# Pamphiles — The Golden Ass character guide

> Pamphiles in The Golden Ass by Apuleius.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0008-ii

## Snapshot

Milo's wife and a practicing witch of Thessaly, whose nightly transformations and jealous rages make her the most feared woman in the house.

## Who they are

Pamphiles is a respectable matron by day and a sorceress by night, capable of turning herself into a bird and of taking bloody revenge on those who cross her. Her jealousy is as dangerous as her magic: the tale of Socrates and Meroe shows what happens to men who betray or merely witness her kind. She is the unseen engine of Lucius's ruin, the woman whose arts he longs to witness and whose ointments, mishandled, cost him his human shape.

## In the story

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

Milo's wife, a powerful sorceress whose magical practices Lucius seeks to observe.

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

The wife of Milo, described by Byrrhena as a powerful magician and enchantress who uses her arts to seduce and transform men.

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

Milo's wife; predicts rain from the candle flame, prompting a discussion on divination.

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

Milo's wife, a witch who transforms into an owl.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xv)

Pamphiles is described as a powerful witch who uses sorcery to attract a young Boeotian man, employing bones, blood, and incantations.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xvi)

Performs the enchantment, transforming herself into an owl by anointing her body with ointment.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_golden_ass_se/chapters/xvii)

Referenced as the one who transformed into a bird, inspiring Lucius's attempt.

## Links

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