The Golden Ass by Apuleius free essay sample

Critiques 2nd Cent. A.D. bawdy, satirical odyssey of hero worshiper of goddess Isis. Apuleius was a North African Roman citizen of the second century A.D.; he was a pagan. He firmly believed that his worship of the goddess Isis was valid pursuit of the One True Faith. In his classic picaresque adventure, The Golden Tale of the Ass (aka The Golden Ass), Apuleius contrived to present a comic odyssey with a moral purpose designed to convince readers of Isis value as a goddess deserving of devotion. All odysseys lead to home eventually. In The Golden Ass, Apuleius designs a spiritual odyssey for his hero, the man-turned-ass Lucius; all of Lucius beastly travails lead, eventually, to the homecoming of its hero into the mindful love of the Goddess (248): O Lucius, what a happy and blessed man are you, whom the august deity has selected for such direct honors . . . the day that you have so constantly desired is