Long after the Greek city-states had lost their independence
to the might of the Roman Empire,
Greek cultural and literary life continued unabated.
The stability provided by Roman military
and political power, along with the respect many
Romans held for Greek culture, allowed Greek
writers and thinkers the freedom to explore new
subjects and themes. One of the men who took advantage
of this was the poet Lucian.
Lucian was born in the city of Samosata in Syria,
then part of the Roman Empire.He was not of a distinguished
family and worked as a stonemason.
Wanting more out of life, he educated himself in the
areas of rhetoric and philosophy, and soon began
working as a lawyer and lecturer.He also developed
great interest and knowledge in the important
philosophical and political issues of his time.He apparently
traveled across the Roman Empire, serving
as a public speaker, and finally settled in Athens.
Lucian was a satirist, always seeking to use
humor to express his feelings on various subjects.
He was particularly adept in his development of
satiric dialogue. Like future satirists, such as
Voltaire and Jonathan Swift, Lucian’s writings
ridicule superstitious and false philosophy. For example,
in True History he parodies the facts of the
world as expressed by early historians and poets.
This fantastical tale of journeys to the moon and
within a monster’s belly influenced the French
satirists François Rabelais’ Pantagruel and Cyrano
de Bergerac’s Voyages to the Sun and Moon as well
as Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
Among the best known of Lucian’s works are
the Dialogues of the Gods. In these short pieces, Lucian
uses conversations among the Olympian gods
to demonstrate human folly and gullibility, with
the gods themselves playing the part of the humans
Lucian was trying to deride.
One of the main targets of Lucian’s ridicule was
organized religion. He believed that religion was
merely a tool used by many to take advantage of
gullible people, and he had nothing but contempt
for people possessed of false religious convictions.
He did not target any particular faith; rather, he
criticized the use of religion as a tool to control
the masses and lampooned society’s inability to
pursue enlightenment rather than temporal wealth
and luxury. In essence, Lucian was a writer who
sought to amuse his audience with his wit while
also expressing his skepticism and derision. His
skill made him one of the greatest writers of the
Silver Age of Greek literature.
English Versions of Works by Lucian
Lucian: A Selection. Edited by M. D. MacLeod.Wiltshire,
U.K.: Aris & Phillips, 1991.
Selected Satires of Lucian. Translated by Lionel Casson.
New York:W.W. Norton & Co., 1968.
True History. Translated by Paul Turner. Bloomington:
University of Indiana Press, 1958.
Works about Lucian
Allinson, Francis G. Lucian, satirist and artist. New
York: Cooper Square Pub., 1963.
Anderson, Graham. Studies in Lucian’s Comic Fiction.
Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1976.
Baldwin, Barry. Studies in Lucian. Toronto: Hakkert,
1973.
McIntyre, Ann. Culture and Society in Lucian. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986.