The Golden Ass

Lucius, the narrator, is journeying to Thessaly. On his way he meets a mannamed Aristomenes, who tells him a story of Socrates, a friend of his whom heencountered along the road. Socrates had fallen in with a witch, who later killedhim and frightened Aristomenes. Lucius believes the man’s story and isintrigued.In Thessaly he stays with Milo and his wife, Pamphile, a notorious witch. Luciusencounters his aunt, Byrrhena, who warns him of Pamphile. While in townLucius is also the centerpiece of the festival of Laughter when, drunkenly, hestabs three wineskins thinking they are robbers and is taken to a fake trial.Lucius begins to sleep with the maid, Photis. He begs her to let him watchPamphile do magic, and Photis grudgingly agrees. They watch Pamphile turninto a bird, and after she leaves, Lucius clamors for the ointment she used.Photis accidentally gives him the wrong material, and he turns into an ass. He isterrified and angry, and Photis tells him the only way he can turn human againis by eating roses.Milo’s house is robbed by a group of bandits, who take Lucius with him. He isbeaten up and dragged to exhaustion. In the bandits’ cave they bring in a youngwoman whom they’d kidnapped from a neighboring town for ransom. The oldwoman who tends them tells the girl the story of Cupid and Psyche.In this tale, Psyche is a beautiful mortal woman. She is isolated from her familywhen a prophecy says she will marry a winged monster. The wind Zephyr takesher from the top of a mountain into a valley and a splendid home, where her newhusbands comes to her. It is Cupid, although he is invisible and does not revealhis true identity to her. He falls in love with her even though his mother Venus isdeathly jealous of the girl’s beauty, and Psyche falls in love with him too. Hewarns her of her cruel and evil sisters, but she is too curious and easily swayedthat she disobeys his commands and eventually severs the ties between them. Heleaves her and she despairs, and seeks revenge on her sisters. She then tries tofind Cupid and eventually decides to go to Venus to grovel before her. Venusloathes the girl and gives her impossible tasks to perform. Psyche receives helpfor all the tasks, including Cupid on the last one, as he decides he still loves her.Finally Jupiter intervenes and says Venus must be okay with her son’s wife. Hemakes Psyche a god, and she and Cupid have a daughter.The old woman ends the story. Not long after, the kidnapped girl, Charite, isrescued by her new husband, Tlepolemus, and the townspeople kill most of thebandits. Lucius is honored and treated well, but he is given to a young boy as acaretaker; the boy is terribly cruel and vile, and is eventually killed by a hugebear.