Apuleius and Petronus

Liam Bitting

Apuleius Background• 120-180 AD• Wrote in Prose• Studied Platonist Philosophy

in Athens• Accused of using magic to gain

the attentions and fortune of a wealthy widow

• Most famous works tend to revolve around magic– The Golden Ass– De Deo Socratis (On the God of

Socrates)

The Golden Ass/ Metamorphoses Summery

• Only latin novel to survive in its entirety

• About fictional charecter Lucius and his curiosity about magic– Tries to turn himself into

a bird, turns into an ass– Saved by Isis by joining a

cult• Compiled in 11 books

The Golden Ass Famous Lines• Opening line

– Thessaliam — nam et illic originis maternae nostrae fundamenta a Plutarcho illo inclito ac mox Sexto philosopho nepote eius prodita gloriam nobis faciunt — eam Thessaliam ex negotio petebam

– “Bussiness once took me to Thessaly, where my mother's family origionated; I have, by the way, the distinction of being descended through her from the famous Plutarch”• Translation by Robert Graves

De Deo Socratis Summery• Supernatural topics combined

with philosophy• Talks about Daemons

(Supernatural go betweens of gods and men)

• First occurrence of proverb “familiarity breeds contempt”

• Compared Gods to Kings– Unlike Epics, the comparison

was not implied by godly emotion but more explicitly stated

De Deo Socratis Famous Lines• Openning Line

– Plato omnem naturam rerum, quod eius ad animalia praecipua pertineat, trifariam divisit censuitque esse summos deos.

– Plato gives a triple division to the whole nature of things, and especially to that part of it which pertains to animals; and he likewise is of the opinion that there are gods in the highest, in the middle, and in the lowest place of the universe

• parit enim conversatio contemptum, raritas conciliat admirationem– familiarity breeds contempt, rarity

brings admiration– Attacked by Augistine of Hippo (a Father

of the Church in the African Province)

Apologia Summery

• Courtroom defense against against the accounts of “charming” a wealthy widow

• Contains references to magic

• Utilizes Ciceronian Styles at times – Shows how versatile

Apuleius can be

Apologia Text• Certus equidem eram proque uero obtinebam, Maxime Cl.

quique in consilio estis, Sicinium Aemilianum, senem notissimae temeritatis, accusationem mei prius apud te coeptam quam apud se cogitatam penuria criminum solis conuiciis impleturum

• For my part, Maximus Claudius, and you, gentlemen who sit beside him on the bench, I regarded it as a foregone conclusion that Sicinius Aemilianus would for sheer lack of any real ground for accusation cram his indictment with mere vulgar abuse; for the old rascal is notorious for his unscrupulous audacity, and, further, launched forth on his task of bringing me to trial in your court before he had given a thought to the line his prosecution should pursue.

Petronius

• 27-66 AD• Called “elegantiae arbiter”

(Judge of Excellence) by Tacitus, Plutarch, and Pliny the Elder

• Served as Counsil in 62 AD• Nero’s Fashion advisor• Famous Works– Satyricon

Satyricon Summery• Combined Prose and Poety• Story of a Homosexual Couple

Encolpius (narrator) and Giton (the love interest)

• Satirical saterizing the difficulty of making relationships work– Has difficulty keeping his lover

faithful– Has difficulty not being enticed

away by others• Gives insight into the daily lives

of lower class Romans

Satyricon Famous lines• Per anfractus deinde

obscurissimos egressus in hunc locum me perduxit, prolatoque peculis coepit rogare stuprum

• Then after traversing some very dark and intricate alleys, he brought me where we are, and producing his affair, began begging me to grant him my favors

• This summerizes their entire relationship

Biblography

• http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/petronius1.html

• http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/petro/satyr/sat02.htm

• Wikipedia.org• http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/apuleius/apul

eius1.shtml#10• http://books.google.com/books?id=mBJBNQ3

uNKMC&pg=PA3&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

• http://apuleius.net