Title page from John Price’s Latin edition of Apuleius’ novel “Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass” (Gouda, Netherlands, 1650).
Robbers and Soldiers: Criminality and Roman Army in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses
Renata Garraffoni (Centro de Pensamento Antigo Unicamp)
Gerión: 2004, 22, núm. 1, 367-377.
Abstract
This paper aims at discussing the relationship between ancient robbers and Roman army in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. As Apuleius’ Metamorphoses has a great deal of information about banditry, deserters and ex-soldiers that can be explored in different ways, I suggest that this ancient author can provide us the possibility to rethink some historiographical approaches used to study the Roman plebs.
The present paper draws upon a specific point: the relationship between the Roman army and the robbers in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses1. The main reason for cho- osing this subject is deeply related to our daily life2. Violence and criminality is a pro- blem that still with us in almost all countries and it has been discussed more frequently in the social sciences. Anthropologists, sociologists and historians have been studying these phenomena and the discussions have resulted, for instance, in the development of interpretative concepts that have been used for a better understanding of the subject. Although this subject has been largely discussed of late, criminality is not present only in the modern world; in different moments of history we can find many sources that mention it. If on one hand, one can easily find many sources, on the other, it is very important to have in mind that conceptions of criminality change from epoch to epoch, i.e., it is not a monolithic phenomenon and it must be consi- dered as a social and historical construct.
Robbers and Soldiers: Criminality and Roman Army in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses
Renata Garraffoni (Centro de Pensamento Antigo Unicamp)
Gerión: 2004, 22, núm. 1, 367-377.
Abstract
This paper aims at discussing the relationship between ancient robbers and Roman army in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. As Apuleius’ Metamorphoses has a great deal of information about banditry, deserters and ex-soldiers that can be explored in different ways, I suggest that this ancient author can provide us the possibility to rethink some historiographical approaches used to study the Roman plebs.
The present paper draws upon a specific point: the relationship between the Roman army and the robbers in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses1. The main reason for cho- osing this subject is deeply related to our daily life2. Violence and criminality is a pro- blem that still with us in almost all countries and it has been discussed more frequently in the social sciences. Anthropologists, sociologists and historians have been studying these phenomena and the discussions have resulted, for instance, in the development of interpretative concepts that have been used for a better understanding of the subject. Although this subject has been largely discussed of late, criminality is not present only in the modern world; in different moments of history we can find many sources that mention it. If on one hand, one can easily find many sources, on the other, it is very important to have in mind that conceptions of criminality change from epoch to epoch, i.e., it is not a monolithic phenomenon and it must be consi- dered as a social and historical construct.
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