Lucian, Lucian's Works

Leonardo Gregoratti (University of Durham)

Ed. by Emily Kneebone, University of Nottingham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 120 - c. 180

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Publication/ performance)
Turkey (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Satire

Resources

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Lucian of Samosata (c. 125 AD - after c.180 AD; Latin:

Lucianus Samosatensis

Greek:

Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς) was a satirist and rhetorician of the Roman imperial period. He satirized many aspects of his contemporary society, especially writers, intellectuals, and philosophers, both past and present.

Almost everything known about Lucian’s life comes from his own work and is therefore hard to verify with accuracy, particularly given the fictitious or satirical nature of his writings. In several works he claims to have been born in the city of Samosata (nowadays Samsat in Turkey), part of the former kingdom of Commagene, which had been incorporated into the Roman province of Syria in 72 AD. Although he wrote exclusively in Greek, Lucian claimed to be

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2061 words

Citation: Gregoratti, Leonardo. "Lucian's Works". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 March 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38941, accessed 27 April 2024.]

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