MASTERING ORATORY: THE MOCK-TRIAL IN APULEIUS' METAMORPHOSES 3.3.1-7.1

The playful manipulation of ritual, literary and legal elements marks the Festival of Laughter in Book Three of the Metamorphoses (§§ 1-11) as one of the most innovative episodes of Apuleius’ novel. This paper examines the rhetorical and judicial strategy adopted by the prosecutor and the defendant in the mock-trial. It also argues that Lucius’ defense speech is modeled on Cicero’s pro Milone. By revitalizing the portrait of Cicero acting in defense of Milo, the learned novelist devises a new, amusing form of entertainment, increasing the fictionality of the oratorical-theatrical performance and making Lucius-Cicero producer, performer and victim of the collective hoax.