In this semester, the theme that I’m interested in the most is the parody of Greek life in Lucien’s “True History.” In this science fiction novel, Lucien used his extensive knowledge of classical Greece to create a comedic story of the narrator’s voyage. In the vine scene, Lucien’s men are lured and consumed by the vine maidens, similar to the stories in the Odyssey, in which Odysseus’ crew is turned into pigs by Circe and killed by their follies. Later, Lucien mimicked Herodotus’ style of narration by documenting the strange beings he encounters on the moon. He also employed autopsy, the process of seeing something with one’s own eyes, making his work a funny parody of Herodotus’ narration of the massive Persian army and the various historical sites.
Lucien’s trip to the “lampolis” also intrigued me because it reflects the reality of slavery in the Greek world, a prevalent phenomenon that is rarely documented in famous classical works. Lucien models the lamps based on slaves in every aspect, even capturing minute details like how they pass their time near the harbor. When reading this portion, I first found it ridiculous, but I also thought that humans would look just as ridiculous from a foreigner’s perspective from a place like the moon. Lucien skillfully weaved reality into fiction, capturing the important details from an outsider’s view, and thus prompting the readers to rethink the validity of their actions in the real world.
I’m also extremely fascinated by the treaty and the naval warfare in Lucien’s novel, for they reflect important cultural practices in the Greek world. I’ve read about them in Herodotus and Thucydides’s works but never realized that there were so many distinct features, including how the treaty was framed and how the colonies were established. Lucien ridiculed these serious political matters by throwing in gigantic men rowing islands and tributes in the form of dew, which sounds stupid and unbelievable. The perspective is from a being that is smaller than what was happening around it, for Lucien the narrator is small compared to the giants and the massive number of moon and sun armies. Perhaps Lucien wanted his readers to realize how worthless human conflicts are and how easily wars between states could trample individuals.
The topic that struck me the most was the conversation between Solon and Croesus, and the message from it has already started to influence how I think about life. When I first read this story two years ago, I deemed it a stupid divine intervention story and didn’t pay much attention to it. This time, although more convinced that it is a made-up story, I was struck by how realistic it could be when applied to my own life. Croesus asks Solon who is the happiest man, thinking that he would be since he is the richest. Solon says that “Tellos” is the happiest because he lives a blessed life and dies a worthy death. He also says that Biton and Kleobes are the second happiest because they die at the best age after completing their tasks. This story tells me that the end is more important than what is happening at this moment, and Croesus eventually realizes this when he is almost burned after losing a battle to Cyrus. Looking at the end can make me more peaceful since the losses and gains in the present will not matter much in the future. It also tells me to cherish the present because every action we take contributes to the end. When I look at my own life, I find that it can be influenced by the world so quickly and effortlessly, for example, COVID entirely changed my life by preventing me from going home for three years. Other upheavals like the war in Ukraine and the war in Palestine affect the lives of millions who have no power to fight back. Many were enjoying their life until suddenly being entangled in death and separation. Looking at the end is not a way to evade the current difficulties but a method to not lose oneself in pain or hubris. Perhaps we should also adopt the notion of telos when reading Herodotus and Lucien. These writers told many lies in their works intentionally or unintentionally but the message that they emphasized—the telos of their stories—can always transcend the events and guide the readers.
