Apuleius, also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis, was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher, and rhetorician. He was born in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, located in what is now M'Daourouch, Algeria. Apuleius pursued his education in philosophy and rhetoric across the Mediterranean world. He studied Platonism in Athens and traveled extensively through Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt. He was an initiate in several cults or mysteries, which shaped his intellectual and spiritual outlook. The most famous episode of Apuleius's life occurred when he was accused of using magic to gain the attentions of a wealthy widow. He mounted his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Oea. This speech, which Apuleius subsequently published, became known as the Apologia and survives as an important historical document.