The Golden Ass

The sexy, lively Photis is, in Lucius’s words, the “life of the party.” Enslaved by the witch Pamphile, she’s nonetheless very much her own master: Photis knows what she wants, seducing Lucius and making him feel like it’s his own idea. While her mistake transforms Lucius into an ass, and he stays sore about it all through the story, we still get the sense that Lucius was genuinely fond of her.

The miserly old Milo, Lucius’s wealthy friend-of-a-friend, is famous for his meager dinners and uncomfortable lodgings. But he’s also a kindly enough host, welcoming the wandering Lucius with open arms. Unfortunately for Milo, his wife Pamphile is a dangerous witch who sleeps with young men all around town; fortunately for Milo, he’s too clueless to notice.

Milo’s wife Pamphile is the most notable of the novel’s many sinister witches. Like many of those witches, she seems driven by lust: Most of her tricks have to do with sleeping with one handsome young man or another. She’s a master of metamorphosis, and the sight of her transforming herself into an owl whets Lucius’s dangerous appetite for magic.

Lucius’s loving aunt Byrrhena is a wealthy woman who loves throwing dinner parties. She introduces Lucius to the upper crust of Hypata, but then gets in his way, demanding that he attend the latest banquet rather than sneaking off to sleep with Photis. Lucius enjoys her style, though: She has excellent taste and likes to show it off with art and sumptuous home decor. A mesmerizing statue of the goddess Diana in her courtyard compels Lucius to think about how eerily art can imitate life.

Charite is a tragic figure. At first, she is just a young girl awaiting her wedding day. However, quickly she becomes a full-blown heroine, throwing herself on her own sword in grief over her slain husband Tlepolemus. First a loyal and loving bride, then a bold-spirited avenger, Charite represents the ideals of feminine virtue.

Psyche, the gorgeous mortal princess whose life gets a lot more complicated when people begin worshiping her as a goddess, is the heroine of the “Cupid and Psyche” interpolated story. While Psyche is devastatingly beautiful, she’s not very bright, and her foolish curiosity often gets the better of her, leading her to investigate exactly what she shouldn’t. But all turns out well for her in the end, and she remains a figure of sweetness and innocence.

Cupid, god of love, is the hero of the “Cupid and Psyche” story. Known as the world’s greatest troublemaker, Cupid for once makes trouble for himself when he falls deeply in love with the mortal princess Psyche. Gorgeous but a bit childish and petulant, Cupid is forced to grow up to regain Psyche: He must make real sacrifices in order to bring his wife (and their unborn child) home to Mount Olympus.

Venus, Cupid’s mother and the goddess of love and beauty, is the mother-in-law from hell. At first jealous of Psyche because Psyche is stealing her thunder by getting worshiped in Venus’s place, Venus is eventually downright murderous when Cupid falls in love with the girl. Venus is at once a lively character and a pure fairy-tale antagonist in the “Cupid and Psyche” story, setting Psyche a series of impossible tasks—but begrudgingly dancing at her wedding in the end.