Metamorphosis of Apuleius, the Golden Ass, Possible Inspiration for Pinocchio

What can we learn from reflecting on Metamorphosis, or
Golden Ass of Apuleius?
In this ancient Latin novel, Lucius attempts, through magic,
to turn himself into a bird, but instead turns himself into a
donkey. In the final chapter, with the help of the Egyptian
goddess Isis, he returns to his human form.
What can we learn about the ancient world from this
novel?
Was this the inspiration for the modern story about
Pinocchio, the puppet who also was turned into a donkey?

Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video. Feel free to follow along in the
PowerPoint script we uploaded to SlideShare.

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The wildly popular and only Latin novel that has survived intact was
Metamorphosis, more commonly known as the Golden Ass, was written
by Apuleius, born in the year 125 AD in Roman North Africa, not far from
the future birthplace of St Augustine. The Golden Ass was popular both in
the ancient world and in the Middle Ages, it was quite risqué, quite
ribald, with many stories within stories, with moral lessons sprinkled in
here and there. We are reflecting on this book because of its influence on
much later literature, including many ancient works, and later the plays
of Shakespeare, and the original Pinocchio, and perhaps the famous short
story by Kafka, also named Metamorphosis, where an unfortunate young
man wakes up one night to discover he has mysteriously been
transformed into a giant beetle.

John Price's Latin Golden Ass, 1883 / Pinocchio, by Enrico Mazzanti, 1883

The basic plot of the book is our young man Lucius spies a witch who has learned to
transform herself into various types of birds. When she is gone, he tries out the
same potions, but by grabbing the wrong flask, he is turned into a donkey, not a
talking donkey, but a braying donkey who has kept his human intelligence and
human tastes. Though there are scattered penitential regrets, mostly our donkey is
able to spy on the crimes and indiscretions of both robbers and cheating lovers to
provide the reader with many titillating tales. In the final chapter, the goddess Isis
appears to him in a dream, telling him what he needs to do to be transformed back
into a human.
The Golden Ass also gives us a peek into ordinary lives in the ancient world. Magic
was just as real to many in the ancient world as UFOs are to many in the modern
world. Also, life was grinding and relentlessly cruel to those who toiled on farms and
as craftsmen, and both travelers and villagers feared the bandits and brigands who
infested the countryside.

Zeus turning
Lycaon into a
wolf,
by Hendrik
Goltzius, 1589
From
Wikipedia
page on
werewolves.

A frog changes into
a princess, by
Viktor Vasnetsov,
1918
From Wikipedia
page on
Therianthropy.

The Kelpie, by
Herbert James
Draper, 1913
This is a
painting of a
water spirit
who takes on
human form.
From
Wikipedia
page on
Therianthropy.

St Augustine in his book, the City of God, mentions
both the role of magic and the Golden Ass. He said
that when he traveled in Italy he heard of magical
metamorphoses in one district in that country, saying:
“Landladies conversant with these evil arts were in
the habit of giving drugs and cheese to travelers” so
“their guests were turned into pack animals on the
spot and were used to carry commodities of all kinds.
Afterwards, when they had finished their jobs, they
were restored to their original selves, yet their minds
did not become animal but were kept rational and
human,” just as in the Golden Ass by Apuleius.
Surprising to us, St Augustine then simply states that
“this may be either fact or fiction.” St. Augustine by Peter Paul Rubens,
painted 1636 - 1638

St Augustine states that “stories of this kind
are either untrue or at least so extraordinary
that we’re justified in doubting them.”
Although “God can do anything he pleases,”
demons can only do that which “God permits,
and God’s judgements are often inscrutable,
but never unjust.”
“Demons, of course, do not create real
entities, and if they do indeed perform deeds
of metamorphosis, they only appear to
transform beings created by the true God, to
make them seem to be what they are not.”
I am quoting this to emphasize that many in
the ancient world thought magic was real.
Saint Augustine, by Carlo Cignani, 1600’a

Lucius finds lodging at the house of the miserly Milos, who is so
fearful of robbers that he refuses to buy chairs and tableware. He
is warned by his aunt that Milos is married to Pamphile, a
seducing dangerous witch. But Lucius insists on returning to his
lodging, thinking to himself: “Make a beeline for his maidservant
Photis. She is attractive, she has amusing ways, and she is quite
sharp. Last night when you retired to sleep, she genially escorted
you to your room, fussed over you, tucked you in quite
affectionately, kissed your forehead, and showed by her face her
unwillingness to leave. In fact, she kept halting and looking back.”

The Witches,
woodcut by
Hans Baldung,
1508
Preparation for
the Witches'
Sabbath, by
David Teniers
the Younger,
1600’s
Wikimedia has
an interesting
description of
this painting.

When our traveler arrives back at his
lodging, he finds the maidservant stirring
dinner in a pot. Lucius remarks, “My dear
Photis, how lusciously and attractively you
wiggle that wee pot, and your bottom with
it! How lucky a fellow would be if you let
him stick his finger in, he’d be on top of the
world!”
Photis replies, “Keep clear, poor boy, keep
clear as far as possible from this stove of
mine. If once my little flame shoots out and
as much as sears you, you will be all ablaze
inside, and I will be the only one who can
put your fire out. The spices I stir in are
sweet. I’m an expert at pleasurably shaking
a bed as a pot.”
Venus and Adonis, by Titian, 1554

Gentle reader, we learn that perhaps this early Latin
novel has survived because it is also a romance
novel, and this romance does last for a dozen risqué
and ribald pages, but Lucius’ curiosity about
witchcraft ends it abruptly. Indeed, those in the
ancient world knows how dangerous magic could be,
the Old Testament has many prohibitions against
magic.

A painting in the
Rila Monastery in
Bulgaria,
condemning
witchcraft and
traditional folk
magic, early 1800's

We read in Exodus: “You shall not permit a sorceress
to live,” and in Leviticus, “You shall not practice
augury or witchcraft,”
and after the long string of awful Thou shalt not
uncover the nakedness of distant and near relatives:
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard
shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with
stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
And in Deuteronomy:
“There shall not be found among you anyone who
burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone
who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur,
or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a
wizard, or a necromancer.”
Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law,
by Rembrandt, 1659

Lucius Grows Long Ears, Hooves, and a Tail
Pinocchio and Candlewick are transformed into donkeys, 1902 illustration by Carlo Chiostri and A Bongini

The Golden Ass could be associating magic with illicit
intimacy, or it could simply be telling us that both
dominated the ancient imagination. But Lucius does
not fear magic, he begs Photis to allow him to spy on
her mistress as she changes her form, and Photis
relents, as they spy on her through some cracks in
the walls.

The witch “Pamphile first divested herself of all
her clothing. She then opened a small casket and
took from it several small boxes. She removed the
lid from one box, and extracted the ointment
from it,” “smearing it all over herself from the tips
of her toes to the crown of her head. She next
held a long and private conversation with the
lamp, and proceeded to flap her arms and legs
with a trembling motion. As she gently moved
them up and down, soft feathers began to sprout,
and sturdy wings began to grow. Her nose
became curved and hard, and her nails became
talons. In this way, Pamphile became an owl; she
uttered a plaintive squawk as she tried out her
new identity” as she flew out the window.”
Lucius spies witch transforming into a
vulture, by Jean de Bosschère, 1947

Lucius views this, finds that it is not that difficult, so
he then begs Photis to borrow the magic potion so
he, too, can fly high above the ground as a bird. So,
she takes a box out of the small casket, and Lucius
likewise strips and rubs the ointment all over his
body.

Lucius remembers, “I then flapped my arms up
and down, imitating the movements of a bird. But
no down and no sign of feathers appeared.
Instead, the hair on my body was becoming
coarse bristles, and my tender skin was hardening
into hide. There were no longer five fingers at the
extremities of my hands, for each was
compressed into one hoof. From the base of my
spine protruded an enormous tail. My face
became mishappen, my mouth widened, my
nostrils flared open, my lips became pendulous,
and my ears huge and gristly. The sole consolation
I could see in this wretched transformation was
the swelling of my penis, though now I could not
embrace Photis.”
portrait of Apuleius flanked by the
witch Pamphile changing into an owl.

Lucius was distraught, but he could only pout and bray, he
could not talk. Photis was distraught, Photis had picked the
wrong box! But no fear, all Lucius needed to do to return
to human form was to eat some roses, so Photis led him to
the stable, she would venture outside the next morning to
find her little donkey some roses to chew. But in the
middle of the night, they were interrupted by: ROBBERS!
Robbers who discovered that Milo had so much loot that
they needed to also steal Milo’s donkeys and horse to help
carry it off.

Pinocchio and Candlewick are
transformed into donkeys, 1902
illustration by Carlo Chiostri and
A Bongini

One overarching theme is how randomly
cruel life can be, especially in the ancient
world. Our little donkey Lucius is terrified
when his fellow ass collapses under the
weight of his load, and is unable to get up.
Our author tells us, “the robbers drew a
sword, cut his hamstrings right through,
dragged him a little way off the road, and
hurled him still breathing over the top of the
cliff headlong into the nearest valley below.
As I reflected on the fate of my wretched
comrade-in-arms, I decided to renounce guile
and deceit, and to show myself a good ass to
my masters,” especially since he overheard
that they were close to their hideout.

We are skipping over several stories within stories, the most
notable is the story about Psyche and Cupid. The robbers had
kidnapped a bride at a wedding they interrupted, killing the
groom, but in this tale the robbers never rape their victims, which
they probably would have done in real life. But once they reach
their camp, after a meal and a sleep the robbers go out to pillage
some villages, leaving behind the hag who keeps their camp, and
the donkey and the girl. The hag, to distract her, tells her the long
story of Psyche and Cupid, which takes up the middle of novel,
this is the story that CS Lewis retells in his book, Till We Have
Faces.

Sufferings of Lucius, Our Poor Little Donkey
The robbers return, load
up our poor donkey with
loot, and drive him so
hard he trips over rocks,
causing him to injure his
legs and hoof. The robbers
show no patience, asking,
“How long are we to
waste our time feeding
this broken-down ass now
that he is lame as well?”

This frightens him, and after they arrive in camp and
the robbers depart, our donkey tries to make a run
for it, but the hag pulls on his halter trying to hold
him back. The commotion alerts the pretty hostage,
she jumps on his back and they take off.

As they flee, she strokes him and
promises, saying: “What dishes I will
serve up to you! First, I shall lovingly
comb this mane of yours, and adorn it
with my childhood trinkets. After curling
the hair on your brow, I shall part it
neatly. Your tail, which is all matted up
and spiky because no one has washed it, I
shall spruce up and make it glossy.” This
encourages the donkey to gallop, but
they are caught by the robbers, and
when they return, they find the hag
hanging from a tree.
Olga Fersen on a donkey, by Karl Brullov, 1835

The robbers decide they
cannot trust them, one
robber exclaims: “The
ass, which is always
bone-idle, eats us out of
house and home, and
now pretends to be
lame, took flight with
the girl. You should
accordingly decide to
slit his throat tomorrow,
and sew the girl naked
inside his belly, since he
would rather have her
than us.” The Fable of the Miller, His Son, and the Donkey, by Elihu Vedder, 1868

Robbers Elect a New Leader of Their Gang
Robbers Attacking Travellers, by Johann Baptist Kirner, 1836

The gang had lost several members in their raids, and
they needed to build up their numbers, so they
welcomed a new member into their gang. He
impressed the gang when he cut open his jacket
lining to contribute several thousand gold coins to
the gang’s treasury. He claimed to be Haemus the
Thracian, leader of the gang that once terrorized all
of Macedonia. He talked a good game, and they
elected him as their leader.

Our new leader was not fond of killing the girl.
He argued: “Robbers with good sense should
consider their own profit above all else, even
revenge.” “If you sew the girl in the ass and
finish her off, you will merely vent your
annoyance on her, and gain no profit. My
alternative proposal is that she be taken to
some town and sold there; a young girl like this
one will fetch quite a high price. I myself have a
long acquaintance with some brothel-keepers,
and I imagine that one will be willing to pay
many talents for this girl to be employed in a
brothel, a suitable price for such high birth.”
Travelers Attacked by Robbers, 1600's

This is a recurring theme in ancient literature, how women
are often kidnapped or are enslaved as concubines after
their side loses a battle, and how they are compelled to
make the best of their situation. For example, in Homer’s
Iliad, the Greeks and Trojans battle over Helen, who is
abducted from Greece by Prince Paris of Troy. The Iliad
itself is about a squabble between Greek kings over
captured concubines. We even see this in the Odyssey,
where Odysseus is compelled to be the sexual partner of
several goddesses and witches.

https://youtu.be/DpmuhZJUJn0
https://youtu.be/bGHHD7XTvr0
https://youtu.be/ynIx-AVI2f8
https://youtu.be/bUW4ZT9zpt8

After some consideration, to the relief of the
girl and our donkey, the robbers “loosed the
girl from her bonds. “As soon as she had set
eyes on that young man, and heard mention
of the brothel and its keeper, Charite began
to perk up and to smile all over her face.” Our
donkey did not approve, “’My natural
reaction was to criticize the whole sex when I
observed this girl, who had pretended to be
in love with her young suitor and to long for a
chaste marriage, welcomed the prospect of a
foul and filthy brothel.’ At that moment, the
whole female sex and its morals lay perilously
poised on the judgement of an ass.” Charitë embraces her lover while Lucius,
within the cave, looks on.

The dinner wine that night was drugged,
and when all the robbers were all fast
asleep, this new leader bound them up
in chains, and in the morning, he put the
girl on the donkey’s back and returned to
the girl’s hometown. Our donkey Lucius
remembers, “What a parade was on
view, men and women, young and old,
and a truly unforgettable sight:” the
former bride, “riding in triumph on an
ass!” It was now the robbers’ turn to be
run through with the sword and then
rolled off the cliff.
Medieval robbers, kill a passenger

But Lucius was still a donkey, and he was put to work
grinding grain, and his keepers abused him, and the
stallions kicked him. Nobody is kind to an ass.

Final Sufferings of Lucius, Our Donkey
Lucius was once again sold to a
catamite priest, one of the
“meanest dregs of society, those
people who parade through the
streets of towns banging cymbals,
shaking castanets, and carrying
round the Syrian goddess soliciting
alms.” The auctioneer even said,
“This is no ass you see; he’s gelded,
compliant in any service. He doesn’t
bite or lash out. You could believe
that in this ass’ skin there lurks an
unassuming human being.”

During their journeys, our donkey
overheard a curious story of a
promiscuous wife whose poor
husband came home unexpected.
This clever woman “freed the lover
from her close embraces, and
craftily hid him in an empty corn-jar
half-buried in a corner. Then she
opened the door, greeting her
husband sharply, ‘Why are you not
attending to your usual work to
ensure our livelihood,” “while I
work desperately day and night?”
Wife and her illicit lover near the tub, illustration.

The husband then says he has found a buyer for their
forever empty large corn-jar who will pay six denarii,
but then she announces that she has found someone
to buy it for seven denarii, and what is more, the
buyer is right now inside the jar inspecting it!

The lover then emerges, complaining that the jar is
very old, has several cracks, and is quite dirty in
spots. So, the husband then climbs in the jar to
inspect and clean it. Lucius, our donkey, recalls the
tale, “That handsome lover-boy laid the workman’s
wife face down over the jar, bent over her,” and had
his way with her. “Meanwhile she thrust her hand
into the jar, and with the wit of a lady of easy virtue
made a fool of her husband. With her finger she
pointed out various places that needed cleaning,
until the job was completed both above and below.
She took the seven denarii, while the hapless
workman had to put the jar on his shoulders and
carry it to the adulterer’s lodging.” Charitë embraces her lover while Lucius,
within the cave, looks on.

Lucius remembers, “I myself now
gratefully recall my existence as an ass, for
when I was concealed in the ass’ covering
and was tried by various fortunes, I gained
a knowledge of many things, though
admittedly I was less wise.”
But after Lucius was sold once again to a
baker, he became a participant in
exposing the lover of his cheating wife.
When the husband went to a friend’s
house for dinner, the wife welcomed her
young lover “with a shower of kisses.” But
when he came home early, she hid her
lover beneath a large wooden tub.
Wife and her illicit lover near the tub, illustration.

She asked her husband why he came
home so early, why he seemed so
depressed. He replied, “I just could
not bear the disgraceful, outrageous
behavior of that adulterous wife of
his, so I cleared off.” She just could
not resist, she insisted that he tell
her the whole story. His friend
surprised her by coming home
unexpectedly, she hid her lover in a
laundry wicker basket, that
unfortunately had clothes bleached
with sulfur, which made him sneeze.

Just at this moment our dutiful
donkey tells us that he was
“passing by the tub when he
saw the tips of the adulterer’s
fingers.” “He stamped on them
with his hoof,” “and the
unbearable pain made the
adulterer shout in pain and
push the bin aside,” “revealing
the character of that infamous
woman.”

The husband then punished the boy and then separated from his
wife. After that, the estranged woman got her revenge by
arranging for the hanging death of her husband, and Lucius, our
unfortunate ass, was sold several times again.
This is a pattern in these ribald stories, murder often follows
cheating. The prevalence of bandits and violence in these stories
may reflect the fact that in the provinces and countryside of
much of the ancient world there wasn’t the law and order like we
are accustomed to today, and that sometimes existed in the
ancient capital cities, the boondocks of the ancient world was
more like the wild, wild West.

An Attack by
Bandits,
by Pieter van
Bloemen, 1715

Last Least Abusive Owner of Our Donkey

The last owner of Lucius, our donkey, was a prosperous
baker and confectioner, who owned two brother slaves
who needed a donkey to carry their cuts of meat and
baked goods to be sold at various markets. They were in
the habit of preparing lavish meals with many leftovers left
on the table. At first our darling donkey would break into
the house after everyone had gone to bed and snack at the
leftovers, but each night he ate more and more, so much
more that everyone was suspecting that the other was
helping himself to too many seconds.

What about our feasting donkey? He
tells us, “I was feasting on this generous
fare, and waxing fat on this abundance
of human food. My body had now filled
out to a generous plumpness, my hide
had become juicily soft and greasy, and
my coat had a handsome sheen.” Which
was suspicious, since the two brothers
noticed that he had not touched his
hay.

They spied on the dinner table, and
“were astonished at the spectacle of
an ass as gourmet, and they split their
sides with uncontrollable laughter.”
They told the master, who laid all
manner of sweets and breadstuffs on
the table, and our donkey not only ate
that up, but he also drank sweet wine
mixed with honey. They were amazed
that they could teach this donkey to
recline at the table and wink to
demand a refill of his drink, but Lucius
pretended he could not learn any
other neat tricks, so they would not
become too suspicious.

The word got around the
village, people would say, “That
man keeps an ass as a
companion and guest at table.
The creature wrestles, and
dances, and understands
human language, and shows his
feelings by motions of the
head.” Gentle reader, you will
be distressed to know that one
dysfunctional older lady even
desired carnal relations with
our donkey, even bribing the
keeper of the stable at night!

When the master learned of these demented
diversions, he decided to book his donkey for a
public show, booking a lady of low repute with her
own long back story of deception, adultery, and
abuse, which of course Lucius recounts at length.
The show at the theater begins a stage constructed
to resemble Mount Ida of Homer.

The show began with “boys
and girls in the first flower of
blooming youth embarking on
the Greek Pyrrhic dance.”
Many maidens and boys
marched in costume
representing the gods and
goddesses of Greek and
Roman mythology.
Venus with a Mirror, by Titian, 1555

Next the goddess of love, “Venus, took center stage to
great acclamation, smiling sweetly. She was
surrounded by a throng of the happiest children; you
would have sworn that those little boys whose skins
were smooth and milk-white were genuine Cupids
who had just flown in from sky or sea. They looked
the part with their tiny wings, miniature arrows, and
their gleaming torches as they lit the way for their
mistress as though she were en route to a wedding
banquet.” “Venus, with restrained swinging of the hips
began to advance, her refined movements matching
the soft sound of the flutes.” Then the poor girl of
lowly repute was brought in by a soldier, lain on
“nuptial couch, stuffed with masses of feathers, and
adorned with a coverlet of silk.”
The Birth of Venus, by William-Adolphe
Bouguereau, 1879

What did our dutiful donkey think about all this?
“Shame at the prospect of public copulation, and
disgust at being besmirched by this foul female
criminal, afflicted me, but I was in an agony of
torment through fear of death.” His keepers thought
him tame and were distracted by the show, the
donkey edged towards the gate, “taking off at a full
gallop, covering six miles at top speed.”
After reaching the Aegean Sea, our distressed
donkey remembers: “I chose a secluded beach
where I stretched out and rested my weary body in
the bosom of softest sand, close to the spray thrown
up by the waves. The sun’s chariot had by now bent
its way past the last turning point of the day; I
surrendered to the silence of the evening, and
sweet sleep descended on me.

Perhaps our donkey had read
Exodus, immediately following
the verse condemning magic we
read:
“Whoever lies with a beast shall
be put to death.”
And there are prohibitions against
this in Leviticus, the topic has a
Wikipedia page under Zoophilia.
Moses receives the Ten Commandments,
by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, 1537

Metamorphosis and Salvation of Lucius
Our doleful donkey on the beach says
that “a sudden fear aroused me about
the first watch of the night. At that
moment I beheld the full moon rising
from the sea with waves gleaming with
special brightness.” “It seemed that
fate had now had her fill of my
grievous misfortunes, and was offering
hope of deliverance, however delayed,
so I decided to address a prayer to the
venerable image of the goddess
appearing before my eyes.”

Our donkey prays, “Queen of heaven,”
“with this feminine light of yours you
brighten every city and nourish the
luxuriant seeds with your moist fire
bestowing your light intermittently
according to the wandering paths of
the sun.” “Let this be the full measure
of my toils and hazards, rid me of this
grizzly four-footed form, restore me to
the sight of my kin, make me again
the Lucius that I was, but if I offended
some deity who continues to oppress
me with implacable savagery, at least
allow me to die, since I cannot
continue to live.”
Temple of Isis in Pompeii, Italy

This reference is no doubt is to Homer’s Odyssey
where the god Poseidon prevents Odysseus from
returning home for several decades of
misadventures. As you remember in the tale, the
Cyclops Odysseus blinds to escape his cave is a son of
Poseidon.

Constantin Hansen, Odysseus in Cave of Polyphemus, painted 1835

Arnold Böcklin - Odysseus and Polyphemus, painted 1896

Our donkey remembers, “These were
the prayers which I poured out
supporting them with cries of
lamentation. But then sleep enveloped
and overpowered by wasting spirit as I
lay upon that couch of sand. Scarcely
had I closed my eyes, when suddenly
from the mist of the sea, a divine figure
arose revealing features worthy of
veneration even by the gods.”
Statue of Isis, by Ferdinand Faivre, around 1900

Roman statue of Isis, 1st or 2nd century AD
Lucius has an extended discussion of her
majestic appearance. She answers, “Here I
am, Lucius, roused by your prayers. I am the
mother of the world of nature, mistress of all
the elements first-born in this realm of time. I
am the loftiest of deities, queen of departed
spirits, foremost of heavenly dwellers, the
single embodiment of all gods and
goddesses.” “The whole world worships this
single godhead under a variety of shapes and
liturgies and titles.”

This recalls the god of the Stoic philosophers, who
describe a Zeus who seems to be a monotheistic
god. The technical term is henotheistic, where all
gods are manifestations of the one true God. For
Apuleius, this transcendent god is not the Greek
god Zeus, but the Egyptian goddess Isis. Unlike
Zeus, Isis can control the fates of men.

Statue of Zeus,
by Maarten van
Heemskerck,
1572

The goddess Isis responds, “I am here out of pity
for your misfortunes. I’m here to lend you kindly
support. End now your weeping, abandon your
lamentation, set aside your grief, for through my
Providence your day of salvation is now dawning.”
She instructs him to join the religious celebration in
town the next day, get close as if you intend to kiss
the priest with the garland of roses, then “gently
detach the roses. At once, then, shrug off the skin
of this most hateful of animals which has long been
abominable in my sight. Do not be fearful,” as “I am
also appearing to my priest as he sleeps, instructing
him what to do.” Lucius takes human form, illustration of
Apuleius Metamorphoses, Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana in Rome.

The goddess Isis continues, “What you must
carefully remember and keep ever locked
deep in your heart is that the remaining
course of your life until the moment of your
last breath is pledged to me, for it is only
right that all your future days be devoted to
the one whose kindness has restored you to
the company of men. Your future life will be
blessed, and under my protection I will bring
you fame” and long life. “but if you deserve
to win my divine approval by diligent service,
you will come to know that I alone can
prolong your life, even here on earth, beyond
the years appointed by your destiny.”
Goddess Isis from King’s Tomb in Thebes

When comparing this salvation story of Isis to the salvation story
of Moses and the Jews we notice one major difference. You
sacrifice to the ancient gods to appease them so they protect you
from harm, and perhaps so they will bring you prosperity. You
also ask these boons of the God of Moses, but the Almighty God
is more concerned with whether you love your neighbor as
yourself, and whether you Love God completely, whether you
seek truth and virtue. We do not find any mention of Isis
explicitly compelling Lucius to live a godly life, this is only implied,
and there certainly is no detailed instructions on how we should
live a godly life like we find in Scriptures.

The major difference between this description of the cult of Isis
and Stoic philosophy is that the Stoics, who have greatly
influenced Christianity, do not mention religious rites at all, all
they care about is how to live a virtuous godly life, how you
should love your neighbor, and how you should Love God, whom
they name either God of Zeus.
Scholars suggest that this book may have the most accurate and
detailed description of the religious rites and festivals of the
goddess Isis that has survived the ancient world.

https://youtu.be/m4mcP2F9c4w
https://youtu.be/Dhd543kov-E
https://youtu.be/0qHpReZYhv4
https://youtu.be/zAAal5p8AX8

The next day transpired as the goddess predicted
in Lucius’ dream: “The priest was astonished how
this task materialized,” “he abruptly stretched out
his right hand unprompted and dangled the
garland before my very face.” “My heart was
beating wildly as I seized with greedy mouth the
garland of beautiful roses.” Immediately “my
animal form deserted me. First, my unsightly
bristles disappeared, then my thick skin thinned
out, my fat belly contract contracted,” my hoofs
were transformed into toes and feet, “my long
neck shrank, my face and head became round, my
donkey ears resumed their earlier modest shape,”
and my tail totally disappeared.” Lucius is returned to human form. From
an Illustration by Jean de Bosschère.

DISCUSSING THE SOURCES
All of the surviving manuscripts are derivative from one main
manuscript, which is apparently substantially preserved, so this is
yet another highly influential ancient work that almost perished.
The author Apuleius says the Golden Ass was derived from a
Greek manuscript, with many Latin additions. We have excerpts
from Lucian, he was likely the author.
Also, in our blog we have several other ribald stories we cut from
the video to keep its length manageable, some are in this
presentation, but there are some additional stories.

To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
• Script PDF file
• Blog
• Amazon Bookstore
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Metamorphosis of Apuleius, the Golden Ass, Possible Inspiration for Pinocchio

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