Magic in Apuleius' >Apologia<

Zusatztext

&lt;p&gt;Despite the growing interest in Apuleius&lt;em&gt;Apologia&lt;/em&gt; or&lt;em&gt;Pro se d&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;e magia&lt;/em&gt;, a speech he delivered in AD 158/159 to defend himself against the charge of being a&lt;em&gt;magus&lt;/em&gt;, the only comprehensive study on this speech and magic to date is that by Adam Abt (1908). The aim of this volume is to shed new light on the extent to which Apuleius speech reveals his own knowledge of magic, and on the implications of the dangerous allegations brought against Apuleius. By analysing the&lt;em&gt;Apologia&lt;/em&gt; sequentially, the author does not only reassess Abts analysis but proposes a new reconstruction of the prosecutions case, arguing that it is heavily distorted by Apuleius. Since ancient magic is the main topic of this speech, an extensive discussion of the topic is provided, offering a new semantic taxonomy of&lt;em&gt;magus&lt;/em&gt; and its cognates. Finally, this volume also explores Apuleius forensic techniques and the Platonic ideology underpinning his speech. It is proposed that a Platonising reasoning distinguishing between higher and lower concepts lies at the core of Apuleius rhetorical strategy, and that Apuleius aims to charm the judge, the audience and, ultimately, his readers with the irresistible power of his arguments.&lt;/p&gt;

Autorenportrait

<p><strong>Leonardo Costantini</strong>, University of Freiburg, Germany.</p>

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