Awe and Opposition: the Ambivalent Presence of Lucretius in Apuleius' Metamorphoses

Abstract

shared the admiration for Lucretius with elder contemporaries like Fronto and Gellius. While the enthusiasm of both Fronto and Gellius for the poet Lucretius was motivated by the search for surprising word choice and remarkable diction, Apuleius' reading of De Rerum Natura went deeper. His admiration of the sublime poetry of Lucretius is combined with a critical attitude towards the philosophical message of Lucretius' poem. As others have shown, many literary allusions to Lucretius in Apuleius' De deo Socratis occur in a context in which Apuleius is opposed to the philosophical message of the Epicurean poet.
Allusions to Lucretius in Apuleius' Metamorphoses have not been studied systematically. In this essay some striking examples are presented. It is argued that in many of the numerous Lucretian allusions in his novel Apuleius often is engaged in a subtle discussion with the much admired poet.

Maaike Zimmerman (emerita university teacher and researcher in classics at the University of Groningen) has since 1992 led the research group project Groningen Commentaries on Apuleius (GCA), which was concluded in 2004 with the publication of the seventh volume in the series issued (from 1977 onward) by that research team: Apuleius Metamorphoses IV.28-35, V, and VI.1-24: The Tale of Cupid & Psyche. Introduction, Text and Commentary (Groningen: Forsten 2004). Her own publications include a commentary on Apuleius Met. Book X in the series of GCA. She is at present preparing a text edition of Apuleius' Metamorphoses for the Oxford Classical Texts. She also is editor in chief of Ancient Narrative. This journal was founded by Gareth Schmeling and Maaike Zimmerman in 2000, in cooperation with Roelf Barkhuis, publisher, and Alex Klugkist, University Librarian of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.