This collection of nine papers develops around a common thread: the characterisation of various significant figures in Apuleius’ novel. As indicated in the introduction, this book sets out to highlight the complexity and sophistication behind their characterisation. The reader may have high expectations when noting the names of the contributors, who are all leading experts in Apuleius’ novel and – in the case of the editor, L. Graverini, W.H. Keulen, L. Nicolini, S. Panayotakis, S. Tilg and D. van Mal-Maeder – were actively involved in the well-regarded Groningen Commentaries on Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. These expectations are wholly fulfilled on reading the pages of this volume.
After the introduction, where H. provides an overview of the relevant scholarship and summarises the content, the volume is divided into two main sections: Part A, which comprises three chapters devoted to Lucius (the novel's protagonist), and Part B, which contains six papers dealing with other characters. The first chapter, by H., focuses on the progressive characterisation of Lucius throughout Met. 1−3.24, before his transformation into a donkey. H. discusses the protagonist's name, likely inherited from a lost source in Greek on which the Onos also draws, and stresses the importance of his elite status and the rhetorical skills he displays during the Risus Festival; these skills recall Apuleius himself, who might have adapted autobiographical elements to portray Lucius more realistically. As H. cogently argues, Lucius’ defining traits are his curiosity, gullibility, youthful ignorance and lust, which the narrator emphasises through ironic references to epic models, especially Homer and Virgil. Lucius’ base behaviour in Met. 1−3 ultimately anticipates his physical transformation into a donkey.
Tilg's chapter offers a comparison between Lucius the donkey and Lucius the initiate in Book 11, which brings about incongruities on various levels. After his metamorphosis, Lucius suffers from a crisis of identity due to the loss of his human aspect, his voice and his privileged status as a Roman citizen. Tilg observes a contrast between Lucius’ speechlessness and the fact that he can, nevertheless, overhear stories that later he shares with the readers, like the Homeric Odysseus. Lucius’ human nature is comically revealed by the donkey's insatiable appetite for human food and, to a lesser degree, for sex. Both these features, however, become strictly restrained in Met. 11 due to Lucius’ initiations into the mysteries of Isis and Osiris.
Keulen devotes a substantial paper to Lucius’ changeable characterisation in Book 11. Keulen argues for continuity in Lucius’ behaviour even after his initiations, since he does not openly repent of his misdeeds. Although the chastity of Lucius the initiate does not fit with his earlier characterisation, in Book 11 he still does not cease to be intemperate. Keulen shows this through a comparison between Lucius’ eagerness to be initiated and his previous uncontrolled interest in magic and appetite. A central aspect of Lucius’ final profile is clearly his rhetorical talent, through which he gains fame and success in Rome: Lucius, once a curious sophist, eventually becomes a respectable member of Rome's elite. As Keulen suggests, this final metamorphosis might allow for a partial identification with Apuleius himself.
Part B opens with R. May's paper, which looks into the characterisation of Photis, the maidservant of Lucius’ hosts in Hypata. May compares Photis with her less-complex counterpart Palaistra in the Onos, which – like Palaistra herself – is considerably more linear than the Golden Ass. Apuleius bestows upon Photis a sophisticated veneer and turns the merely physical relationship between Loukios and Palaistra in the Onos into a seruitium amoris. May then stresses how in Book 11 Lucius shows no resentment or anger towards Photis, even when he contrasts his former affair with his devotion to Isis.
S. Frangoulidis examines the depiction of Byrrhaena, Lucius’ aunt, and her role in Book 2. Although lacking a comparison with Abroia, i.e. Byrrhaena's double in the Onos, Frangoulidis discusses internal evidence emphasising that Byrrhaena's care for Lucius’ safety and her attempt to dissuade him from meddling with magic serves to curtail, at least to some degree, the dangers of Pamphile's magic.
In the next chapter, Graverini discusses the characterisation of the bandits – figures featuring frequently not only in the Golden Ass but also in the Greek novels – and the old woman who narrates the story of Cupid and Psyche. As in the Greek novels, outlaws are efficient plot-motors; Apuleius depicts them by adopting a lofty literary tone that clashes with their low social standing. Graverini argues that this imperfect parallelism does not imply an outright parody but reflects the way in which Apuleius enriches his prose through sophisticated literary allusions. Graverini then suggests that the old woman's humble status – similarly to that of Lucius the donkey – can be seen as a (self-)ironic reference to the genre of satire.
Nicolini focuses on the figures of Charite, Tlepolemus and Thrasyllus in a narrative cycle that is spread across Books 4−8. Nicolini argues that Apuleius merges two different stories into this cycle and suggests that this may be inferred by observing the varying roles and the different characterisations of Charite and Tlepolemus in Books 4.23−7.14 and 8.1−14. Nicolini's analysis provides significant insight into how Apuleius composed the narrative texture of his novel, aiming to surprise his readers unremittingly by engaging with various models on both a content-based and a stylistic level.
The chapter by Costas and Stelios Panayotakis deals with the characterisation of Psyche's parents, her sisters and Psyche herself. While her parents disappear early in the story, the sisters are portrayed disparagingly by the narrator, the old woman, who contrasts their wicked jealousy with Psyche's innocence, easing their eventual removal from the story. Psyche's profile is, indeed, complex: she can be seen as an allegory of the Platonic soul, and her story bears close resemblance to Lucius’ fate. As the authors aptly observe, the naive Psyche eventually becomes a more resolute figure, but it can hardly be suggested that there is any development in Psyche's attitude by the end of the story.
Lastly, van Mal-Maeder explores the depiction of the gods in Apuleius’ novel. She begins with a methodological remark: characterisation is a matter of discourse and depends on the narrator's disposition towards the characters. Van Mal-Maeder focuses in particular on the humanised portrayal of Venus, represented as a cruel stepmother in the story of Cupid and Psyche, and on the goddess Isis in Book 11. Van Mal-Maeder argues that although the latter is described as a solemn and benevolent deity, the fact that she demands the complete yielding of Lucius makes him look like a client, and this might have amused Apuleius’ irreverent readers.
Perhaps it might have been helpful for the general reader to have included an introductory overview on the relationship between Apuleius’ novel, the Onos that MSS and Photius (Bibl. 129) attribute to Lucian of Samosata and the possible ass-story in Greek on which both the Onos and Apuleius seem to draw (the point is briefly addressed in Graverini's chapter with some bibliographic references, pp. 99−100 and n. 46). The studies are followed by a rich bibliography and a useful general index and an index locorum. The editing and proof-reading of the volume are outstandingly good: pages are virtually free of misprints. The frequent cross-referencing between papers is useful and contributes to the overall sense of unity of the collection. The significant pieces gathered here allow for a fuller appreciation of the profile of several key figures in the Golden Ass and the multi-layered characterisation techniques adopted by Apuleius. This is, therefore, a very welcome addition to the scholarship on the Golden Ass and the ancient novel. Both the editor and the contributors are to be congratulated on the quality of this volume, which experienced researchers and students alike will find of much value.
