Apuleius

Apuleius was born around 124 CE in Madauros, a Roman colony in North Africa in what is now Algeria. He studied at Carthage and Athens, traveled widely throughout the ancient world, and was initiated into several mystery cults, experiences that would deeply inform his literary and philosophical work. He was a charismatic public speaker and philosopher who attracted both admirers and enemies. Most famously, he was put on trial for winning the affections of a wealthy older widow, Pudentilla, with her family alleging he had used magic to seduce her. His defense speech, the Apologia, survives and provides a vivid self-portrait of a learned, witty, and somewhat vain man who was utterly at home in the intellectual culture of the Roman Empire. This author hub collects 1 work in the Canon Compass ranking, led by The Golden Ass.