Introduction

Apuleius: Cupid and Psyche

In this course, Professor Costas Panayotakis (Glasgow University) explores the story of Cupid and Psyche in Apuleius' Metamorphoses. In the first module, we provide a brief introduction to Apuleius and his Metamorphoses, before turning in the second and third modules to the genre of the Metamorphoses, its title(s) – including its more famous 'unofficial' title, The Golden Ass – and its overarching structure. After that, in the fourth module, we think about the Greek original on which Apuleius' text is based, before turning in the fifth module to consider the (unusual) final book of the novel, in which Lucius becomes a priest of Isis. In the sixth module, we think about some of the many literary allusions in Apuleius' text – including the echoes of Virgil, Ovid and Greek Tragedy. Finally, in the seventh and eighth modules, we go through two sections of the set text line by line, providing close reading and analysis – 5.11 and 5.22-23.

Introduction

In this module, we provide a brief introduction to Apuleius and his Metamorphoses (also known as 'The Golden Ass'), focusing in particular on: (i) Apuleius' early life and education, his travels around the Roman Empire, and his study of rhetoric and philosophy; (ii) the position of the tale of Cupid and Psyche within Apuleius' novel as a whole; and (iii) the basic plot of Apuleius' Metamorphoses.