Cupid and Psyche Apuleius - Cupid and Psyche is a story from the Latin novel Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century AD by Apuleius. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche (Soul or Breath of Life) and Cupid (Desire), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage.

Relihan uses alliteration and assonance, rhythm and rhyme, the occasional archaism, the rare neologism, and devices of punctuation and typography, to create a sparkling, luxurious, and readable translation that reproduces something of the linguistic and comic effects of the original Latin. The general Introduction is a masterpiece of clarity, orienting the reader in matters of authorship, narration, genre, religion, structure and style. A generous and browsable index, select bibliography, and maps are included.

"The Golden Ass" or "The Metamorphoses" is the only Latin novel by Apuleius to survive in its entirety. Adapted from an earlier Greek story, "The Golden Ass" tells of the adventures of Lucius, a young man who is obsessed with magic. In attempting to perform a spell, Lucius inadvertently transforms himself into an ass. His long and arduous journey is ornately illustrated by Apuleius' witty, imaginative, and often explicit language, in a series of subplots that carry the reader through to Lucius' salvation by the goddess Isis. These include the stories of Cupid and Psyche, Aristomenes, Thelyphron and others. The novel reflects Apuleius' own fascination with magic and the occult, and although comical at times, contains very serious messages about impiety towards the gods, and the risks of tampering with the supernatural. Apuleius (c. 125-c. 180) was a student of Platonist philosophy and Latin prose writer.

"The story follows Lucius, a young man of good birth, as he disports himself in the cities and along the roads of Thessaly. This is a wonderful tale abounding in lusty incident, curious adventure and bawdy wit." -- Google Books viewed January 11, 2021.

The contributions to this volume on the Isis Book reassess current interpretations, highlight aspects of text, language, and style, and develop new lines of approach regarding the interpretation of this fascinating many-layered text, the last book of Apuleius’ famous novel.

Argues that invisibility is a central motif in Apuleius' Metamorphoses, presenting a new interpretation of this Latin masterpiece.