Apuleius’ Golden Ass tells the story of a man who is magically transformed into an ass only to go through an odyssey of discovery and eventually find salvation in religion. Even before Lucius’ transformation takes place, however, we are introduced to a God of Laughter, whom the people of Hypata “hold in the very greatest esteem” (50). In this essay, I will elaborate on the significance of Laughter to Hypatians as evidenced in the story of Thelyphron and the major role humor has played in my uncle’s struggle with AIDS and thus in my own life, arguing that the power of laughter is incomparably greater in moments of grief than it is on purely happy occasions.
This is somewhat the case in the magically distorted reality of The Golden Ass. In particular, the story of Thelyphron’s unfortunate loss of eyes and ears is hilarious to the people at both the funeral procession and Byrrhaena’s supper party. Although they do not acknowledge Thelyphron’s feelings and laugh......

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Title: The Miracles Of Laughter
Approximate Word Count: 839
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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