The Golden Ass: Book 1 story
Lucius is told a strange tale on the road to Hypata, Thessaly.
19 total · 2 major · 17 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| the thirst for knowledge | major | Lucius was traveling to Thessaly to learn about the magical arts. Lucius was curious to hear Aristomenes tale about an encounter with a witch. |
| what it is like to travel | major | Lucius described his journey to Thessaly within the Roman Empire. |
| alcohol abuse | minor | The conclusion to Aristomenes story is that Aristomenes had drunk so much that he hallucinated witches, pissed himself, and attempted suicide. |
| black magic | minor | Lucius expressed curiosity about magic and witchcraft. |
| creative writing | minor | The author states his intentions and apologizes for his poor Latin. |
| crime and punishment | minor | It was pointed out that the punishment for witchcraft was being stoned to death. And someone said that Meroë ought to be stoned to death for practicing witchcraft. |
| hell hath no fury like a woman scorned | minor | Aristomenes story centered on Meroë avenging herself gruesomely on a man that loved her and left her. |
| hospitality | minor | Milo was notably, but perhaps not adequately, hospitable. |
| husband and wife | minor | Milo and his wife, Pamphile. |
| living corpse | minor | Meroë and Panthia cut open Socrates, drained his blood, ripped out his heart, and replaced it with a sponge. Astonishingly, Socrates woke up the next morning as if nothing had happened, but then died (again) the sponge fell out of him as he bent over to drink from a stream. |