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The Baker
Aristomenes is a traveler who has an unnamed traveling companion and who runs into Lucius on the road. Aristomenes tells one of the first stories-within-a-story in The Golden Ass, about an encounter with his friend Socrates and the witch Meroe. The story Aristomenes tells helps set the tone for the whole novel, and it introduces the major role that magic, witchcraft, and trickery will all play throughout.
Aristomenes (The Wayfarer) Quotes in The Golden Ass
The The Golden Ass quotes below are all either spoken by Aristomenes (The Wayfarer) or refer to Aristomenes (The Wayfarer). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1 Quotes
First of all, I swear to you solemnly by this Sun above, a god who sees everything, that the story I’m telling is true—and I ought to know. To do away with any doubts you may still have, when you come to the nearest town, which is where these events took place—and they took place out in public—you’ll find them under general discussion.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Aristomenes (The Wayfarer) Character Timeline in The Golden Ass
The timeline below shows where the character Aristomenes (The Wayfarer) appears in The Golden Ass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1
...tired, so the narrator gets off and walks beside the horse. He runs into two wayfarers who seem to be having a friendly argument. The narrator asks them to share what...
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Beginning his story, the one wayfarer says that he travels all around Greece selling honey, cheese, and other goods for taverns....
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While still in Hypata, the wayfarer happens to run into an old friend of his named Socrates. Socrates looks skinny and...
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Aristomenes scolds Socrates for cheating on his family with Meroe. Socrates fearfully asks him to be...
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...using spells to trap everyone in their houses until they agreed to let her go. Aristomenes is amazed by the story and suggests that he and Socrates make haste to get...
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Aristomenes wakes up suddenly and is thrown out of bed. His cot ends up on top...
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Aristomenes is frightened as the women discuss what to do with him. They decide to let...
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Left alone, Aristomenes wonders what will happen if anyone finds him next to Socrates’s corpse. He tries to...
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Aristomenes contemplates suicide so that he can avoid being crucified for the murder of Socrates. He...
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The doorkeeper leaves, and Aristomenes and Socrates return to the road. Aristomenes looks at the place where he saw the...
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Socrates and Aristomenes stop to eat. Socrates eats and drinks greedily, but just as he’s drinking water from...
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When Aristomenes ends his story, his companion says it is silly and unbelievable. The narrator, however, says...
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Book 2
...of Thessaly, thinking about witchcraft and how everyday objects might be illusions after the stories Aristomenes told him the previous day. He wanders around until he finally reaches a place that...
(full context)
