The Tale of Cupid and Psyche

"Joel Relihan's playful and exuberant translation of Apuleius' Golden Ass has already won admiration for its ability to give an English-reading audience some sense of what it's like to experience this often astonishing writer in the original Latin. By presenting The Tale of Cupid and Psyche with its narrative frame and by supplementing it with key passages from other writers, he here provides the reader with the materials needed for an informed and complex engagement with this text; his carefully nuanced 'Afterthoughts' enrich that process further. This volume will appeal to anyone with interests in myth, religion, and folklore, and will surely find its place in a wide range of courses."
     —James B. Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

SKU
26815g

Apuleius
Translated, with Introduction, by Joel C. Relihan

2009 - 136 pp.

Ebook edition available for $9.75, see purchasing links below.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-0-87220-973-2
$29.00
Paper 978-0-87220-972-5
$12.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-972-5
$2.00

Download a free PDF eBook of "The Tale of Lucius: Or, The Ass (Onos), " Translated by Joel C. Relihan. Click HERE for more information.

To view a reader's commentary on Cupid and Psyche by Joel C. Relihan based on his translation, please visit the title support page by clicking here. 

Is Cupid and Psyche a romance, a folktale, a Platonic allegory of the nature of the soul, a Jungian tale of individuation, or an archetypal dream?  This volume provides Joel Relihan's lively translation of this best known section of Apuleius' Golden Ass, some useful and illustrative parallels, and an engaging discussion of what to make of this classic story.

 

Reviews:

"Joel Relihan's playful and exuberant translation of Apuleius' Golden Ass has already won admiration for its ability to give an English-reading audience some sense of what it's like to experience this often astonishing writer in the original Latin. By presenting The Tale of Cupid and Psyche with its narrative frame and by supplementing it with key passages from other writers, he here provides the reader with the materials needed for an informed and complex engagement with this text; his carefully nuanced 'Afterthoughts' enrich that process further. This volume will appeal to anyone with interests in myth, religion, and folklore, and will surely find its place in a wide range of courses."
     —James B. Rives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Relihan's edition, containing his lively translation of Cupid and Psyche, along with succinct and illuminating discussion of its background and reception, is a do-it-yourself kit for appreciating Apuleius' splendid tale in its philosophical and intellectual context."
      —Catherine Connors, University of Washington

"Simply beautiful. . . presents background information essential for the overall understanding of the work.  The translation is a sweet adventure into the beauty of the work."
     —Dr. Michael J. Lynch, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

"[A] lively and masterful translation.  For the beginning student who might read the tale in a course or research agenda which has no room for the novel in its entirety, this volume is an ideal choice.
     "[Relihan] provides an engaging translation of the most influential section of Apuleius' novel, along with many aids to developing a better understanding of it in its context.  Non-classicists may rest assured that they are getting a fair version of Apuleius' tale, which makes up for its minor textual liberties by a general loyalty to the spirit of Apuleius' original, while classicists can use it with confidence, whether for their students who may not have time for the novel in its entirety, or even themselves, to aid in their consideration and evaluation of the tale in temporary isolation from its larger narrative context.  Both groups will in the end be encouraged to return to the novel as a whole, their understanding of it enriched by this closer focus on one of its best parts."
     —David P.C. Carlisle, Washington and Lee University

 

About the Author:

Joel C. Relihan is Professor of Classics, Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. In addition to Apuleius' The Golden Ass, he has translated Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy for Hackett Publishing Company.

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