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The Golden Ass, prose narrative of the 2nd century Ce by Lucius Apuleius, who called it Metamorphoses.In all probability Apuleius used material from a lost Metamorphoses by Lucius of Patrice, which is cited by some as the source for an extant Greek work on a similar theme, the brief Lucius, or the Ass (attributed to the Greek rhetorician Lucian). Though Apuleius’s picaresque novel is fiction, its hero has been seen as a partial portrait of its author. The work is particularly valuable for its description of the ancient religious mysteries. Lucius’s restoration from animal to human shape with the aid of Isis and his acceptance into her priesthood suggest that Apuleius himself had been initiated into that cult.

The Golden Ass (Asinus Aureus) or Metamorphoses is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It is an imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work that relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers Plutarch and Sextus of Chaeronea. Lucius experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way. Within this frame story are found many digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text.

The Golden Ass (Asinus Aureus) or Metamorphoses is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It is an imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work that relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers Plutarch and Sextus of Chaeronea. Lucius experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way. Within this frame story are found many digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text.

The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which St. Augustine referred to as The Golden Ass (Asinus aureus)] is the only ancient novel in Latin to survive in its entirety.It was published around the second century A.D. The protagonist of the novel is called Lucius. The plot revolves around the protagonist's curiosity (curiositas) and insatiable desire to see and practice magic. While trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird, he is accidentally transformed into an ass. This leads to a long journey, literal and metaphorical, filled with in-set tales. He finally finds salvation through the intervention of the goddess Isis, whose cult he joins.

The Golden Ass (Asinus Aureus) or Metamorphoses is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It is an imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work that relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who introduces himself as related to the famous philosophers Plutarch and Sextus of Chaeronea. Lucius experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into an ass. In this guise he hears and sees many unusual things, until escaping from his predicament in a rather unexpected way. Within this frame story are found many digressions, the longest among them being the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche. This story is a rare instance of a fairy tale preserved in an ancient literary text.

The Metamorphoses of Apuleius — which St. Augustine referred to as The Golden — is the only Ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is called Lucius. At the end of the novel, he is revealed to be from Madaurus, in ancient Algeria, the hometown of Apuleius himself. The plot revolves around the protagonist's curiosity (curiositas) and insatiable desire to see and practice magic. While trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird, he is accidentally transformed into an ass. This leads to a long journey, literal and metaphorical, filled with in-set tales. He finally finds salvation through the intervention of the goddess Isis, whose cult he joins.

First recovered and published in the yaer 1997; the present novel 'The Golden Ass' was written by ancient fiction writer Lucius Apuleius. The novel contains lucid and descriptive narrative; hence falls in picaresque fiction genre. The plot revolves around the protagonist; Lucius's; curiosity (curiositas) and insatiable desire to see and practice magic.