An alternative theory of the history of Christianity
Lucian of Samosata and the Eusebian fiction postulate
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia

See also:
Lucian of Samosata [WIKI]
List of Works by Lucian [WIKI]
Lucian's Life of Demonax - [WIKI]
Lucian's Life of Demonax - [TEXT]
"Lucian of Samosata, who usually took serious pains to raise a laugh,
wrote a life of Demonax, a philosopher of his own time, and in that book
and a very few others was wholly serious throughout."

---- Eunapius, Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists (1921) pp.343-565

A.M Harmon's Introduction to Lucian of Samosata

LUCIAN of SAMOSATA

Introduction by A.M. Harmon, 1913,
Published in Loeb Classical Library,
9 volumes, Greek texts and facing English
translation: Harvard University Press.
Among the eighty-two pieces that have come down to us under the name of Lucian, there are not a few of which his authorship has been disputed. Certainly spurious are Halcyon, Nero, Philopatris, and Astrology; and to these, it seems to me, the Consonants at Law should be added. Furthermore. Deinostitenes, Gharidemus, Cynic, Love, Octogenarians, Hippias, Ungrammatical Man, Swiftfoot, amid the epigrams are generally considered spurious, and there are several others (Disowned and My Country in particular) which, to say the least, are of doubtful authenticity.

There are a hundred and fifty manuscripts of Lucian, more or less, which give us a tradition that is none too good. There is no satisfactory critical edition of Lucian except Nilén’s, which is now in progress. His text has been followed, as far as it was available, through the True Story. Beyond this point it has been necessary to make a new text for this edition. In order that text and translation may as far as possible correspond, conjectures have been admitted with considerable freedom: for the fact that a good many of them bear the initials of the translator he need not apologize if they are good; if they are not no apology will avail him. He is deeply indebted to Professor Edward Capps for reviewing his translation in the proof.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Chief manuscripts :--

g group--

Vaticanus 90 (G), 9/10th century.
Harleianus 5694 (E), 9/10th century.
Laurentianus C. S. 77 (F), 10th century.
Marcianus 434 (W), 10/11th century.
Mutinensis 193 (S), 10th century.
Laurentianus 57, 51(L), 11th century (?).

ß group--

Vindobonensis 123 (B), 11th century (?).
Vaticanus 1324 (U), 11/12th century.
Vaticanus 76 (P).
Vaticanus 1323 (Z).
Parisinus 2957 (N).

Principal editions :--

Florentine, of 1496, the first edition by J. Lascaris, from the press of L. de Alopa.
Hemsterhuys-Reitz, Amsterdam 1743, containing a Latin translation by Gesner, critical
                      notes, variorum commentary and a word-index (C. C. Reitz, 1746).
Lehmann, Leipzig 1822-1831, a convenient variorum edition which contains Gesner’s
                      translation but lacks Reitz’s index.
Jacobitz, Leipzig 1836-1841, with critical notes, a subject-index and a word-index;
                      it contains the scholia.
Jacobitz, Leipzig 1851, in the Teubner series of classical texts.
Bekker, Leipzig 1853.
Dindorf, Leipzig 1858, in the Tauchnitz series.
Fritzsche, Rostock 1860-1882, an incomplete edition containing only thirty pieces;
                      excellent critical notes and prolegomena.
Sommerbrodt, Berlin 1886--1899, also incomplete, but lacking only fifteen pieces;
                     with critical appendices.
Nilén, Leipzig 1906- , the new Teubner text, with very full critical notes,
                     and part of the Prolegomena in a separate gathering;
                     the text is to appear in eight parts.


Also:--

MACLEOD, M.D., 1972-, New edition in Oxford Classical Texts series.
G. W. Bowersock, The Sophists in the Roman Empire, Oxford 1969 (chapter 9)

ALEXANDER THE FALSE PROPHET

AN account of the false priest of Asclepius, Alexander of Abonoteichus. It has been discussed in detail by Cumont in the Mémoires couronndes de l’academie de Belgique, vol. xl (1887). Although Alexander achieved honour not only in his own country, a small city in remote Paphlagonia, but over a large part of the Roman world, almost nothing is known of him except from the pages of Lucian. Gems, coins, and inscriptions corroborate Lucian as far as they go, testifying to Alexander’s actual existence and widespread influence, and commemorating the name and even the appearance of Glycon, his human-headed serpent. But were it not for Lucian, we should not understand their full significance.

Alexander’s religious activity covered roughly the years A.D. 150-170. The cult which he established outlasted him for at least a century. It was highly unusual in its character, as Cumont observes. Sacred snakes were a regular feature of sanctuaries of Asclepius ; but to give a serpent a human head and style it the god incarnate was a distinct innovation. Moreover, the proper function of Asclepius was to heal the sick, who passed the night in his temple, expecting either to be cured while they slept or to have some form of treatment suggested to them in their dreams. But at Abonoteichus we hear nothing of incubation, and only incidentally of healing; the “new Asclepius” deals in oracles like Apollo, and gives advice on any subject. This, together with Alexander’s extravagant claims of divine descent, confirms Lucian in his appraisal of him as an out-and-out charlatan, aiming to play upon the gross credulity of the times and to secure the greatest gain with the least effort.

Lucian was in a position to know a good deal about Alexander, and clearly believes all that he says. Without doubt his account is essentially accurate, but it need not be credited absolutely to the letter. Lucian was no historian at best, and he was angry. In the account of his relations with Alexander he reveals his own personality more clearly than usual, but not in a pleasant light. The piece was written at the request of a friend, after A.D. 180, when Alexander had been in his grave for ten years.

A True Story

A fictional narrative work written in prose, he parodied some weird tales told by Homer in the Odyssey and some feeble fantasies that were popular in his time. He anticipated "modern" fictional themes like voyages to the moon and Venus, extraterrestrial life and wars between planets centuries before Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. He could actually be called the Father of science fiction.

The Passing of Peregrinus

A satire in which the lead character, Peregrinus, takes advantage of the generosity and gullibility of Christians.

The Works of Lucian of Samosata

tr. by H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler
Oxford: The Clarendon Press [1905]

This is the master index for the four volume Fowler and Fowler translation of the works of Lucian of Samosata. This includes most of Lucian's works, with the notable exception of The Syrian Goddess. There are other 'expurgations' noted in the Preface.

NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION: This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published prior to January 1st, 1923. Volumes I-III based on etexts developed by Project Gutenberg, with additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com. Volume IV was scanned, proofed and formatted at sacred-texts.com, March 2006, by John Bruno Hare. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution accompanies any copies.

VOLUME I: Preface, Introduction, The Vision, A Literary Prometheus Nigrinus. A Dialogue Trial In The Court Of Vowels Timon The Misanthrope Prometheus On Caucasus Dialogues of the Gods Dialogues of the Sea-Gods Dialogues of the Dead Menippus Charon Of Sacrifice Sale of Creeds The Fisher Voyage To The Lower World
VOLUME II: The Dependent Scholar Apology For 'the Dependent Scholar' A Slip Of The Tongue In Salutation Hermotimus, Or The Rival Philosophies Herodotus And Aëtion Zeuxis and Antiochus Harmonides The Scythian The Way to Write History The True History The Tyrannicide The Disinherited Phalaris Alexander The Oracle-monger Of Pantomime Lexiphanes
VOLUME III: Life Of Demonax A Portrait-study Defence of the 'Portrait-Study' Toxaris: A Dialogue Of Friendship Zeus Cross-examined Zeus Tragoedus The Cock Icaromenippus, An Aerial Expedition The Double Indictment The Parasite, A Demonstration That Sponging Is A Profession Anacharsis, A Discussion Of Physical Training Of Mourning The Rhetorician's Vade Mecum The Liar Dionysus, An Introductory Lecture Heracles, An Introductory Lecture Swans and Amber The Fly, An Appreciation Remarks Addressed to an Illiterate Book-fancier
VOLUME IV : Slander, a Warning The Hall Patriotism Dipsas, the Thirst-Snake A Word With Hesiod The Ship: Or, The Wishes Dialogues of the Hetaerae The Death of Peregrine The Runaways Saturnalia Cronosolon Saturnalian Letters A Feast of Lapithae Demosthenes, An Encomium The Gods in Council The Cynic The Purist Purized Notes Explanatory of Allusions to Persons, &c.

The Philopatris

Passed under his name. This dialogue, unlike what Lucian had written in the Peregrine and The Liar, is a deliberate attack on Christianity. It is clear to us now that it was written two hundred years after his time, under Julian the Apostate; but there can be no more doubt of its being an imitation of Lucian than of its not being his; it consequently passed for his, the story gained currency that he was an apostate himself, and his name was anathema for the church.

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