In the second century CE, the multiethnic, multilingual, and religiously diverse Roman Empire grew to its greatest extent. To maintain order, Rome relied heavily on strict social hierarchies, established not only through legal frameworks like citizenship but also through cultural markers (such as clothing and language) and personal traits (such as educational achievement). Even as Rome grew into one of the world's most powerful empires, however, its social systems strained under the stresses caused by that very growth, which encouraged cultural interaction, long-distance travel, and social mobility-all of which threatened the hierarchies that underpinned Roman order. It was during this time that the North African-born, Latin-speaking, Greek-educated Apuleius-whose own background showcases the multiplicity of identities available then to Roman individuals-flourished. He remains one of the ancient world's best-known authors today, thanks particularly to his famous novel, Metamorphoses, known also as The Golden Ass. Taking a bird's-eye view of his work, Ashli J. E. Baker proffers a bold new reading of Apuleius, proposing that across his writings there is a consistent focus on the theme of identity and its instability. By placing close readings in conversation with sociocultural and material contexts, she shows that because the structures of Roman power depended on inherently unreliable markers of identity, Apuleius' work can be read as a biting critique of the fraught relationship between the individual, society, and the state in his contemporary Rome.
Ashli J. E. Baker is an associate professor of Classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Bucknell University.
List of Illustrations Introduction 1. Identity on Trial: Contesting the Terms of Belonging and Exclusion 2. The Power of Speech: Questioning the Authority of Language and the Language of Authority 3. Crises of Control: Shape-Shifting Boundaries Between Magic and Law 4. Not What They Appear: Ambiguating Bodies, Clothing, and Comportment 5. Isis-Fortuna Panthea: Worshipping the Patron Goddess of Identity Crises Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References Index
"This attractive book argues convincingly that Apuleius shows a constant interest in the complex, ambivalent, and contested nature of identity in contexts of power and hierarchy. A rich and innovative approach to Apuleis for our own times." (Stephen Harrison, author of Framing the Ass: Literary Texture in Apuleius' Metamorphoses) "A fresh and thought-provoking approach to a famous ancient author, on a topic-identity anxiety-that resonates with modern times. Stimulating and convincing." (Regine May, author of Cupid and Psyche: The Reception of Apuleis' Love Story Since 1600)
