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On successful completion of this module, students will have a good understanding of the cultural and literary developments that characterize the Second Sophistic, and more particularly of the work of Apuleius; and will have developed a range of skills appropriate to the interpretation of this varied material.
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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LITERATURE AND LEARNING IN THE SECOND CENTURY AD: APULEIUS AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES
