Apuleius' The Golden Ass: Issues Surrounding Magic

I. Types of Magic

A) Love Spells (used by women)

Ex. Pamphile's quest for young lover; the guard's story: witches, weasels, stealing of body parts shown as important

B) Divination by means of the dead (who will give info)

Ex. guard's story

[Types of Necromancy:

1. biaiothanatoi- those dead by violence

2. ahoroi- those dead before their time

3. ataphioi- those who are unburied]

C) Use of inanimate objects

1) Principle of Sympathy

ex. small and large flame between lamp and sun in Pamphile's predictions

2) Principle of Contagion

ex. hair of lover needed for Pamphile's love spells

D) Dreams

II. Issues of Gender Present in Text (often stereotypes from other literature)

A) Women

1) Text suggests if women do magic, it is negative magic

2) Women do magic against men

3) magic is sex driven (evil women are promiscuous and never satisfied)

B) Men

1)Text suggests male stupidity, i.e. getting into predicaments out of lust

~~~~ It is interesting to note Gager, page 244, "J. Winkler observed that in literary texts, the clients are usually female, while the experts to whom they resort for help are male. But the tablets show a preponderance of men in pursuit of women- just the opposite of the literary portrait." Hummmm~~~~~~

III) Is the Magic in the story "real"? Is it supposed to be "real"?

A) Magic is very real to Lucius, however he was open-minded throughout the whole story, does magic even affect the non-believer?

B)What do we think about payment for divination and initiations ?

C) What is the importance of narrative and pairs of stories?

Sorry these are late. These are the notes from Friday's discussion 2/2/01

They're a little chaotic.

Magic depicted by women

* Negative connotation

* Vs. Literature which shows men were actually involved in most

documented magic.

* Magos, Egyptian priest

Women are sex driven

* Good women are not dynamic

Women in "Golden Ass":

* permiscuous/lustful

* irresistable

Men were depicted as gullible, demasculatedand overpowered by women

Restless Spirits/Undead

* bioiothanatoi-death by violence

* ahoroi-dead before their time

* ataphioi-unbuerried

Lucius becomes a valid priest in the end giving up

* meat

* wine

* sex

- requires payment

Take notice to Lucius performing a valid/noble position as servent to isis

while other priests in "The Golden Ass" were typically fraudulent

Pamphile's Love spell

* Chanting of spells

* Burning/twisting of hairs (law of contaigen)

-emulates the idea of buring with lust

* pours liquid over entrails

* She is alone on consecrated ground

* Manipulation of Gods

I tried to put these in pseudo chronological order, sorry about the spelling.