Apuleius was a North African Berber who is best known for his picaresque Latin novel the Metamorphoses, also known as The Golden Ass.
He was born in Madaurus in modern day Algeria, a Roman colony, and he grew up a Roman citizen. Apuleius inherited a substantial fortune from his father, a provincial magistrate, and moved to Carthage and later to Athens, where he studied Platonic philosophy among other subjects.
He then went to Rome to study Latin oratory and, most likely, to work as a lawyer in the law courts before returning to his native North Africa. He also traveled extensively in Asia Minor and Egypt, studying philosophy and religion.
Much of the information about Apuleius comes from his own written defence for a trial he was subjected to in Tripoli. After being accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of a wealthy widow, he defended himself before the court and proconsul and was so successful that he distributed his brilliant defence to his friends. This defence, called A Discourse on Magic, has survived and is one of the funniest works that have come down to us from Antiquity. It got Apuleius off and so humiliated and discredited his attackers he was never again bother by them again. The Apology firmly places Apuleius among the great humorists of his day.

Apuleius was a prolific writer and many of his works survive. He died in 180. His other works include On the God of Socrates, Apologia, Florida, On Plato and his Doctrine, and possibly On the Universe. He died in 180.

The Golden Ass

The Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It is a first Picaresque story – an episodic tale of various adventures—a style that would be emulated by, Rabelais, Boccaccio, Cervantes, Voltaire, Fielding and Defoe would follow. The Golden Ass is an irreverent, humourous story that describes the adventures of  Lucius, whose experiments in magic accidentally turn him into an ass. Wandering around this Ass sees and hears many things. The story isn’t linear and there are many side stories related to and by the ass, including the well-known tale of Cupid and Psyche.
Lucius, is finally recsued from his predicament by the Goddess Isis. In return, Lucius becomes a worshiper of Isis, and the story goes into a lengthy account of his initiation into the mysteries of Isis.
It is believed that the text predates Apuleius’ trial in Tripoli and it might have been used as a pretext to accuse him of magic and Isis worshiping. But the Golden Ass probably just belongs to a popular sub-genre of ancient stories involving rescue by Isis. It is even possible that Apuleius was mocking such intensely devout worship.