ABSTRACT
The chapter turns to Apuleius's novel Asinus aureus (The Golden Ass, c. 160/170), emphasizing the important role that hair plays in beauty. Following in the footsteps of Ovid and the Roman love elegists, Apuleius portrays female hair as a key marker of physical attractiveness and erotic power, whether it is worn loose or arranged in an elaborate style. The novel connects outer beauty with inner qualities and contrasts natural charm with artificial magic through the example of Photis, the servant and lover of the protagonist Lucius, whose casually arranged hair evokes modesty and sensuality. The interplay of literary and visual detail—the language of touch, texture and movement—underscores the emotional and moral dimensions of beauty. This multifaceted celebration of hair, rooted in classical poetic tradition, had a lasting influence, resurfacing in early modern texts such as Agnolo Firenzuola's Dialogo delle bellezze delle donne (Dialogue on the beauty of women, 1548).
