ABSTRACT
Apuleius the only part of the author's name, his book Metamorphoses, acquired an alternative title, The Golden Ass. It represents quite strikingly in Apuleius narrative about the second and third initiations of Lucius. It argues that, instead of falsifying the ritual form hypothesis, the story of the multiple initiations of Lucius actually provides strong confirmation of its validity. They explain that this third initiation is necessary because he had been required to leave behind the sacred clothing that he had received at his first initiation in Cenchreae. One must admit that the justification Apuleius has the gods provide for the third initiation seems rather contrived in comparison to the explanation given for the second one, and wonder at Lucius readiness to accept it. The ritual form hypothesis also predicts that special-agent rituals will be performed infrequently, typically only once per individual postulant.
