Table Of ContentAPULEIUS
A Latin Sophist
APULEIUS
A Latin Sophist
S. J. HARRISON
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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ISBN 978-0-19-927138-2
PREFACE
This book is a response to the literary pleasures and scholarly problems
of reading the texts of Apuleius-display orator and professional intel
lectual in second-century North Africa, Platonist philosopher, extraordi
nary stylist, relentless self-promoter, and versatile author ofa remarkably
diverse body of work, much of which is lost to us. It is written for those
able to read Apuleius in Latin, and Apuleian works are accordingly
quoted without translation (though I have indicated suitable translations
ofeach work where they exist); Greek is generally translated. I have aimed
primarily to provide a literary handbook to the works of Apuleius other
than his well-known novel the Metamorphoses or Golden Ass, and secon
darily to set these works and the Metamorphoses against their intellectual
background; this means not only Apuleius' career as a performing intel
lectual, a sophist, in second-century Roman North Africa, but also the
larger contemporary framework of the Greek Second Sophistic.
Apuleius' relationship to the Second Sophistic has recently received
welcome attention in Sandy (1997), which offers a general assessment of
the cultural and literary context; this volume hopes to provide a comple
mentary treatment through a closer concern with the individual
Apuleian texts and their interpretation. My interest is primarily literary
and literary-historical; some apology is consequently due to specialists in
ancient philosophy, who are likely to find my treatments of the philo
sophical aspects of Apuleius' works and of his important role in Middle
Platonism relatively superficial, though I hope I have noted recent work
on this topic where appropriate. I had originally planned to include chap
ters on Apuleian language and the reception ofApuleius in later periods,
but space pressed, and there are some good treatments of these topics to
be found elsewhere (see the bibliographical references given in the intro
duction to Harrison (1999)).
I have many obligations to record. First, to Robin Nisbet, who first
introduced me to the pleasures of reading Apuleian Latin and has always
encouraged me in my work, and to Donald Russell, who first suggested
that I should write a book on Apuleius. Second, to Hilary O'Shea and the
Oxford University Press, who have patiently encouraged and fostered the
project since its inception a decade ago; I am especially grateful to Angela
vi Preface
Blackburn for her meticulous copy-editing. Third, to the colleagues and
friends who have given generous practical aid: to those who helped in
finding bibliographical items or in supplying copies of their own publi
cations-Fred Brenk, Luca Graverini, Harry Jocelyn, Silvia Mattiacci, and
Charles Weiss; and especially to those who read and commented on draft
chapters-Mariateresa Horsfall Scotti, Nicholas Horsfall, Michael Trapp,
who also kindly let me see material before publication, and Michael
Winterbottom, who has also taken a general interest in the project. I
should particularly like to thank Keith Bradley for reading sections of the
typescript at a late stage and generously sharing his research in various
ways, and Vincent Hunink, both for commenting in detail on several
chapters and for facilitating my acquisition of his publications; I am also
grateful to Kai Brodersen, Marco Fernandelli, and Antoinette Novara for
helping me obtain German, Italian, and French publications respectively.
Special gratitude is due to Maaike Zimmerman and her colleagues at
Groningen, who have always been keen to welcome me to their splendid
centre ofApuleian studies and to share information and ideas.
I should also like to acknowledge more personal debts. My classical
colleagues and students (undergraduate and graduate) at Corpus have
provided a stimulating, supportive, and tolerant environment over the
last decade, for which I am very grateful indeed; it is a real privilege to
work in such a community. I am especially grateful to Ewen Bowie, who
has so often given me kind advice and aid, and not just on matters of the
Second Sophistic. But I should like to dedicate this volume to my family:
to my wife Louise, for all her love and help amid her own work, and to
our sons Alexander and Freddie, whose coming has much heartened (if
not much hastened!) the writing of this book.
Finally, though it was not the main project for my tenure ofthe award,
the last stages of assembling this book have been facilitated by a
Leverhulme/British Academy Senior Research Fellowship for 1997-8,
which has given me precious time for research activity, and for which I
am extremely grateful.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford S.J.H.
April1999
CONTENTS
Preface to the Paperback Edition viii
Abbreviations ofApuleius' Works viii
1. Apuleius in Context: Life, Background, Writings 1
2. A Sophist in Court: The Apologia 39
3· Sophistic Display: The Florida 89
4. Popular Philosophy: De Deo Socratis 136
s. Philosophical Exposition: De Mundo and De Platone 174
6. A Sophist's Novel: The Metamorphoses 210
Bibliography 261
Index 279
PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
In this paperback reprint I have taken the opportunity to correct a
number ofslips and misprints (I am grateful to friends and reviewers for
spotting them; my thanks to Andrea Cucchiarelli, Costas Panayotakis,
and Michael Winterbottom), to update some WWW locators (on p. 211
of the original; my thanks to Greg Hays), and to add brief addenda
(which appear at the end of the book; my thanks to the publisher) on
some significant recent publications.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford S.J.H.
Apri/2003
ABBREVIATIONS OF APULEIUS'
WORKS
Apol. Apologia
DDS De Deo Socratis
Flor. Florida
Met. Metamorphoses
Mu. De Mundo
Pl. DePlatone
Description:This book is a response to the literary pleasures and scholarly problems of reading the texts of Apuleius, most famous for his novel Metamorphoses or Golden Ass. Living in second-century North Africa, Apuleius was more than an author of fiction; he was a consummate orator and professional intellectu
