Space and intertextuality in Apuleius' De deo Socratis

Abstract

In De Deo Socratis Apuleius introduces his audience to the world of Medioplatonic demonology. Among other elements, the conference is articulated with varied spatial and intertextual references. The spatial notions, familiar to the audience, enable the display and development of examples and arguments, and are formulated by reference to texts of a shared cultural capital. The combination of both variables, spatiality and intertextuality, is effective for the purposes of discourse to the extent that it exploits elements known by the speaker and his audience.