Honor and Humiliation in Apuleius' Apologia

Abstract

Apuleius' Apologia has consistently drawn scholarly attention as an example of soaring rhetoric from the Second Sophistic and for being the only remaining account of a trial for illegal magic from the early Empire. This study opts for a different approach. It uses the Apologia as a window into the culture of Roman provincial high society by examining Apuleius' motivations for demanding his accusers bring formal charges against him, as well as the social factors that pushed the preceding conflict to such a dramatic climax. The main contention of this inquiry is that the actions of both Apuleius and his enemies reveal the paramount importance of honor as a cultural driver of conflict, and part..