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Apuleius

2nd-century Numidian Latin-language writer, rhetorician and philosopher

  • Fame69.8
  • Momentum14.7
  • Wikipedia14.7K
Source-basedRising
Lived 125–170, aged 45
WritersWriter / Author
  • Wikipedia
    76 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    125–170
    Aged 45
Summary
Updated 2026-09-08

The only complete Latin novel that survived antiquity is about a man who uses magic, gets turned into a donkey, and has to beg a goddess to fix it. Apuleius wrote it in the 2nd century, and also had to stand trial for allegedly using actual magic to seduce a rich widow.

Biography

About

Apuleius was born around 124 in the Berber city of Madauros in the Roman province of Numidia. He studied Platonism in Athens, traveled through Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt, and was initiated into several mystery cults. The most dramatic episode of his life came when he was accused of using magic to win the attention and fortune of a wealthy widow; he defended himself before the proconsul and magistrates in Sabratha and later published the speech as the Apologia. His bawdy picaresque novel the Metamorphoses — also called The Golden Ass — is the only ancient Latin novel to survive intact. It fol…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Apuleius

Apuleius
saidundated
Thus the Phrygians, earliest of all races, call me Pessinuntia, mother of all gods.
— Apuleius, XI.5 (trans. Griffiths, 1975, p. 75). quoted in Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization Vol. I, published
Apuleius
saidundated
And in that day men will be weary of life, and they will cease to think the universe worthy of reverent wonder and of worship.
Apuleius
saidundated
They will no longer love this world around us, this incomparable work of God, this glorious structure which He has built...
Apuleius
saidundated
Darkness will be preferred to light, and death will be thought more profitable than life; no one will raise his eyes to heaven.
Apuleius
saidundated
The pious will be deemed insane, and the impious wise; the madman will be thought a brave man, and the wicked will be esteemed as good.
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
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Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
69.8
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum14.7
Historical24.3
Now attention52.2
Source confidence65.0
Completeness65.0
Global rank
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Receipts

Sources