On Friday, November 22, 1963, C.S. Lewis died. While Lewis is known for his children's Narnia series and writings on Christianity, he was a scholar trained in the Classics. Among my favorite works by Lewis is Till We Have Faces, which is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which comes from The Golden Ass of Apuleius. In Apuleius' version of the beauty and the beast motif, Psyche marries the goddess Aphrodite's son and then violates the rules of that marriage. To regain her divine husband, she must perform four impossible tasks, including a trip to the Underworld. C.S. Lewis puts on a spin on the story by telling it from the perspective of one of the wicked sisters.On the day of Lewis' death, JFK and Aldous Huxley also died.
Also see the Guide to Classical Literature's review of a biography of C.S. Lewis.
Apuleius © Clipart.com
Comments
I LOVE Till We Have Faces, it can be read again and again on so many levels.
I was just talking about Lewis’ work to my introductory Latin class. Latin for the New Millenium vol. 1 has a simplified version of this Apuleius story.