Are you an Ass?

At the beginning of the semester when i purchased The Golden Ass from the bookstore, I dreaded opening it. I know that my opinion was completely unfounded; I just assumed from the cover that the inside pages would contain some deathly dense historical writings. How wrong I was! Though I thoroughly enjoyed every text we read in this class, The Golden Ass was by far my favorite.

I would like to say that I, for one, am an ass. I would also like to say that Lucius Malfoy, from Harry Potter, is an ass.

On that note, the tale of Cupid & Psyche that Lucius hears while captive in the bandits' cave is the framework for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Venus puts Psyche through a series of impossible tests solvable only through some sort of magical dealing. Harry, Hermione, and Ron also must pass a series of impossible tests by the sheer use of their magical studies. Just as Venus travels into the underworld for her last test and must get past Cerberus, the three-headed dog, so must Harry, Hermione, and Ron travel beneath the school of Hogwarts and get past Fluffy, the three-headed dog. Harry, Hermione, and Ron seek the Sorcerer's Stone in their adventures; Venus seeks a box from Proserpine which leads to the gift of drinking a cup of nectar. The sorcerer's stone is known to give eternal life as is the cup of nectar.