I'm your host Matt Smith and with me today is Associate Professor Rihanna Nevens, Head

of the Department of Languages and Linguistics at Latrobe University.

This is episode C-L-X-X-V-I, the apology of Apuleus.

When Apuleus married his friend's mother, little did he realise that it would lead to

a charge of sorcery, with a raft of seemingly innocent actions from buying a mirror to writing

pretty bad poetry, bought up in front of the courts to prove his wicked intentions.

Unfortunately for his accusers, Apuleus was a skilled orator, educated in the art of

philosophy and highly skilled at slandering his enemies.

He's Rihanna Nevens.

Apuleus was a Latin writer from North Africa.

He lived in the second century, so high empire, I guess we think of him born in the reign

of Hadrian.

I'm actually thinking, good old days, in terms of where you are with empires, during the

time of the good empires, which makes him a really interesting insight into Latin culture.

You could say Greco-Roman culture, because as we'll see he's very proud of knowing so much

about Greek culture, doing that period, and I think it should be fairly obvious to

people who listen to our podcast, but Roman culture is by no means situated solely in Rome

or Italy, by this period.

It's happening all over the Mediterranean world and beyond.

And Apuleus is a good example of the cultural hub of North Africa that exists during this

period.

Okay.

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