiritual growth that was lost in complete immersion in animal nature. The second metamorphosis takes place through a ritual purification in which he eats roses from the priest’s crown in the procession in honor of Isis, and through a mystical initiation through which the main character regains his human form. This is precisely what Apuleius emphasizes at the end of his work: initiated into the cult of Isis, that is, initiated into the secret of life and death. And at the resurrection, Lucius discovers the link between the world of gods and humans, and by the order of Osiris, he finally arrives in Rome.
The end of the novel is the final stage of spiritual transformation, obviously based on mystical rituals after overcoming the trials and dangers of lower nature that prevented contact with the very source of existence. Lucius’ new birth signifies the transcendence of the sluggishness of matter through the process of spiritualization.
The myth of Psyche
In the central part of the novel, the ancient Roman myth of Psyche, the personification of the soul searching for divine love, is also told. Let’s recall that the myth is about Venus’ offense and jealousy towards the mortal Psyche. Namely, because of her beauty, people stopped worshiping the goddess Venus, so she, furious and jealous, sends her son Cupid to shoot Psyche with an arrow and make her fall in love with the ugliest being on earth. But even Cupid cannot resist Psyche’s beauty and instead puts her in secret, magnificent chambers where he visits her at night, hiding his identity. However, after some time, P Psycha begin to feel lonely and desires to visit her home and see her sisters. Cupid does not prevent her from this intention. However, naive Psycha falls for the provocation of jealous sisters, who start intimidating her with false stories about the nefarious intentions of her nighttime visitor. The next day, Psycha decides to uncover his true identity. She lights a lamp in bed, but a drop of hot oil falls on Cupid’s body, causing him to wake up and immediately disappear into the sky, where he remains longing infinitely for Psycha. Psycha soon realizes the consequences of her thoughtless curiosity. From that moment on, a long and arduous struggle begins for her to regain and reunite with her lost love. Psycha will have to descend even to the underworld, make another mistake, and endure earthly anguish and suffering, until her mortal soul passes through the path of earthly torment, only to be saved (revived) thanks to Cupid’s plea to the supreme deity Jupiter. Psycha finds fulfillment in uniting with her immortal half. Psyche, marble, Louvre, Paris
By connecting the symbolism of this myth with Lucius’ journey, we can observe how the novel once again emphasizes the spiritual transformation that is achieved only when one passes through the “underworld”, so that the soul, enriched by this experience, can begin its upward journey towards its source.
Purification and transformation
Apuleius’ work describes the agony of “animal existence” and the aimlessness of wandering from one fleeting sensory sensation to another, suggesting deliverance through the possibility of elevation and the salvation of human dignity from the fate of a donkey.
The path of maturity usually leads through the wrong choice, only to reach the essence of things upon its realization, which ultimately leads to liberation from the animal nature that constantly binds man to the external, transient, and variable appearances of the physical world. The master of his soul is only the one who has managed to restrain his instincts, reigning over his emotions that diligently gather stimuli from the external world and dissolve them in blissful. They flow over the rational mind with heavenly shades.
By finding analogies with the impulses of their own animal self, identifying their own weaknesses that await awareness and purification, in order to reach the most sublime within themselves, they discover the inevitability of encountering themselves and their nature.
Apuleius, a mystic and philosopher, tells us that only through numerous trials, hardships, and learnings, and their numerous repetitions, can one come closer to divine wisdom.
1 Apuleius, The Golden Ass. “Dereta” Belgrade, 1991.