# Byrrhena — The Golden Ass character guide

> Byrrhena in The Golden Ass by Apuleius.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0008-ii

## Snapshot

Lucius's rich and well-connected relative in Hypata, whose hospitality and warnings about Pamphile's sorcery come too late to save him.

## Who they are

Byrrhena is a grand lady of Hypata, related to Lucius by blood and eager to show him the city's finest houses and dinners. She is worldly, generous, and genuinely fond of her young kinsman, but her warning that Pamphile is a witch only sharpens his appetite for the very danger she describes. Her household and her gossip give the reader the social texture of Hypata while quietly marking the line between those who heed warnings and those, like Lucius, who do not.

## Relationships

### [Lucius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/lucius)

_family_

Byrrhena is Lucius's wealthy and hospitable aunt, who warns him about the dangers of witchcraft in Thessaly.

## In the story

### [The Golden Ass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/the-golden-ass)

Lucius's cousin, who warns him about Pamphiles's witchcraft.

### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/book-ii)

Lucius's wealthy cousin, who warns him about the dangers of Pamphiles's magic.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/viii)

Lucius's cousin, who recognizes him in the marketplace, invites him to her home, and warns him about the sorceress Pamphiles.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/x)

Lucius's cousin; sends him a gift of a pig, hens, and wine.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xi)

Hosts a supper for Lucius and urges him to participate in the festival of the god Risus.

### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/book-iii)

Lucius's cousin who warns him about Pamphiles.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xiv)

Lucius's cousin, who invites him to supper but he declines.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters/byrrhena
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/characters