Lucius Apuleius 'The Golden Ass'
Apuleius, Lucius. "From The Golden Ass." The Portable Roman Reader. Ed. Basil Davenport. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979. 619-641. Print. In "Cupid and Psyche," which constitutes a part of "The Golden Ass," Lucius Apuleius recounts a tale disconnected from the main protagonists about a young woman named Psyche and her relationship with Cupid, teaching of both the dangers of curiosity and false appearances. Apuleius relates that, "Psyche, meantime, aware of her loveliness, had no fruit thereof. All people regarded and admired, but none sought her in marriage.... And the king, supposing that the gods were angry, inquired of the oracle of Apollo, and Apollo answered him thus: 'Let the damsel be placed on the top of a certain mountain.... Look not
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“Cupid and Psyche in Renaissance Painting Before Raphael”. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 42 (1979): 104–121. Web. In "Cupid and Psyche in Renaissance Painting Before Raphael," Luisa Vertova focuses on a comparison of the depiction of the events of "Cupid and Psyche" presented by various illustrations, but begins the piece by arguing for the symbolism presented by Apuleius's original work. Vertova states that, according to mythographer Fulgentius Planciades, Psyche's native city represents the world. She then proceeds to relate that, "...Planciades identifies... [Psyche's] royal parents with god and matter respectively; and her two elder sisters with the flesh and with free-will. Psyche herself is compared with Adam, on the grounds that both had to be punished for the sin of disobedient curiosity" (Vertova 104-105). The article appears to be well-written in regards to its main focus of examining works of art, but that information is irrelevant for my purposes as I need only focus on her brief examination of Apuleis's piece. This information is not examined particularly in-depth, but it is interesting and may help support an essay arguing that Apuleius was influenced by these religious concepts when he wrote the piece, or that he deliberately included the symbolism to enhance the moral lesson of his
“Cupid and Psyche in Renaissance Painting Before Raphael”. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 42 (1979): 104–121. Web. In "Cupid and Psyche in Renaissance Painting Before Raphael," Luisa Vertova focuses on a comparison of the depiction of the events of "Cupid and Psyche" presented by various illustrations, but begins the piece by arguing for the symbolism presented by Apuleius's original work. Vertova states that, according to mythographer Fulgentius Planciades, Psyche's native city represents the world. She then proceeds to relate that, "...Planciades identifies... [Psyche's] royal parents with god and matter respectively; and her two elder sisters with the flesh and with free-will. Psyche herself is compared with Adam, on the grounds that both had to be punished for the sin of disobedient curiosity" (Vertova 104-105). The article appears to be well-written in regards to its main focus of examining works of art, but that information is irrelevant for my purposes as I need only focus on her brief examination of Apuleis's piece. This information is not examined particularly in-depth, but it is interesting and may help support an essay arguing that Apuleius was influenced by these religious concepts when he wrote the piece, or that he deliberately included the symbolism to enhance the moral lesson of his