The loquacious, witty, handsome, pleasure-loving, and proud Lucius is an upper-class young man with a hankering for magic. Delighting in tales of transformations and enchantments, he discovers firsthand that magical power fantasies are just that—fantasies. When he’s transformed into an ass, he’s forced to confront his own bestial qualities, to grow beyond his hunger for power, and to develop a willingness to serve and worship the divine. His wry, likeable comic voice animates all the tales in 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.