Apuleius and Antonine Rome

'This impressive, eye-opening book is of the greatest importance to the quickly growing field of Apuleian studies. Readers will be rewarded by its rich and up-to-date set of historical data and bibliographical references, which Keith Bradley has collected into a usable format and interpreted in a manner that is nuanced and logically sound. It is a creative, thoughtful work, based on vast amounts of hard research; I both learned a great deal from it and enjoyed reading it, as it is well written in an elegant style.' -- Benjamin Lee, Department of Classics, Oberlin College 'Apuleius and Antonine Rome is a major contribution to the study of both Apuleius and the social history of North Africa in the second century of our era. The scholarship is impeccable, as usual in Keith Bradley's work, and the writing is clear, direct, and persuasive. I expect the book to be required reading for classicists of any field who are interested in the Antonine age.' -- Julia Gaisser, Department of Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies, Bryn Mawr College

Apuleius and Antonine Rome effectively illustrates how socio-cultural history can be recovered from works of literature.

Apuleius and Antonine Rome features outstanding scholarship by Keith Bradley on the Latin author Apuleius of Madauros and on the second-century Roman world in which Apuleius lived. Bradley discusses Apuleius’ work in the context of social relations (especially the family and household), religiosity in all its diversity and complexity, and cultural interactions between the imperial centre and the provincial periphery.

These essays examine the Apology, the speech Apuleius made when he defended himself on the criminal charge of having enticed a wealthy widow to marry him through magical means; the fragments of his speeches known as the Florida; and the remarkable serio-comic novel Metamorphoses (better known as The Golden Ass). Altogether, Apuleius and Antonine Rome effectively illustrates how socio-cultural history can be recovered from works of literature.