- 01Apuleius's journey into Thessaly
- 02The strangers' debate on witchcraft
- 01Aristomenus recounts the juggler at Athens
- 02Socrates found in misery at the baths
- 01Socrates robbed on the road to Larissa
- 02Meroe the witch and her powers
- 01Meroe's transformations of townspeople
- 01Meroe and Panthia's night attack
- 02Aristomenus's escape and Socrates's apparent death
- 01Arrival in Hipata and inquiry for Milo
- 02Milo's house and his miserly household
- 03Demeas's letters and Milo's welcome
- 04Preparations for bathing and care of the horse
- 01Pythias the clerk of the market
- 02Milo's supper and questioning
111 the golden ass apuleius
In this course, you will discover the wild world of Apuleius’s Golden Ass, master its themes of magic, desire, and fate, and learn how a classic tale uses transformation to reveal human nature. Follow Lucius’s strange journey through danger, comedy, and enchantment, and uncover the enduring moral lessons hidden inside the story.
10Chapters
69Lessons
186Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Summarize the plot of The Golden Ass across its major books and episodes
- Analyze the themes of magic, desire, fate, and transformation in the narrative
- Explain how the story of Cupid and Psyche functions within the larger work
- Interpret the moral and symbolic meaning of Lucius's journeys and reversals
- Identify key characters, divine interventions, and comic episodes in the text
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 10
- Lessons
- 69
- Topics
- 186
- 01Lucius awakens in Thessaly and enters the marketplace
- 02Recognition and invitation by Byrrhena
- 03Byrrhena's house and warning about Pamphile
- 04Lucius resolves to pursue magic and Fotis
- 01Fotis at the kitchen fire
- 02Apuleius praises Fotis's hair and beauty
- 03Kisses and a promise for the night
- 01Byrrhena's provisions and supper with Milo
- 02Diophanes the fortune-teller's deception
- 03Lucius and Fotis prepare for Venus
- 01Byrrhena's supper and warnings about witches
- 02Bellerophon's tale of corpse-watching in Thessaly
- 01Inspection of the corpse and vigil
- 02Payment, expulsion, and funeral procession
- 01The corpse revived to expose the poisoner
- 01The festival of the god Risus
- 02The thieves at Milo's gate
- 01Apuleius's fear of judgment and arrest
- 02Public procession to the judgment hall
- 03The old man's opening testimony
- 01The night watchman's accusation
- 02Apuleius's defense against the thieves
- 03The crowd's laughter and Apuleius's despair
- 01The widow's accusation and the torture order
- 02The exposed bladders and public laughter
- 03Lucius comforted by Milo and the magistrates
- 04Byrrhena's supper invitation and Lucius's retreat
- 01Fotis confesses her mistress's anger and secrecy
- 02The Boeotian lover and the stolen hair
- 03The witchcraft ritual and the goat-skin mistake
- 04Lucius asks to witness the enchantments
- 01Fotis reveals her mistress's owl transformation
- 02Apuleius begs for the ointment
- 03The ointment and attempted transformation
- 01Lucius transformed into an ass
- 02Fotis's remorse and the stable
- 03The thieves' robbery and forced march
- 04Refusing the roses in the garden
- 01Apuleius seeks roses in the garden
- 01The thieves’ return to their den
- 02The thieves’ supper and tales of robbery
- 03Demochares’ bear spectacles and the bear skin trick
- 01Thrasileon disguised as a bear
- 02The raid on Demochares' house and Thrasileon's death
- 03Return home and the meal of barley and bread
- 01The thieves bring home a kidnapped gentlewoman
- 02The gentlewoman's lament and abduction story
- 03The old woman's interpretation of dreams
- 04The Marriage of Cupid and Psyches
- 01Psyche's beauty and Venus's jealousy
- 02The oracle and Psyche's bridal doom
- 03Zephyrus carries Psyche to the enchanted palace
- 04Psyches warned against seeing her sisters
- 05The sisters' visit and envy
- 06The sisters plot Psyches' ruin
- 07A second warning and Psyches' plea
- 01The sisters' deceptive visit and false reassurance
- 02The serpent warning and murder plot
- 03Psyches' wavering resolve and preparation
- 01Psyche discovers Cupid asleep
- 02The wound from the lamp and Cupid's reproach
- 03Cupid's flight and Psyche's despair
- 01Pan counsels Psyche to worship Cupid
- 02Psyche tells her sister of Cupid
- 03The sisters' jealous deaths
- 04Cupid's wound and Venus learns the news
- 01Venus learns Psyche's identity
- 02Venus rebukes Cupid and threatens punishment
- 01Ceres and Juno refuse Venus's complaint
- 02Psyches seeks refuge in Ceres's temple
- 03Psyches prays to Juno and is denied
- 01Mercury's proclamation for Psyche
- 02Psyche's capture and Venus's torment
- 03The grain-sorting task and the ants' help
- 01Gathering the golden fleece
- 02Fetching water from the black river
- 01Psyche’s journey to the underworld
- 01Psyche's descent to Proserpina and return with the box
- 02Cupid rescues Psyche from the fatal sleep
- 03Cupid appeals to Jupiter for Psyche
- 01Jupiter sanctions Cupid and Psyche's marriage
- 01The thieves return with treasure and threaten Lucius
- 02The captive gentlewoman escapes with Lucius
- 03The thieves recapture them and devise their deaths
- 01Report of the robbery at Milo's house
- 02Recruitment of a new bandit captain
- 01The thief's counsel to spare the maiden
- 01The thieves' sacrifice and feast
- 02Lepolemus reveals himself and drugs the thieves
- 01Lepolemus rescues the maiden and the thieves are punished
- 02Apuleius is rewarded, then sent to the stable
- 03Forced mill work and attack by the horses
- 01Cruel treatment by the boy
- 02The burning coals and rescue
- 01The boy's false accusation of lust
- 02Shepherds' debate over killing or gelding the ass
- 01The boy's death in the wood
- 01The mother's revenge on Apuleius
- 01Thrasillus's hidden desire for Charites
- 02The boar hunt and Lepolemus's murder
- 03Charites's grief, vision, and delay of marriage
- 04Charites blinds Thrasillus and avenges Lepolemus
- 01Horsekeeper leads the caravan at night
- 02Dogs and stones from the villagers
- 01Shepherds rest in the wooded meadow
- 02The first old shepherd's warning
- 03The missing nephew and the dragon
- 01Woman's jealousy and suicide over her husband's infidelity
- 01Apuleius sold in the market
- 02The old devotee of Syria buys the ass
- 01Phelibus buys the ass
- 02Procession of the goddess
- 03Self-scourging and offerings
- 01The sacrilegious banquet and assault
- 02The journey, beating, and city reception
- 03The cook's stolen venison and plot to kill the ass
- 01Escape from the Cook and the mad dog scare
- 01The wife's deception with the tub
- 01Priests of the goddess Siria arrested for the stolen cup
- 02Apuleius sold to a baker and set to mill work
- 01The Baker's wife and her adultery
- 01Barbarus entrusts Myrmex with his wife
- 02Philesiterus bribes Myrmex and the secret meeting
- 03The slippers expose the affair
- 04The baker's wife and the hidden lover
- 05Barbarus punishes the adulterer
- 06The baker's wife seeks enchantment
- 07The baker's death and his daughter's vision
- 01Apuleius sold to the gardener and his hard service
- 02The ominous signs at the honest man's house
- 03The rich tyrant, the three brethren, and the deaths that follow
- 01The soldier demands the ass
- 02The gardener overpowers the soldier and hides
- 03The search for the gardener and the ass
- 04Discovery by the ass's shadow
- 01The soldier's journey to the captain's house
- 02The stepmother's forbidden desire
- 03The poisoned wine and false accusation
- 04Physician exposes the false accusation
- 05Mandragora sleep and the child’s revival
- 06Discovery of the treason and punishments
- 01Sale to the Baker and Cook
- 02Secret feasting and discovery
- 03Public display and Thiasus's patronage
- 01The Corinthian crowd and the wealthy matron
- 02The matron's secret tryst with Apuleius
- 01The matron's night with the captive
- 02The hidden sister and jealous murder
- 03The physician's poisoned drink
- 01The poisoned wife’s confession and punishment
- 02The triumphal pageant of Paris and the goddesses
- 03Venus wins the golden apple
- 01Paris's judgment and the gods' revenge
- 02The escape from the theater to Cenchris
- 01Lucius's midnight prayer to the goddess
- 02The goddess's appearance and revelation as Isis
- 03Isis procession and sacred emblems
- 04Roses restore Lucius to human form
- 05Priest’s exhortation and initiation into Isis’s service
- 06Temple return and dismissal of the crowd
- 01News of Lucius's survival and family reunion
- 02Temple life and the call to priesthood
- 03Initiation rites and purification
- 01Initiation into the temple's innermost sanctuary
- 02Sacred vestments, procession, and feast
- 03Prayer of thanksgiving to the goddess
- 01Farewell to Mythra and departure for Rome
- 02Service to Isis at Campensis
- 03Initiation into the rites of Osiris
- 01Third initiation and Osiris's reassurance
- 02Advocate and senator appointed by Osiris
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