Lucian's Books

Lucian's True History

By: Lucian

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One of the best written and most amusing treatises of antiquity is Lucian's True History, forming a rather long narrative in two books, which suggested Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Rabelais's Voyage of Pantagruel and Cyrano de Bergerac's Journey to the Moon. It is composed, the author tells us in a brief introduction, not only as a pastime and a diversion from severer studies, but avowedly as a satire on the poets and logographers who had written so many marvellous tales. He names Ctesias and Homer; but Hellanicus and Herodotus appear to have been in his mind. The only true statement in his History, he wittily says, is that it contains nothing but lies from beginning to end. The main purport of the story is to describe a voyage to the moon. He set out, he tells us, with fifty companions, in a well-provisioned ship, from the "Pillars of Hercules," intending to explore the western ocean. After eighty days' rough sailing they came to an island on which they found a Greek inscription, "This was the limit of the expedition of Heracles and Dionysus"; and the visit of the wine-god seemed attested by some miraculous vines which they found there. After leaving the island they were suddenly carried up, ship and all, by a whirlwind into the air, and on the eighth day came in sight of a great round island shining with a bright light, and lying a little above the moon. In a short time they are arrested by a troop of gigantic "horse-vultures" and brought as captives to the "man in the moon," who proves to be Endymion. He is engaged in a war with the inhabitants of the sun, which is ruled by King Phaëthon, the quarrel having arisen from an attempt to colonize the planet Venus (Lucifer). The voyagers are enlisted as "Moonites," and a long description follows of the monsters and flying dragons engaged in the contest. A fight ensues, in which the slaughter is so great that the very clouds are tinged with red (p. 84). The long description of the inhabitants of the moon is extremely droll and original. After descending safely into the sea, the ship is swallowed by a huge "sea serpent" more than 100 miles long. The adventures during the long confinement in the creature's belly are most amusing; but at last they sail out through the chinks between the monster's teeth, and soon find themselves at the "Fortunate Islands." Here they meet with the spirits of heroes and philosophers of antiquity, on whom the author expatiates at some length. The tale comes to an abrupt end with an allusion to Herodotus in the promise that he "will tell the rest in his next books.

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Jazzybee Verlag

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ISBN 10

3988680001

ISBN 13

9783988680006

The Works of Lucian of Samosata

By: Lucian

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The Works of Lucian of Samosata

By: Lucian

The Works of Lucian of Samosata Lucian - The Works of Lucian of Samosata Volume 01,02,03 Complete. - The Vision, A Literary Prometheus, Nigrinus, Trial in the Court of Vowels, Timon the Misanthrope, Prometheus on Caucasus, Dialogues of the Gods, Dialogues of the Sea-Gods, Dialogues of the Dead, Menippus, Charon, Of Sacrifice, Sale of Creeds, The Fisher, Voyage to the Lower World, The Dependent Scholar, Apology for The Dependent Scholar, A Slip of the Tongue in Salutation, Hermotimus, or the Rival Philosophies, Herodotus and Aetion, Zeuxis and Antiochus, Harmonides, The Scythian, The Way to Write History, The True History, The Tyrannicide, The Disinherited, Phalaris, I, Phalaris, II, Alexander the Oracle-Monger, Of Pantomime, Lexiphanes, Life of Demonax, A Portrait-Study, Defence of the Portrait-Study, Toxaris: A Dialogue of Friendship, Zeus Cross-Examined, Zeus Tragoedus, The Cock, Icaromenippus, an Aerial Expedition, The Double Indictment, The Parasite, a Demonstration that Sponging is a Profession, Anacharsis, a Discussion of Physical Training, Of Mourning, The Rhetoricians Vade Mecum, The Liar, Dionysus, an Introductory Lecture, Heracles, an Introductory Lecture, Swans and Amber, The Fly, an Appreciation, Remarks Addressed to an Illiterate Book-Fancier, Slander, a Warning, The Hall, Patriotism, Dipsas, the Thirst-Snake, A Word with Hesiod, The Ship: Or, the Wishes, Dialogues of the Hetaerae, The Death of Peregrine, The Runaways, Saturnalia, Cronosolon, Saturnalian Letters, A Feast of Lapithae, Demosthenes, The Gods in Council, The Cynic, The Purist PurizedABOUT THE AUTHOR:Lucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature. Although he wrote solely in Greek, mainly Attic Greek, he was ethnically Syrian. Lucian was also one of the earliest novelists in Western civilization. In A True Story, a fictional narrative work written in prose, he parodied some fantastic tales told by Homer in the Odyssey and some feeble fantasies that were popular in his time. He anticipated "modern" fictional themes like voyages to the moon and Venus, extraterrestrial life and wars between planets, nearly two millennia before Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. His novel is widely regarded as an early, if not the earliest science fiction work.

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1073

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Phoemixx Classics Ebooks

Published Date

ISBN 10

3986770216

ISBN 13

9783986770211

Lucian's True History

By: Samosata Lucian

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Lucian's True History

By: Samosata Lucian

True Stories or True Fictions is a parody of travel tales, by the Greek-speaking Assyrian author Lucian of Samosata, the earliest known fiction about travelling to outer space, alien life-forms and interplanetary warfare. Written in the 2nd century, the novel has been referred to as "the first known text that could be called science fiction". The work was intended by Lucian as a satire against contemporary and ancient sources, which quote fantastic and mythical events as truth. Lucian's True Stories eludes a clear-cut literary classification. Its multilayered character has given rise to interpretations as diverse as science fiction, fantasy, satire or parody, depending on how much importance scholars attach to Lucian's explicit intention of telling a story of falsehoods.

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anboco

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ISBN 10

3736409354

ISBN 13

9783736409354

True History

Lucius, or the Ass

By: Lucian

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True History

Lucius, or the Ass

By: Lucian

True History, Lucian's best-known and most entertaining work, is a parody of the tall stories of fantastic journeys narrated by famous poets and historians. With his trademark wit and humour, Lucian informs his readers that he means to tell nothing but lies and impossibilities, and warns them not to believe a word he says. The result is a comical masterpiece that influenced Western literature throughout the centuries, and works such as Gulliver's Travels and The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen.Lucius, or the Ass, a satirical novel charting the adventures of a young man who has been transformed into a donkey, is usually attributed to Lucian and is thought to be a source of Apuleius's Golden Ass.

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121

Publisher

Alma Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0714546232

ISBN 13

9780714546230

A True Story

By: Lucian

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A True Story

By: Lucian

A True Story Lucian - Lucian of Samosata (125c.180) was a Greek satirist of Syrian or Assyrian extraction, and True History is perhaps his most well-known tale. In this tale, the protagonist visits the Moon, meets extraterrestrial creatures, and takes part in interplanetary warfare. This piece of fantastical fiction parodies many works such as Homers Odyssey, and is certainly a contender for the title of earliest science fiction story.

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Phoemixx Classics Ebooks

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ISBN 10

3986777695

ISBN 13

9783986777692

Lucian's a true story

an intermediate Greek reader

By: Lucian (of Samosata.),Evan Hayes,Stephen A. Nimis

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Lucian's a true story

an intermediate Greek reader

By: Lucian (of Samosata.),Evan Hayes,Stephen A. Nimis

The aim of this book is to make Lucian's A True Story accessible to intermediate students of Ancient Greek. The running vocabulary and commentary are meant to provide everything necessary to read each page. Lucian's A True Story is a great text for intermediate readers. Its breathless narrative does not involve many complex sentences or constructions; there is some unusual vocabulary and a few departures from Attic Greek, but for the most part it is a straightforward narrative that is fun and interesting by one of antiquity's cleverest authors. In A True Story, Lucian parodies accounts of fanciful adventures and travel to incredible places by authors such as Ctesias and Iambulus. The story's combination of mockery and learning makes it an excellent example of the Greek literature of the imperial period. Revised August, 2014.

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204

Publisher

Edgar Evan Hayes

Published Date

ISBN 10

0983222800

ISBN 13

9780983222804

Selected Satires of Lucian

By: Lucian (of Samosata.)

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Selected Satires of Lucian

By: Lucian (of Samosata.)

A collection of writings by the 2nd century satirist who ridiculed tyrants, philosophers, and even the gods, in his mock dialogues and prose narratives.

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406

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0393004430

ISBN 13

9780393004434

The Syrian Goddess

By: Lucian

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The Syrian Goddess

By: Lucian

The Syrian Goddess Lucian - On the Syrian Goddess is a Greek treatise of the second century AD which describes religious cults practiced at the temple of Hierapolis Bambyce, now Manbij, in Syria. The work is written in a Herodotean-style of Ionic Greek, and has been traditionally ascribed to the Greek essayist Lucian of Samosata.

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ISBN 10

3985940592

ISBN 13

9783985940592

Works of Lucian of Samosata (Complete Four Volumes)

By: Lucian of Samosata

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Works of Lucian of Samosata (Complete Four Volumes)

By: Lucian of Samosata

It is not to be understood that all statements here made are either ascertained facts or universally admitted conjectures. The introduction is intended merely to put those who are not scholars, and probably have not books of reference at hand, in a position to approach the translation at as little disadvantage as may be. Accordingly, we give the account that commends itself to us, without discussion or reference to authorities. Those who would like a more complete idea of Lucian should read Croiset's Essai sur la vie et les oeuvres de Lucien, on which the first two sections of this introduction are very largely based. The only objections to the book (if they are objections) are that it is in French, and of 400 octavo pages. It is eminently readable. With the exception of a very small number of statements, of which the truth is by no means certain, all that we know of Lucian is derived from his own writings. And any reader who prefers to have his facts at first rather than at second hand can consequently get them by reading certain of his pieces, and making the natural deductions from them. Those that contain biographical matter are, in the order corresponding to the periods of his life on which they throw light, The Vision, Demosthenes, Nigrinus, The Portrait-study and Defence (in which Lucian is Lycinus), The Way to write History, The double ndictment (in which he is The Syrian), The Fisher (Parrhesiades), Swans and Amber, Alexander, Hermotimus_ (Lycinus), Menippus and Icaromenippus (in which Menippus represents him), A literary Prometheus, Herodotus, Zeuxis, Harmonides, The Scythian, The Death of Peregrine, The Book-fancier, Demonax, The Rhetorician's Vade mecum, Dionysus, Heracles, A Slip of the Tongue, Apology for 'The dependent Scholar.'_ Of these The Vision is a direct piece of autobiography; there is intentional but veiled autobiography in several of the other pieces; in others again conclusions can be drawn from comparison of his statements with facts known from external sources. Lucian lived from about 125 to about 200 A.D., under the Roman Emperors Antoninus Pius, M. Aurelius and Lucius Verus, Commodus, and perhaps Pertinax. He was a Syrian, born at Samosata on the Euphrates, of parents to whom it was of importance that he should earn his living without spending much time or money on education. His maternal uncle being a statuary, he was apprenticed to him, having shown an aptitude for modelling in the wax that he surreptitiously scraped from his school writing-tablets. The apprenticeship lasted one day. It is clear that he was impulsive all through life; and when his uncle corrected him with a stick for breaking a piece of marble, he ran off home, disposed already to think he had had enough of statuary. His mother took his part, and he made up his mind by the aid of a vision that came to him the same night.

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1427

Publisher

Library of Alexandria

Published Date

ISBN 10

1465574719

ISBN 13

9781465574718

Lucian's True Story

By: Lucian

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Lucian's True Story

By: Lucian

Lucian was a particularly wry satirist, though writing in the 2nd Century, his parody of Homer and Herodotus remains eminently readable and enjoyable. Taking sharp aim at mythology and outlandish religious texts, Lucian spins an intentionally ludicrous yarn which includes visits to rivers of milk and islands of cheese. The book is also remarkable for being the first known work to include scenes taking place in outer space.

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ISBN 10

1647987148

ISBN 13

9781647987145

Lucian's True History (Illustrated Edition)

By: Lucian of Samosata

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Lucian's True History (Illustrated Edition)

By: Lucian of Samosata

With illustrations by William Strang, J B Clark and Aubrey Beardsley.

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ISBN 10

1406849723

ISBN 13

9781406849721

Our Circus Presents--

By: Lucian Dan Teodorovici

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Our Circus Presents--

By: Lucian Dan Teodorovici

Every day, the Birdman performs the same ritual: he climbs out onto his window ledge to see if he can manage to kill himself and never does. The Birdman is a member of a loose-knit group of failed suicides, each pursuing absurd ways to end their lives: one saving up lost-dog reward money to buy enough good whiskey to drink himself to death, another hoping to contract a fatal disease by sleeping with as many women as possible. Just when it seems these routines will continue indefinitely, the Birdman meets a "professional" suicide: the dangerous and inscrutable "man with orange suspenders," who makes a living by trying to hang himself whenever he sees a potential rescuer approaching. This chance encounter, which leads at last to a real death, will force the Birdman to confront the roots of his desire to escape from life, and to see firsthand that dying is more than just a rehearsal." --Book Jacket.

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202

Publisher

Dalkey Archive Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1564785564

ISBN 13

9781564785565

Book's by Lucian

Lucian's True History

Lucian's True History

The Works of Lucian of Samosata

The Works of Lucian of Samosata

Lucian's True History

Lucian's True History

True History

True History

A True Story

A True Story

Lucian's a true story

Lucian's a true story

Selected Satires of Lucian

Selected Satires of Lucian

The Syrian Goddess

The Syrian Goddess

Works of Lucian of Samosata (Complete Four Volumes)

Works of Lucian of Samosata (Complete Four Volumes)

Lucian's True Story

Lucian's True Story

Lucian's True History (Illustrated Edition)

Lucian's True History (Illustrated Edition)

Our Circus Presents--

Our Circus Presents--

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