Previous
Thelyphron
Osiris is an Egyptian god and the husband of Isis. After Isis helps Lucius return to human form by finding roses, Lucius devotes himself to the cult of Isis. Later, Osiris also appears to Lucius and asks that Lucius pay devotion to him, too. Lucius happily agrees, shaving his head to show his renewed devotion. Lucius goes to Rome to serve both Isis and Osiris by working in a legal profession.
Osiris Quotes in The Golden Ass
The The Golden Ass quotes below are all either spoken by Osiris or refer to Osiris . 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 11 Quotes
Lo, I come to your aid, Lucius, moved by your pleas—I, the mother of the universe, queen of all the elements, the original off-spring of eternity, loftiest of the gods, queen of the shades, foremost of the heavenly beings, single form of gods and goddesses alike.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage, from near the beginning of the final book, comes when Lucius is greeted by a vision of a goddess who calls herself the “mother of the universe” before finally revealing her identity as Isis. The appearance of this Egyptian goddess may seem sudden, but in fact, it brings things full circle: At the very beginning of The Golden Ass, Lucius talked about “Egyptian papyrus” and the Nile, foreshadowing what would happen in the final book. Isis instructs Lucius on where to find a rose and ultimately how to restore himself to human form. In exchange, however, she asks Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Q
Soon, shaved to the skin again, I went joyfully about the duties of this venerable priesthood, founded in the time of Sulla. I did not cloak or conceal my baldness, wherever I went and whomever I met.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This passage is the very end of The Golden Ass. In it, Lucius celebrates shaving his head and moving to Rome to practice law—all actions that he has done in order to prove his loyalty to Isis and Osiris. Though these Egyptian gods demand big changes to Lucius’s life, he remains happy to make these changes, forever grateful for how Isis helped him transform from a donkey back into a human by leading him to some roses. Lucius’s happy ending seems to suggest that loyalty to the gods is rewarded and that suffering, like what Lucius endured as a donkey, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum volupta
Get the entire The Golden Ass LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Osiris Character Timeline in The Golden Ass
The timeline below shows where the character Osiris appears in The Golden Ass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 11
...feels that he hasn’t done enough, and so he also begins to worship the god Osiris, who is husband to Isis but who requires different rituals. Lucius goes further, fasting and...
(full context)
At one point, the god Osiris appears to Lucius in his sleep. He tells Lucius that he has done good work...
(full context)
