Apuleius

©2021 Olle Widhe. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Citation: Barnboken tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning/Barnboken Journal of Children’s Literature Research, Vol. 44, 2021 http://dx.doi. org/10.14811/clr.v44.587 Review/Recension

The contribution deals with the word turbela and its stylistic coloring: after Plautus (meaning 'disturbance') it is attested in the writings of Apuleius and other late authors. Nevertheless, there is no consensus among the researchers concerning its semantic and stylistic characteristics in the Metamorphoses: even if it is a borrowing from Plautus, it has a different meaning ('a crowd') and may not be a colloquialism. In support of it being borrowed, one may refer to Apuleius' fondness for Plautine vocabulary and the testimony of Festus, who also points at the archaic nature of the word. The changing of meaning does not pose a serious problem, as it can be explained by the possibility of a metonymic transfer and Apuleius' avocation of using wordplays and redefining semantic meaning. The article also discusses the spelling issue, evident in many cases of words in-ela. Confusion between abstract nouns in-ela and diminutives in-ella can be discovered early in antiquity, so there is no opportunity to make a distinction between turbela and turbella. The idea of the colloquiality of the suffix-ela and possible diminutive meaning of the word are deemed unjustified: in most instances, the context does not suggest that turbela is to be regarded as a diminutive, and words in-ela are attested in a number of writings where colloquial words would seem improper.

The paper discusses how the meaning 'appearance, figure' of the Latin word filum was developed in the pre-classical writers' works and how the meaning in question was revived in the texts of later authors, especially in the writings of Apuleius. The present meaning is typical of Lucretius, as in his poem On the Nature of Things he regards bodies as an interweaving of atoms and describes them with terms from the weaving field. It was Lucretius whom Apuleius referred to speaking about the nature of daemons: fila corporum (De deo Soc. 11). The use of the word filum regarding human appearance could have developed as a metaphorical transfer from clothing to its owner. For the post-classical period writers this meaning was already unusual, and the word filum was often supplemented by the explicative words corporis or oris. The author makes an assumption that the word filum in reference to the human appearance enjoyed popularity in the post-classical literature due to its archaic color. A significant number of the same type expressions with the word filum in the given meaning (bono filo, decente filo, filo virginali etc.) are also pointing to the fact that these expressions were idiomatic.

Le fonti acquisite dal Boccaccio durante il soggiorno napoletano
suggeriscono l’attribuzione di un valore pragmatico alle sventure della
protagonista dell’Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta. L’opera introspettiva che
colloca in primo piano l’animo ferito della donzella e alle fanciulle è
primariamente indirizzata, palesa l’intento dell’autore di ammonire le
“pietose donne” sulle conseguenze dell’amore smodato. Attraverso la fictio,
Fiammetta adopera la scrittura come forma di redenzione, convertendo la
propria esperienza in exemplum. Ciò dissimula un desiderio di controllo
della donna da parte di Boccaccio, sulla scia del pensiero misogino
medievale, ma che finirà per conferire alla scrittura femminile un nuovo
protagonismo.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the verses Rut. Nam. 1,197–200 and the various scholarly interpretations of them. It proposes that these verses should be read as polyvalent imagery, referring to a wide range of topoi on Rome as well as to a significant number of historical and contemporary Roman authors. This is followed by a more general appeal to allow for the idea of polyvalence more often concerning the interpretation of ancient rhetoric and poetry.

The roots of fantastic literature may be traced back to the remotest antiquity. In the classical Graeco-Roman world, Lucian was arguably the most important and versatile writer of the genre. He produced works in various sub-categories of fantastic and magical fiction: a collection of stories about magic, ghosts, and the supernatural ("The Lovers of Lies"); a travel romance of fabulous voyages and wondrous adventures ("The True Story"); and probably also a fantastic novel about metamorphosis (the lost original of "Lucius or The Ass", which became the model for the "Golden Ass" of Apuleius).

In his works, Lucian mingled his knowledge of classical literature and philosophy with ample materials from the magical folktales of his Syrian homeland, which he must have absorbed in his childhood. The rich treasure of the folk imaginary of the Near East, which would eventually produce the "Thousand and One Nights" and the "Kathasaritsagara", was thus introduced into the Hellenic (and by extension the Western) tradition, cast into an impeccable Atticising style.

Lucian presents his work as a parody and satirical travesty of the genre of fantastic literature. He mocks the authors of fictitious narratives, who string together the most extravagant marvels and yet claim to present accurate reports of full veracity. He also criticises the naïve readers, who let themselves be carried away by such tales and accept their blatant impossibilities. On the other hand, Lucian obviously delights in inventing and narrating all those incredible wonders. Although he pretends to disapprove of the fallacious authors of fantasy, he is himself a born narrator of such tales and unfolds them with great gusto. Thus, the readers may be enchanted by the marvellous images and the imaginative paradoxes and enjoy Lucian’s narratives as genuine and enticing romances of fantasy. In this respect, Lucian achieved a rare accomplishment: he composed parodies of fabulous fiction, which however may be also read as exquisite specimens of fantastic writing per se. Lucian tells an exciting story of marvellous adventures, and simultaneously he ironises its literary tropes and conventions at every turn of the narrative.

Lucian has created memorable fantastic images and conceptions, which forecast some of the most disquieting ideas of modern fiction: Borges' Aleph, the single point in space which collects and reflects all the other points of the universe ("True Story", the mirror on the moon); the strange fate of Kafka's Gregor Samsa, metamorphosed into a grotesque animal but fully retaining his human mind and consciousness (the original of "Lucius"); Gustav Meyrink's Golem, the clay figurine that is magically enlivened and acquires independent movement and action (the tale of the Hyperborean magician in the "Lovers of Lies"); and the Star Wars, waged in outer space between the opposed armies of the Sun and the Moon ("True Story").

The face-to-face interactions of the novel’s protagonist, rarely explored by the scholarship on Metamorphoses, have been recently examined by Adkins, who draws on Critical Discourse Analysis to reveal ‘the use of discourse as a tool of social power’. Being more interested in Lucius’ discursive self-fashioning (and its failures), the scholar pays little attention to the actual linguistic use. Thus the present chapter, by focussing on the pragmatic aspects of language in a given dialogic exchange, aims at offering a more fine-grained examination of Lucius’ verbal behaviour. To this end, I will read the text closely through the lens of im/politeness theory, a methodology designed specifically to describe the interpersonal dynamics of social interactions. The following sections will analyse Lucius’ most prominent conversations reported in the novel (with strangers, intimates, low-status characters and the members of the elite); but for reasons of space, I will leave out his rather complex relationship with Fotis. First this chapter will set out by presenting the theoretical framework of im/politeness studies.

In his long, untranslated treatise De adoratione, Cyril of Alexandria interacts with the mys- teries of Isis in two places. In one place he describes a ritual involving female initiates dressed in linen holding sistra and mirrors, and in another he describes the rotating of torches as a purification ritual, albeit without naming Isis in either. These passages enrich our under- standing of the mysteries of Isis, and of Cyril’s engagement with the cult beyond his purported actions at Menouthis. The passages also suggest why and how Alexandrian Christians engaged in Isiac practices, and show Cyril the bishop constructing a pastoral response to these practices.

Nel presente contributo sono passate in rassegna le reazioni, sotto forma di recensioni e articoli comparsi nei periodici e nelle riviste scientifiche dell'epoca, da parte dei più insigni dantisti a cavallo fra Otto e Novecento nei confronti dell'uscita dei volumi pascoliani di critica dantesca, in particolare Minerva Oscura, Sotto il velame e La mirabile visione. Scopo precipuo dello studio è porre in rilievo convergenze e divergenze delle due grandi correnti della critica dantesca di inizio novecento, la scuola filologica fiorentina e la scuola estetica crociana, di fronte al singolare fenomeno del dantismo pascoliano.

This paper presents a comparison between the intellectual stance and philosophical background of Apuleius and Plutarch, based on some of the accounts of mirabilia (i.e. marvelous tales, phenomena, or objects) of chemical interest contained in their works. The discussion of such mirabilia offers an occasion to shed light on the two philosophers’ views on religious piety, natural philosophical inquiry, and scientific interests. Some of the passages are presented with detailed analyses and novel interpretations

Allegory, folk etymology, direct quotation: these are the elements that make up the backbone of the mythological hermeneutics of Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, a late antique Latin mythographer originally from Vandalic Africa. In his ‘Mythologiarum libri tres’, better known as ‘Mythologiae’, the author makes a selection of fifty classical myths, providing an unprecedented allegorical exegesis permeated with Christian moralism and interspersed with erudite excursuses. The work consists of a commented translation of the twelve myths that make up the third book of the ‘Mythologiae’, linked by the red thread of nefarious love; after a brief introduction, which focuses on the life and production of Fulgentius, an attempt is made, albeit within the limits of his stylistic irregularity, to evaluate his narrative techniques and citation practices. The relationships with the cited auctoritates and the peculiarities of the mythographer’s allegorical approach to the mythical material are also examined, with a look at medieval reception. The commentary notes, on the other hand, aim to explore philological-exegetical issues and the mythic-anthropological background of the fabulae, with particular attention to intertextuality.

Utilizamos aqui IA como  ferramenta para elaborar parte do conteúdo de um livro sobre as principais questões que envolvem a história de Cleópatra, a última rainha do Antigo, complementado por uma pesquisa bibliográfica acadêmica, com indicação de leituras complementares que incluem importantes publicações sobre o tema.

Comprehensive introduction to the study of Ancient Greek Literature within the context of adjacent fields (history of texts, history of Greek Philology, history of the Greek language, history of the Greek world, Greek Religion, Greek Philosophy and Sciences, Greek Art).

Comment, aux série Tintin, Sextus et Albertine et aux territoires de Musk en sa galaxie vient s'ajouter une double série d'Apulée, qui est d'abord celle du carré d'Apulée-Blanché AEIO mais conduit avec l'Âne d'or au carré narratologique de Petitot-Propp qui, appliqué dans la crypte de Moulinsart, tombe sur la mappemonde géopolitque.

The so-called “initiatory scenario”, a traditional pattern that underlies transculturally the rites of initiation, comprises three phases: separation from the community, voyage into the space of the Sacred, and rebirth. The pattern was exploited as a literary framework in ancient epic narratives, from the Babylonian “Epic of Gilgamesh” to the “Odyssey”, works structured around the central experience of descent to the netherworld. Above all, two literary genres make the richest and most consistent use of the initiatory scenario. One one hand, Aristophanic comedies (“Frogs”, “Peace”, “Birds”) involve voyages into otherworlds and supernatural ordeals for the acquisition of a hidden power. On the other hand, the Greco-Roman novels organise the characters’ adventures according to the phases of an initiation and incorporate many incidents which reflect the ordeals of mystic rituals.

The objective of the present chapter is to analyse the polite (and impolite) behaviour of the protagonist of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses in order to present a more nuanced evaluation of his way of socialising with others. Existing accounts of Lucius’ literary characterisation describe him ‘as a tactful man, someone cognisant of the usual rules of decorum’, but whose reckless actions ‘can entirely discredit his socially constructed self.’ (Letainer 2001, 249). On the other hand, scholars tend to stress his awkwardness, gullibility, ignorance, and lack of self-control to argue that, in the first three books of the novel, he is already ‘an ass in waiting’ (Harrison 2015, 14). In the following pages, I will examine how these traits of Lucius become relevant in his interpersonal relations with other characters.