The Works Of Lucian 2366d

The Works of Lucian

By Daniel Zimmermann

Lucian was a prototype of Voltaire. Like his spiritual descendant, his writings abound in satiric humor.

He was born in Samosata in the Roman province of Syria, but he did not stay there all his life. Somehow he managed to enjoy an excellent education, for he wrote in Attic Greek, and his works betray familiarity with the classics. He devoted a significant portion of his life working as an itinerant lecturer, but his chief claim to fame is the works that he wrote while residing in Athens from 175 to 185, according to Wikipedia.

Unfortunately, Lucian was not a Christian, though he probably did not approve of the persecution to which Christianity was subjected. Nevertheless, in “The Death of Peregrinus,” he satirizes our spiritual brethren. At least he is more genial than Voltaire.

The Lord has been kind to Lucian. In contrast to many authors whose writings have perished, many of Lucian’s works survive to the present day.

In presenting these works, we shall begin with the one mentioned above and continue with others of special interest.

All the works that I am treating have been attributed to Lucian. I can only hope that the attribution is correct.

The Death of Peregrinus Proteus

In form, this work is a satirical biography, Its details may be accurate, at least to some extent. However, a eulogist would have betrayed a more favorable bias.

Lucian begins at the end. Peregrinus had cremated himself in the year 165 during the Olympic games, and Lucian apparently witnessed this event. At least, he pretended that he did.

He believed that Peregrinus was an old fool and treated him with mock sympathy. He underscored the ostentation with which he removed himself from the land of the living: he was “just like Empedocles; only with a difference. That philosopher would fain have sneaked into his crater unobserved: not so our highsouled friend. He bides his time till all Greece is mustered in full force constructs a pyre of the largest dimensions - and jumps on top in the eyes of all the world, having briefly addressed the nation a few days before on the subject of his daring enterprise.”

Lucian claimed that he freely expressed his opinion when the event occurred and that he suffered the hostility of the Cynics (the philosophical sect to which Peregrinus belonged). They would like to have torn him limb from limb, as dogs did to Actaeon or as the Maenads did to Pentheus.

After these introductory remarks, Lucian described what he (supposedly) saw

and heard.

Before the self-immolation, Theagenes, a prominent disciple of Peregrinus, made a speech praising his hero with words such as these: “The world has seen but two works of suring excellence, the Olympian Zeus and Proteus. The one we owe to the creative genius of Phidias; the other is nature’s handiwork.”

Before the crowd dispersed, a critic of Peregrinus got up and began to speak.

He began by described the wicked life that Peregrinus had led in his youth. It was even suspected that he had killed his father. As a result, he was forced to flee from his homeland.

He went to Palestine, met some Christians, and ed their community. Because of his persuasive self-aggrandizement, he became prominent among them.

Because Christianity was an illicit religion at the time, he was cast into prison. This made him even more famous. Christians came from far and wide to offer whatever help they could.

There was a real danger that Peregrinus might suffer martyrdom, but the governor of Syria released him. He realized that Peregrinus was trying to make a name for himself, even if he had to die in order to accomplish this goal. [In this section, the critic includes copious comments on Christian customs and attitudes as they existed in the second century A.D. What Lucian writes is fairly accurate, but unfortunately he does not believe the gospel message, and he treats Christianity in a satirical manner.]

Peregrinus returned to his native land. There was a real danger that he might be prosecuted for parricide, but he silenced his critics by giving away his inheritance.

He resumed his wanderings. He did not need the property that he had given away because the Christians supplied him with everything he needed. He lived on their bounty for a long time.

However, his association with Christians eventually came to an end, probably because they caught him eating some forbidden food. [This is not as improbable as it sounds. Some Jewish Christian communities retained the dietary laws of the Old Testament.]

Bereft of Christian bounty, he regretted giving away his inheritance and made an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim it.

As a result, Peregrinus changed his tactics. He went to Egypt and studied under a philosopher called Agathobulus. He shaved half his head, put mud on his face, suffered himself to be beaten with a birch rod, and gave similar beatings to his fellow pupils.

He later went to Rome. He endeared himself to the masses by criticizing the government. The emperor was not unduly concerned, but eventually Peregrinus was expelled from the city.

He then went to Elis, the site of the Olympic games. During the games he made

himself disagreeable by criticizing the man who invented an ingenious system for supplying water to the multitude that watched the games. In spite of his criticisms, he did not refrain from drinking the water.

He became so obnoxious that he aroused the fury of the mob and had to take refuge in the temple of Zeus.

Four years later he changed his tactics. He now praised the donor of the water supply. However, the people were tired of his tactics and ignored him.

That is why he resolved to leave this world in a blaze of glory. He announced his intentions during the previous Olympic games; now he was about to cremate himself.

After thus outlining the history of the life of Peregrinus, the critic effectively showed that the impending self-immolation was pure folly and not at all glorious. For example, he pointed out that temple robbers and murderers were condemned to suffer the same fate that Peregrinus was imposing on himself. He also reminded his listeners that Peregrinus was a parricide, so he deserved the type of death that he was suffering voluntarily; he even deserved to be fried in the bull of Phalaris.

The crowd approved of the critic’s speech. Theagenes then mounted the platform and offered an angry rebuttal, but Lucian did not hear what he had to say. He wanted to see the Olympic games.

Peregrinus knew that he could not compete with the Olympic games, so he scheduled his cremation for later that night. Lucian attended the event.

Of course, Peregrinus made it as dramatic as possible. He even threw frankincense into the flames before jumping in himself.

The final words of Peregrinus amused Lucian: “Gods of my mother, gods of my father, receive me with favor.” The reference to the gods of his father reminded Lucian of the parricide story. He had to laugh. [The Lord knows whether Peregrinus really was wicked and killed his father, but we do not have sufficient evidence to make a conclusive judgment.]

Whether or not this satiric biography is accurate in all its details, his selfimmolation is a historical fact.

The Cynic

What was Lucian? Did he belong to a specific philosophical school? If The Cynic is an authentic work of Lucian, it may throw some light on the subject.

The work is a dialogue. A Greek named Lycinus speaks with an unnamed Cynic.

Lycinus wondered why the Cynic lived as he did. He wore a tattered cloak and no shirt. He did not have any regular sleeping quarters, but slept on the ground wherever he happened to be when it became dark. His feet were bare, and he subjected his body to grievous severities.

The Cynic pointed out that he suffered no want. He had everything that he needed. His body was just as healthy as people whose bodies were protected by living quarters, fine clothing, etc. He then asked Lycinus why he found fault with his way of life.

In response, Lycinus pointed out that the things that the Cynic was avoiding furnished enjoyment and pleasure to those who used them. Lycinus’ life was no better than that of a beggar. Why did God provide the world with a rich variety of blessings if he did not want people to use them. It is miserable when a prisoner is deprived of these blessings, but it is madness when someone deprives himself of his own free will.

The Cynic pointed out that God provides a variety of blessings so that everyone has something that suits him. He criticized Lycinus and others of abusing themselves by surfeit and by abusing others, especially slaves, using them to satisfy their unreasonable cravings.

The Cynic defended his cynic philosophy and practices with other excellent arguments. He concluded by comparing the Cynic to the gods. He urged Lycinus to look at the statues of the gods. Since they usually were sculpted without clothes. The scantily clad Cynics closely resembled them, while well-dressed people like Lycinus did not.

From this article, it is apparent that Lucian was not a Cynic. I believe that he shared, at least in part, the criticism that he put into the mouth of Lycinus.

However, it is also apparent that he ired the Cynics. The work concluded with the arguments of the Cynic. Lycinus was not allowed to offer a rebuttal.

Lucian was not only one who ired the Cynics. Even Alexander the Great ired Diogenes the Cynic.

A True Story

Lucian was a very strange author. He called this composition “A True Story,” but at the very outset he its that it is a pack of lies. He did not want to be the only man “exempted from the liberty of lying.”

In this tale, he inaugurated a genre later employed by Cyrano de Bergerac, Jules Verne, and others. This tale also prophetically foreshadowed reality. It tells of a journey to the moon.

The tale begins as a sea voyage. Lucian and his fellow sailors ed through the Pillars of Hercules and entered the “West Ocean” (the Atlantic Ocean). A storm blew them to an island. After a much needed rest, they explored the island, eventually encountering a brazen pillar with the words: “Thus far traveled Hercules and Bacchus.”

They also encountered a marvelous river composed of wine instead of water. Following its course upstream, they came to a host of grapevines. From them the wine flowed, forming the river.

The river of wine had fish in them. All who ate them became drunk. To prevent this, they mixed some fresh water fish with the fish from the wine river.

They encountered some very unusual grape vines. Seductive women formed the top part of these botanical curiosities. Some of the sailors kissed the women and became drunk. Those who ventured a greater intimacy became permanently entangled. As a result, the rest of the sailors fled.

Resuming their voyage, their ship was assailed by a whirlwind, and they were borne aloft, eventually reaching a strange country where men rode on giant vultures.

They were taken to the king of the country. His name was Endymion and his country was the moon.

Endymion was waging war with Phaethon, who ruled the sun. Endymion wanted to take the poor people of his realm to colonize the morning star. Since Phaethon objected, hostilities ensued.

Endymion invited the earthlings to participate in the impending battle. He supplied them with the necessary equipment, including vultures. They feasted in the evening and rose to fight in the morning.

I over the marvelous description of the opposing lines of battle, which included such mounts as giant fleas and enormous emmet-like creatures.

Endymion and his forces were victorious. But then came the Nephelocentaurs, huge flying horses with human bodies from the waist upwards. They were part of Phaeton’s army, but they did not arrive in time to take part in the pitched battle. Since Endymion’s army was gathering the spoils of war, it was scattered and disorganized. The Nephelocentaurs fell upon them and won a total victory.

Many selenitan soldiers were captured, including the surviving earthlings. They were taken to the sun as prisoners of war.

Instead of besieging Endymion’s city, Phaeton’s forces constructed a wall in the air so that no sunlight could reach the moon. As a result, Endymion had to surrender. In the resulting treaty, Endymion had to pay a regular tribute. The prisoners would be released in exchange for a suitable ransom. Endymion was allowed to send colonists to the morning star, but the colony was to be tly supplied by the heliotans and selenitans and anyone else that wished to participate.

Lucian saw many strange things on the moon. For example, selenitans did not die. Instead, when they reached full age, they dissolved like smoke and turned into air.

They did not eat solid food. Instead, they broiled frogs and lapped up the resultant smoke.

Their physiology was unusual. For example, they did not have any toenails, and their foot was merely a giant toe. Moreover, they had an empty space where their intestines and liver should have been. This served as a compartment into which their children could crawl, something like kangaroo joeys. Their eyes were removable, and they could take them out and put them back in whenever they wished to do so.

With Endymion’s permission and help, they sailed back to earth. They had some marvelous experiences as they sailed through outer space.

When their vessel finally landed in earth’s ocean, they were filled with joy. They expressed their happiness by jumping into the water and splashing about,

Their happiness lasted for only a couple days, for a great whale swallowed them, ship and all.

It was dark. The only times when they could see anything was when the whale opened its mouth.

The whale was so large that a city of ten thousand men could fit inside it. There was some hilly land in the whale’s belly, probably composed of mud that the whale swallowed.

On the land were trees and herbs, plus a host of birds that nested in them. There were plenty of fish to eat, so the sailors did not starve. Their cooking fire did not seem to bother the whale.

When they explored the land, they encountered a temple of Neptune and other phenomena, Eventually they found an elderly gentleman named Scintharus and his son who had been living in the whale for twenty-seven years. It was they who had built the temple of Neptune.

These long-time residents had been successfully cultivating the land, so they were able to treat Lucian and his sailors to a hearty meal.

Scintharus had some unpleasant neighbors. For example, the Tarychanians

looked like eels with faces of lobsters. They ate raw flesh. The Tritonomendatans were part men and part cat. Important to Scintharus were the Pagadurians and Psettapodians. He managed to survive in this hostile land by paying the Psettapodians an annual tribute of five hundren oysters.

Lucian and his sailors realized that he would either have to make peace with these unpleasent neighbors or else wage war. He decided on the latter course of action.

The casus belli was the refusal of Scintharus to pay his annual tribute. On the first day, Lucian and his men defeated the Pagadurians and the Psettapodians. The next day the other neighbors attacked. They also were defeated. All were either killed or else fled from the whale and entered the ocean.

Though peace now prevailed inside the whale, there was a war outside. They went to the mouth of the whale to investigate, They saw giant men on huge movable islands. Some of these men served as oarsmen, rowing with huge cypress trees.

The quarrel concerned a herd of dolphins, The opposing leaders were Thalassopotes and Aeolocentaurus. The forces of the latter emerged victorious. After mounting one of the enemy’s islands on the head of the whale with a stake, they spent the night close to the whale and left the next day.

Desiring to escape from the whale, the sailors killed the whale by burning the wood that grew within the monster. When it was almost dead, they were afraid that its mouth might be closed when it died. If so, they would be permanently trapped within the carcass.

So the next time that the whale opened its mouth, they put long beams of timber upright between its jaws so that it could not close its mouth.

As a result, when the whale died, they sailed out into the ocean, Scintharus serving as pilot. They remained by the whale for three days and sailed away on the fourth day.

After a few days, the north wind started blowing. It became so cold that the ocean froze to a depth of four hundred fathoms. Since the ship could not move, Lucius and his men had to disembark and run across the ice.

Eventually they were in danger of freezing to death. So they dug out a sort of cave in the ice and lit a fire to keep warm. They found plenty of frozen fish while they were digging, so they had plenty to eat.

After forty days, they ran out of food, so they decided to return to their frozen ship. They set it on top of the ice; with the help of the sails, the ship went forward something like a sled or ice skates.

The weather eventually became warmer, and the ice thawed. The skating ship settled nicely into the water, and resumed her normal sailing activity.

As they continued sailing, they encountered marvelous phenomena. They entered a region where the ocean was composed of milk. They encountered an island made of cheese, on which many vines were growing, The juice of these vines was pure milk.

Sailing onward, they left the milky area and returned to salty water. Here they saw people running over the surface of the sea. Their buoyancy was due to feet composed of cork. They were Phellopodes, and they were returning to their home in Phello, a city situated on an island composed of cork.

Lucian then reached the island of the blessed. Leaving Scintharus and two sailors on the ship, the others disembarked. They were taken to Rhadamanthus for judgment.

Three other cases occupied the attention of Rhadamanthus before he dealt with Lucian and his men. Ajax, the son of Telemon, had suffered insanity and had committed suicide. In order to cure his insanity, he was sent to the famous physician Hippocrates. As soon as he recovered his senses, he could enter the island of the blessed.

The second case featured a dispute between Theseus and Menelaus. Both wanted Helen. Since Theseus had several other wives, Rhadamanthus decided in favor of Menelaus.

Then Alexander the Great and Hannibal appeared before the august judge. They were fighting for precedence. The greater military leader would be able to sit beside Cyrus the Persian. Rhadamanthus opted for Alexander.

Then Lucian and his men came for judgment. Rhadamanthus pointed out that they did not belong there, since they were still alive. However, he allowed them to stay for seven months. Then they would have to leave.

The blessed city enjoyed many wonders. For example, it was made of gold and

surrounded by a wall of smaragdus. The people themselves were pure spirits without bodies. Nevertheless, they looked and moved like ordinary people. Spring was their only season, and the weather was excellent. Their only winds were soothing zephyrs.

It was not necessary to bake bread in this city because baked bread grew right on the wheat plants. Other hortacultural wonders were vines that bore fruit twelve times a year and apple and pomegranate trees that bore fruit thirteen times a year. There were plenty of wells, some of which contain water, while others delighted the blessed spirits with honey or sweet ointment. Some rivers flowed with milk; others offered delicious wine.

Feasts occurred outside the city in a meadow called Elysium. At these banquets, the blessed spirits were entertained by readings from Homer, Arion, Stesichorus, Anacreon, etc. They also drank from two delightful wells. One of them was filled with laughter, the other contained pleasure.

Lucian saw the spirits of many famous people: Cyrus, Socrates, Achilles, and Epicurus, just to name a few. Aesop was their jester.

Some luminaries did not live in this blessed land. For example, the Stoics were busy trying to ascend the heights of virtue’s hill, and Plato lived in a republic similar to the one he described in his writings.

Lucian visited with Homer. Among other things, he wanted to know whether Homer had lived in Chios or Smyrna. Homer replied that he was not a Greek at all. He was a Babylonian named Tigranes. He was later called Homer while living as a hostage among the Greeks.

Lucian saw the spirits engage in various athletic events, similar to the sports in which they participated during their lifetime, such as boxing, wrestling, and running.

After the games, the blessed spirits faced a serious threat. There was a jailbreak. Led by Phalarus the Agrigentine and others, the spirits of the damned had escaped from their prison. War was imminent. Fortunately, the mighty Ajax was no longer insane. Together with Achilles, Theseus, and others, he easily vanquished the denizens of Tartarus. They then celebrated the victory by eating sodden beans at a banquet, while Homer wrote a book describing their heroic exploits.

As their seven month sojourn in the blessed isles drew to a close, Cinyras, the son of Scintharus eloped with Helen in a ship. Menelaus blew the whistle, and Rhadamanthus sent another ship to bring them back. Because of their crime, Cinyras and his companions were consigned to Tartarus. As usual, Helen was ashamed of herself.

Because of this and because seven months had ed, Lucian and his sailors had to leave.

Before leaving, Rhadamanthus told Lucian some of the things that he would see before reaching his native land. He also gave Lucian a root of mallows and instructed him to pray to it whenever he suffered great danger. He also assured Lucian that he would probably return to the isle of the blessed if he refrained from raking in fire with his knife, if he did not feed on lupins, etc.

The next day they sailed away. As they approached the islands where the wicked were being tormented (which I have been calling “Tartarus” for convenience sake), they detected a horrible stench. It smelled as if men were “broiling upon

burning coals.” Their were five such islands in all, but Lucian visited only one: a rocky, waterless land without trees and filled with prickly briers and other unpleasant phenomena.

Rhadamanthus had sent Naupilus to help Lucian when he visited these infernal islands. Now his help was needed. Because of him, they were able to through the narrow entrance guarded by Timon of Athens to the inner sanctum of the damned.

The worst punishment was reserved for liars. Herodotus, the father of lies, was there. His sufferings were so hideous that Lucian and his men fled back to their ship.

Their next stop was the Isle of Dreams. Fittingly, the haven where they anchored was called Hypnus. They disembarked and entered the land through the ivory gate. Interestingly, there were four gates that led to the Land of Dreams. Homer mentions only two.

They spent thirty days and thirty nights in the Land of Dreams, feasting and sleeping all the time. Then they continued their voyage.

Their next stop was Ogygia, the island where Calypso lived. Ulysses had stealthily given Lucian a letter addressed to Calypso. In it, he expressed thoughts that would have saddened Penelope.

When they sailed onward, they were were assaulted by wild men called Colocynthopiritans. While the battle was raging, other men called Caryonautans approached. Since these new arrivals were enemies, the Colocynthopiritans

began to fight with them. This allowed Lucian and his crew to slip away.

After further adventures, they came to an island inhabited by seductive women.They were all prepared to take advantage of the situation, but Lucian noticed that a lot of bones were lying about. He suspected that they were in grave danger, so he prayed to the mallow that Rhadamantus had given him. He also noticed that his prospective partner had hooves similar to those of a donkey.

Lucian drew his sword and forced his prospective partner to confess that they were sea-women called Onosceleans who ate strangers. Lucian tied her up and alerted his comrades.

Before leaving, he decided to kill the woman whom he had tied up, probably to prevent her from communicating with her comrades. Strangely, she had turned into water. When he plunged his sword into the water, it changed into blood.

Needless to say, they sailed away as fast as they could.

Lucian and his crew finally reached a country that was opposite the continent on which they themselves lived. While they were trying to decide whether or not they should explore the country, a storm blew their ships toward land and shattered them. Lucian and his crew had to swim to land.

With this accident, “The True Story” came to an end. Lucian promised to write a sequel explaining his further adventures, but the sequel never appeared. One critic observed that this promise was one of the many lies that Lucian told in this true story.

Phalaris

Phalaris lived In Sicily during the sixth century B.C. He managed to become the absolute ruler of Akragas (Latin Agrigentum; Italian Agrigento). He apparently managed to gain control of a considerable portion of Sicily.

According to Pindar and other ancient authorities, he was a cruel tyrant. This probably is true, though we cannot ignore the possibility that he might have been vilified by writers with pro-democracy bias.

Lucian’s writing concerning Phalaris centers about a brazen bull. According to the story, it was an instrument of torture which Perillos of Athens presented to Phalaris. Inside the brazen bull was a chamber in which a human victim could be imprisoned and roasted alive.

The first part of his work is a letter supposedly written by Phalaris to the oracle of Apollo of Delphi, to which he was sending the brazen bull as a gift.

In this letter, Phalaris points out that he is a benevolent ruler whose bad reputation is due to the fact that he had to punish people who were plotting to kill him. He explains how Perillos presented him with the brazen bull, and he claims that its cruel design filled him with horror; so he punished Perillos by making him suffer in his own brazen bull for a while. After removing Perillos from his torture chamber, he caused the culprit “to be flung dishonored from the cliffs.” Then, without subjecting anyone else to such cruel torments, he sent the bull as a gift to Delphi.

The second part of Lucian’s work expresses the sentiments of someone connected with the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. He refuted the objections of one of his colleagues who did not want to accept the brazen bull because of the bad reputation of its donor. He argued that gifts should be accepted without subjecting the donors to scrutiny, a procedure that would discourage people from giving gifts.

This second part reveals the whole purpose of Lucian’s work. He wanted to satirize the greed of those in charge of the oracle of Apollo.

In actual history, whatever the purpose of the brazen bull may have been, Phalaris did not send it as a gift to the oracle of Delphi. That was a necessary fabrication so that Lucian could satirize the oracle.

In the first part of this work, some think that Lucian is defending Phalaris, or redefining his character. However, the letter does not express Lucian’s thoughts, but the thoughts that Phalaris would have expressed concerning himself. I believe that Lucian took the testimonies concerning the cruelty of Phalaris at full value, but that he realistically wrote exactly what a cruel tyrant would say about himself.

As indicated above, I am not prepared to say whether or not the stories concerning the cruelty of Phalaris are true. We have no way of knowing for certain.

Dialogues of the Dead, 1-20

As the title implies, this work is dialogue in form. Each of the twenty dialogues usually involves two speakers, sometimes more. Menippus the Cynic appears in many of them. Other characters are drawn from Greek mythology and legend. The king of the underworld is the Roman Pluto instead of the Greek Hades.

Dialogue 1

In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux are brothers. When Castor dies and descends to the land of the dead, Pollux wants to share his fate.

As a result, the brothers take turns enjoying the blessings of life. When Castor returns to the land of the living, Pollux resides in the underworld. The next day Pollux ascends to the surface of the earth, while Castor goes below. The next day it is Castor’s turn to see the sun, etc.

In this dialogue, Pollux was about to enjoy his day of life. Diogenes the Cynic approached him and asked him to speak with Menippus the Cynic when he ascends to the surface.

Menippus liked to laugh at the foibles of Greek philosophers. However, Diogenes felt that the foibles of the dead were even more ridiculous than those of living philosophers. He suggested that Menippus would enjoy himself if he were to come below and witness the follies of the dead.

Since Pollux did not know Menippus, Diogenes offered the following description: he was “old, bald, with a cloak that allows him plenty of light and

ventilation…”

(In case that you missed the point, his cloak was old and torn. For this reason, there were many places where light and ventilation could enter.)

In addition, Diogenes asked Pollux to deliver messages to a few more people who were still alive. Pollux agreed to several requests. However, when he asked Pollux to scold the Spartans for their degeneracy, he refused to do so. Pollux didn’t want to scold his fellow countrymen.

Dialogue 2

In Greek mythology, Odysseus and others managed to visit the world of the dead while they were still alive. In response to the message of Diogenes, Menippus came to the world of the dead; however, he was not alive.

Hermes conducted the shade of Menippus to his new home. Charon, who provided ferry service, was taking them across the Styx.

Charon always charged a penny for his ferry service, but Menippus did not have any money. Charon complained about this. Moreover, he was annoyed at the loud laughter of Menippus. Usually the shades were sullen and silent.

When Menippus suggested that Hermes pay his fare, the latter objected.

This distracted Charon. He turned to Hermes and asked him why he had brought such a troublesome shade. At this point, Menippus sneaked away.

Dialogue 3

The shades of Croesus, Midas, and Sardanapalus approached Pluto and complained about Menippus. They wanted to whine and cry over the wealth and comforts that they had lost when they died, but Menippus kept interrupting them with insulting taunts and jeers.

Dialogue 4

This dialogue takes advantage of the fact that the word “cynic” is derived from a Greek word meaning “dog.” Menippus is conscious of this fact, and he tells Cerberus that they are related.

In Greek mythology, only doglike sounds came out of the mouth of Cerberus, but Lucian endows him with the gift of human speech.

Menippus asked Cerberus how Socrates reacted when he entered the world of the dead. Cerberus replied that he whined just like the others. Besides Menippus, the only cheerful shade that Cerberus had seen was Diogenes the Cynic.

Dialogue 5

Menippus asked Hermes to show him the shades of people who were renowned for their beauty during their earthly life. He learned that they were no longer attractive, not even Helen, for whom Greeks and Trojans had fought a devastating war.

Dialogue 6

Menippus asked Aeacus, the gate-keeper, to give him a sight-seeing tour.

He first saw the shades of such Greek heroes as Agamemnon and Achilles, as well as such Oriental rulers as Cyrus and Xerxes. He then saw Thales and Solon and spoke a few words with Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Socrates.

Dialogue 7

Menippus approached Tantalus, who stood in water but could never quench his thirst because the water always scurried away whenever he tried to drink.

Menippus pointed out that his desire for water was unreasonable. Since he had no body, he did not need water. Moreover, the lack of water would not kill him, since he was already dead.

Tantalus agreed with all that Menippus had said, but he pointed out that thirst was part of his punishment. He explained: “I must long for drink, though I have no need of it.”

Dialogue 8

Chiron the Centaur could have been immortal, but he decided that he wanted to die. Menippus asked him why.

Chiron explained that life was too monotonous. He always witnessed the same things, such as, light, sun, food, etc. He wanted to see something different.

Menippus warned him that he might eventually find that his existence in the underworld was equally monotonous.

Dialogue 9

According to Greek mythology, the prophet Tiresias was born a man, then turned into a woman, and finally regained his masculine form.

Menippus did not believe this story. By asking difficult questions, he tried to make Tiresias it that this transformation never happened. He concluded the conversation with the words: “Ah, you love a lie still, Tiresias. But there, ‘tis your trade. You prophets! There is no truth in you.”

Dialogue 10

In this dialogue, Menippus debunked two more prophets named Amphilochus and Trophonius.

Dialogue 11

In this dialogue, the speakers are Diogenes the Cynic and Hercules.

According to Greek mythology, Hercules became a god after he died. However, Diogenes wanted to know why this so-called god was dead.

Hercules claimed that he was only the phantom of Hercules. The real Hercules was in heaven, married to Hebe.

In reply, Diogenes made many comical remarks. For example, he asked: “Well, but where were Aeacus’s keen eyes that he let a counterfeit Herakles under his very nose, and never knew the difference?” He also suggested that the shade with whom he spoke was the real Hercules and that the phantom was in heaven married to Hebe.

Dialogue 12

In this dialogue, the shade of Alexander the Great converses with the shade of his father Philip of Macedon.

In history, the oracle of the god Ammon called Alexander his son. As a result, he began to act like a god.

The shade of Philip insisted that Alexander was his son. If he were the son of Ammon, he would not have died.

Alexander realized that his father was telling the truth. However, since people believed that he was a god, it was easier to conquer his enemies.

Philip then began to belittle his son’s achievements. He pointed out that the barbarians whom Alexander fought were not as powerful as the Greeks with whom Philip had to contend. In ing, he made reference to Alexander’s murder of Clitus.

In reply, Alexander pointed out that his achievements were not marred by treachery, broken promises, and the like.

Dialogue 13

Alexander now converses with Diogenes the Cynic. There is further satire on the supposed divinity of Alexander.

In addition, barbs are directed against Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander. He is called an impostor and “the craftiest of all flatterers.”

During the conversation, Diogenes reminded Alexander of his past glories and wanted to know how he reacted to their loss. Hearing this, Alexander burst into tears.

To allay his grief, Diogenes suggested that Alexander drink the waters of the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness.

The shades of Clitus and others were approaching with a threatening mien. As a result, Alexander had to hurry away.

Dialogue 14

Charon had to buy an anchor, caulking wax, and other supplies; so he owed Hermes some money. Charon could not pay because business was poor. There were fewer wars in the second century, so fewer people were dying.

Dialogues 15-19

These five dialogues satirize young men who become friends with childless rich men in the hope that they might inherit their wealth.

The rich Eucrates of Sicyon is ninety years old. Seven supposed friends are praying for his death. Pluto instructs Hermes to let Eucrates live for a long time, but bring the seven toadies to the realm of the dead.

For the same reason, Hermes brings the toady Terpsion instead of the rich Thucritus. Terpsion tries to persuade Pluto that he should have taken Thucritus instead because he was too old to enjoy his money. In reply, Pluto directs some effective barbs at Terpsion.

Ptoeodorus has promised to make Callidemides his heir. Callidemides tries to poison his benefactor but accidentally drinks the poison himself.

In his will, Cnemon bequeaths his slender wealth to the rich, childless Hermolaus, hoping that the elderly gentleman would return the favor. However, Cnemon died young, and he regretted that he did not bequeath his wealth to his proper heirs.

Like the other elderly gentlemen mentioned above, Polystratus is a rich man who has no children. However, he is less honorable than they. By dangling his wealth before the covetous eyes of greedy people, he is showered with a host of gifts. But in spite of his promises, he does not make any of them his heir. Instead, he buys a Thracian slave;and when Polystratus dies at the age of ninety-eight, the slave inherits his wealth.

Dialogue 20

Charon was about to transport some more shades across the Styx. Addressing Herrmes, he complained about the excessive baggage that his prospective customers were carrying. He was afraid that the boat would sink.

Menippus was one of these engers. He cheerfully gave up his wallet and staff. An attractive lady called Carmoleos had to doff her beauty. Lampicus, the tyrant of Gela, had to give up his wealth, pomp, pride, diadem, and robes. Damasias the athlete had to give up his crowns, victories, and fleshy encumbrances.

After Crato and a victorious general doffed their respective encumbrances, a

philosopher occupied Charon’s attention. Hidden under his cloak were quackery, ignorance, quarrelsomeness, vainglory, self-indulgence, etc. Needless to say, he had to discard all of this baggage.

Even his beard had to come off. Menippus removed it with a carpenter’s axe.

A Word with Hesiod

Lycinus and Hesiod are the speakers in this dialogue.

Lycinus liked the poetry of Hesiod. However, he was puzzled. In his work, Hesiod had promised to tell what happened in the past and also what would happen in the future. Lycinus did not see any prophecies in the published works of Hesiod. Did Hesiod lie when he promised to disclose the future? Or perhaps the Muses revealed the future to Hesiod, but Hesiod withheld the prophecies from the public. Or probably Hesiod was planning to publish the prophecies in a future volume.

Hesiod replied that his only contribution to his books was observation on farm work. The rest was the work of the Muses. He also claimed that a poet should not be called to in a minute fashion, syllable by syllable. Under the heat of fervent inspiration, extra words might slip in. Also the thought may be altered because of the exigencies of meter. Finally, he claimed that there were inspired prophecies in Works and Days such as the success promised to farmers who do their work correctly.

Lycinus claimed that such statements were not real prophecies. They were just

useful suggestions. It was like saying that a person who goes outside on a cold day without wearing clothes will catch a cold.

The Gods in Council

Momus is, in Greek mythology, the god of criticism. In this council of the gods, he complains that many of the newer gods do not deserve to be classified as deities. Dionysus, for example, was the son of a mortal woman who was not even a member of the Grecian race. Moreover, he is always inebriated. And he has brought to Olympus many undeserving associates, such as Pan, Silenus, and the satyrs, as well as Ariadne, whose crown he has set in the heavens. He has even brought the daughter of Icarius and her pet dog.

He pointed out that Zeus was partly to blame for this proliferation of deities. Many are sons of mortal women who managed to win the affection of Zeus.

Momus especially disliked the deities that came from Egypt. They made Olympus look like a zoo. One looked more or less like an ibis, while another resembled a bull.

He also complained about the deification of abstract qualities. Philosophers and others prated about Virtue, Fortune, or Destiny just as if they enjoyed a concrete existence, but no one had ever seen these entities.

Momus proposed the following resolution. A commission of duly-qualified gods was to examine the qualification of each of the new residents of Olympus. Those whose qualifications were satisfactory would be accepted as gods. Any

disqualified person that had slipped into heaven would be confined to Tartarus. His statues would be thrown down and replaced by a statue of Zeus, Hera, Athene, or some other qualified deity.

The philosophers would be commanded to change their habits.They were forbidden to “invent meaningless names or to talk nonesense about matters of which they know nothing.”

Zeus approved of the resolution. His first impulse was to let the assembly of the gods vote on it. However, he realized that it would not , since the pseudogods were in the majority. Therefore, he decided to act on the resolution without putting it to a vote.

To turn from satire to reality, Lucian was right. There were too many gods. The only real deity is the Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Demosthenes an Encomium

This work is a dialogue between Thersagoras and his friend (perhaps Lucian himself).

Thersagoras had written a poem about Homer. His friend was trying to write an encomium on Demosthenes. This led to a discussion of the relative merits of Homer and Demosthenes. Through this discussion, Lucian sings the praises of Demosthenes in an offhand manner,

Included in the discussion was the discipline to which Demosthenes subjected himself in order that he might strengthen his voice and become a superb orator. It involved “a shaven head, a cavern dwelling, a discouraging mirror and a punitive sword, a disciplining of the tongue [I.e., speaking with pebbles in his mouth], a belated apprenticeship to the actor’s art, a straining of the memory, a conquest over clamour, and a borrowing of night hours to lengthen toilsome days.”

Lucian also describes the excellent result of this self-discipline. Demosthenes developed an irable style with balanced clauses and rhythmic movement and cadence.

But his greatest virtue was his impeccable honesty. While other Athenian orators accepted Macedonian bribes, Demosthenes was incorruptible. This was acknowledged not only by his friends, but even his enemies. Lucian cited the state records of Macedon, in which the last days of the life of Demosthenes were described. Though Demosthenes was an enemy, Antipater, the ruler of Macedonia and Greece, considered him a worthy adversary.

Slander, a Warning

Toward the beginning of this work, there is an interesting story about the painter Apelles. His paintings probably were as excellent as those of Michelangelo or Raphael, but none of them have survived to the present day.

Another painter named Antiphilus envied Apelles. To humiliate his rival, he told Ptolemy, the ruler of Egypt, that Apelles had been an accomplice of Theodotus in the revolt of the city of Tyre.

Ptolemy swallowed this fish story, hook, line, and sinker. Apelles would have suffered gravely if one of the prisoners had not told Ptolemy the truth.

Apelles painted a picture commemoration his narrow escape. He depicted Slander as an impulsive woman who was dragging a young man by the hair. She was accompanied by Malice and Deceit. Envy was her guide. Their destination was a man with long ears, who was attended by Ignorance and Assumption. The young man swore that he was innocent, but the man with long ears indicated by his gestures that he was ready to listen to Slander.

It seemed as if the young man was doomed, but hope was on the way. Behind Slander and her cronies was Repentance, black-robed and with torn hair. She was looking behind her, waiting for Truth.

After presenting this interesting historical event, Lucian defines slander. Slander is “an undefended indictment, concealed from its object, and owing its success to one-sided half-informed procedure.”

Lucian then makes a host of observations on the character of slander. He points out that a slanderer is a coward. He is often found in royal courts, undoubtedly because they hope to gain favors by flattering the monarch and vilifying their rivals for royal favor.

However, slander will not be effective unless it is skillfully presented. It must be plausible.

The skillful slanderer takes the foibles of his hearer into consideration. He tries to find where his soul is weak, corrupt, or accessible. Then he directs his vicious barbs at the vulnerable spot, besieging his hearer with deceit, falsehood, perjury, insinuation, effrontery, etc.

Sometimes even the most skillful slander will not have its desired effect. If an honorable ruler allows a slandered individual to defend himself, the truth may emerge victorious. However, not every ruler is honorable. For example, when Phaedra lied about Hippolytus, Theseus believed her, and Hippolytus died as a result.

As a result, Lucian gives the following advice: “when anyone comes to you with a tale, examine it on its merits, regardless of the informant’s age, general conduct, or skill in speech.”

In contrast, to be carried away by the first word of slander is “puerile and mean and iniquitous.”

A Few Other Works

The Purist Purized

A purist claimed that he never made any blunders, and that he unfailingly detected blunders when other people made them.

Lycinus decided to test him to see whether he really could detect grammatical

blunders. The purist failed miserably.

In the end, the purist gave up his pretensions to infallibility. Instead, he became eager to learn.

Patriotism

Lucian’s theme is “there is nothing sweeter than one’s country.” He s this by such thoughts as the following:

No man “Is so dazzled by foreign wonders as to forget his own land.”

Because people love their country, laws generally punish the worst criminals by banishing them from their native land. Exile is considered the worst possible punishment.

A man may achieve wealth and fame while sojourning in a foreign country. Nevertheless, he still yearns for his fatherland.

The Runaways

Philosophy (personified) complains that quack philosophers are tormenting her.. Cobblers, fullers, and others don robes and utter foolishness in the name of philosophy.

Zeus sends Hermes and Hercules to deal with the problem. Philosophy is to accompany them.

Surprisingly, they are not sent to Greece, but to Thrace. These pseudophilosophers do not like Greece because they cannot get very much money there. Thrace is more lucrative.

In Thrace, they are ed by three masters whose respective slaves have run away and become quack philosophers. They also encounter an innkeeper whose wife these slaves have kidnapped.

The runaways are eventually found and punished.

A Feast of the Lapithae

In Greek Mythology, the Lapithae were hosts of a wedding banquet; several Centaurs were invited. Pirithous was the bridegroom; Hippodamia was the bride.

During the course of the festivities, Eurytion and other intoxicated Centaurs misbehaved. A fight ensued, and several Centaurs perished.

Lucian’s work concerns inebriated philosophers at a wedding feast. While they act foolishly and while Lucian satirizes them mercilessly, their misconduct is not as grave as that of the Lapithae.

For example, a Stoic named Zenothemus was one of the philosophers who suffered serious injury. He found it impossible to endured the pain.

An Epicurean named Hermon was also seriously hurt. Nevertheless, he taunted the wailing Zenothemus for failing to live up to the principles of his philosophy.

Saturnalian Letters

The Saturnalia commemorated the Golden Age which supposedly occurred during the reign of Saturn. During this celebration, masters treated slaves as their equals. In fact, it often happened that slaves would sit down and eat while their masters served them.

The Greek god Cronus was identified with the Roman god Saturn. The stories told about these two deities differed from one another, but this did not bother Lucian. His interest was satire, and he probably did not believe any of the stories anyway. So he calls Cronus the master of ceremonies of the Roman Saturnalia.

The poor wrote a letter to Cronus. They wanted him to effect a sort of socialistic redistribution of wealth.

In reply, Cronus wrote that Zeus was in charge of the distribution of wealth. However, since the abuses of the rich involved their conduct at the Saturnalia, he would instruct the rich to celebrate the Saturnalia in the proper way.

So Cronus wrote to the rich, reminding them how the Saturnalia should be celebrated.

In reply, the rich complained that the poor were also writing to Zeus, asking him to redistribute the wealth. It was for this reason that they did not feel like catering to the poor during the Saturnalia. If the poor would give up their exorbitant demands and start treating the rich as friends, the rich would gladly treat them like kings during the Saturnalia.

References

The Gutenberg Project: The Works of Lucian of Samosata, translated by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/47242/47242-h/47242-h.htm

Theoi: Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead, 1-20

https://www.theoi.com/Text/LucianDialoguesDead1.html

The Lucian of Samosata Project: Phalaris, I and Phalaris, II

http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php? id=home:texts_and_library:essays:phalaris-i

The Gutenberg project: Lucian’s True Story…

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=45858

Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church

Wikipedia: Lucian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucian

Wikipedia: Peregrinus Proteus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrinus_Proteus