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This module seeks to locate the literary and philosophical output of Apuleius of Madaura (c. AD 125-c. 180) in the context of the cultural movement known as the Second Sophistic. While the main focus of the module is on Apuleius himself, it thus also considers other key intellectual figures of the period. Among the texts examined in detail are Apuleius’ Apologia, his speech of defence while on trial on a charge of practising magic, and his Metamorphoses or Golden Ass, the only Latin novel to survive complete. Special attention is devoted to the application of modern literary theory to the Metamorphoses, and to Apuleius’ peculiar contribution to Middle Platonism, namely his development of Socratic theology and classification of the ‘daemon’.
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