Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Lucian's True History
Go deeper: the whole of Lucian's True History
About 1 h to read.Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who love satire, tall tales, early science fiction or the roots of fantasy, and anyone curious about the ancient world's sense of humor.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
Here is a travel writer who tells you up front that every word is a lie. Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian speaker and writer of the second century, wrote True History to amuse educated readers and to tease the books they loved. His narrator sails past the edge of the known world and meets one impossible thing after another. There is a voyage to the moon, a war with the sun, a whale as big as a country and an island of dead heroes. Many call it the ancestor of science fiction. Listen for the old book each marvel mocks.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A liar admits he is lyingFree
- 2A storm, a river of wine, and a waterspout
- 3The Moon goes to war with the Sun
- 4Swallowed by a whale as big as an island
- 5The Isle of the Blessed and its famous dead
- 6What the lies are really about
Punkt 1 von 6
A liar admits he is lying
Lucian opens with a preface that works like a dare. A thinking person, he says, should rest the mind with light reading, and he promises jokes that hide a target in plain view.
The targets are other writers. He names Homer, Ctesias and Iambulus, who all told of marvels as if they were true. Lucian does not blame them for lying. He blames them for lying with a straight face.
So he strikes a bargain. The only true thing in the book is his open admission that he makes it all up. That makes him, in his own eyes, the only honest liar in the business.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Go deeper: the whole of Lucian's True History
About 1 h to read.Who’s who
- Lucian
- The curious narrator leads his sailing companions beyond the known world and describes their impossible encounters with calm assurance.
- Endymion
- The king of the Moon welcomes Lucian's companions and opposes Phaethon over a proposed colony on the Morning Star.
- Phaethon
- The king of the Sun rivals Endymion and fights to prevent the Moon's proposed colony on the Morning Star.
- Scintharus
- A Greek living inside the whale with his son Kinyras, he explains their circumstances to Lucian and his companions.
- Kinyras
- Scintharus's son farms alongside his father inside the whale and helps the visiting sailors deal with their neighbors.
- Rhadamanthys
- The judge who governs the Isle of the Blessed decides how Lucian and his fellow visitors should be treated.
- Homer
- The celebrated poet lives among the blessed dead and answers questions from Lucian about his life and poetry.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 20,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 20 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about Lucian's True History
What is Lucian's True History about?
It is a comic tale of a sea voyage beyond the known world. The narrator reaches the Moon, takes part in a war with the Sun, is swallowed by a whale and visits the island of the blessed dead.
Why is it called True History if it is made up?
The title is a joke. Lucian says in the preface that everything in it is false, to mock writers who swore that their tall tales were true, such as Ctesias, Iambulus and even Homer.
Is Lucian's True History the first science fiction story?
Many readers call it the earliest work of science fiction, because it describes travel to the Moon and a war between worlds. Lucian wrote it as satire rather than science, but it shaped later space tales.
When was True History written and who was Lucian?
Lucian was a Syrian who wrote in Greek in the second century AD and died in 180. He was a satirist who wrote comic dialogues and tales, and True History is his best-known work.
Is True History hard to read?
No. It is short, written in a plain, deadpan style, and made of separate episodes.
Cite this edition
Lucian of Samosata. Lucian's True History. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucian-s-true-history.
Lucian of Samosata. (2026). Lucian's true history. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucian-s-true-history (Original work published ca. 175)
Lucian of Samosata. Lucian's True History. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucian-s-true-history.
@book{lucian2026lucians,
author = {Lucian of Samosata},
title = {Lucian's True History},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucian-s-true-history},
note = {First published ca. 175}
}