1. Apuleius The Golden Ass Chapters 1 and 2 By Thatcher Green

2. Book 1 Narrator describes himself but does not name himself Starts off the story describing him going to Thessaly He meets 2 men on the road

3. The Tale of Aristomenes The two men are chatting about an unbelieveable story Aristomenes explains if people can swallow swords magic is real Our unnamed narrator then recounts the story told to him by Aristomenes

4. The Tale of Aristomenes The main character is Socrates the famous philosopher Socrates explains how he became intimate with a witch When they go to sleep witches come and turn Aristomenes into a turtle Takes out Socrates heart and puts in a sponge

5. The Tale of Aristomenes Aristomenes then tries to kill himself to not be framed for Socrates murder He fails but wakes up Socrates Aristomenes and Socrates later go to a stream to drink This is where Socrates sponge that was in place of his heart falls out and he dies

6. Book 1 Finally he reaches a town where his friend Milo Lives Milo gives him a place to stay We learn the narrators name is Lucius

7. Book 2 Begins with Lucius meeting long lost family His aunt Byrrhena warns him of Milos wife is a witch This only entices Lucius because he is interested in Magic Lucius goes home excited has sex with Milos slave Then goes to dinner at Byrrhenas

8. The Tale of Thelyphron When the subject of witches and magic get brought up Thelyphron a guest at dinner enters the conversation Thelyphron is hired to guard a body from witches who steal body parts He falls asleep after chasing a weasal but the body is still intact when he wakes up

9. The Tale of Thelyphron The town charges the wife of the dead man of poisoning him An Egyptian priest is in the town and is tasked with reviving the body in order to gain true testimony The dead body reveals that his wife did kill him and the witches had forced him to do their dark magic

10. The Tale of Thelyphron The body also notes that though Thelyphron defended him valiantly But reveals that Thelyphron is without ears or a nose because the witches had taken them Laughter ensues in both the tale and where the story is being told Lucius returns home and kills 3 robbers before going to bed

11. Themes Carnivalesque – This is the idea that the ordinary can be changed by chaos, magic, or the extraordinary – "It confronts one with the depravity of the world, and with the possibility of the sublime” – Lucius is seduced by the nature of Magic in The Golden Ass