''A True Story'' ( grc, Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, ''Alēthē diēgēmata''; or ), also translated as True History, is a long
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
or short
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
written in the second century AD by the
Greek author
Lucian of Samosata. The novel is a
satire of outlandish tales that had been reported in
ancient sources, particularly those that presented
fantastic or
mythical events as if they were true. It is Lucian's best-known work.
It is the earliest known work of
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
to include travel to
outer space,
alien lifeforms, and interplanetary
warfare. It has been described as "the first known text that could be called
science fiction". However, the work does not fit into typical
literary genres: its multilayered plot and its characters have been interpreted as belonging to science fiction,
fantasy,
satire or
parody, and have been the subjects of scholarly debate.
Plot
The novel begins with an explanation that the story is not at all "true", and that everything in it is a complete and utter lie. The
narrative begins with Lucian and his fellow travelers journeying out past the
Pillars of
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. Blown off course by a storm, they come to an island with a river of
wine filled with fish and bears, a marker indicating that and
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
have traveled to this point, and trees that look like women. Shortly after leaving the island, they are caught up by a whirlwind and taken to the Moon, where they find themselves embroiled in a full-scale war between Endymion the king of the Moon and Phaethon the king of the Sun over
colonization
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
of the
Morning Star
Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise
** See also Venus in culture
* Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...
.
[The names of the kings are based on the mythological characters ]Endymion Endymion primarily refers to:
* Endymion (mythology), an Ancient Greek shepherd
* ''Endymion'' (poem), by John Keats
Endymion may also refer to:
Fictional characters
* Prince Endymion, a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime franchise
* Raul ...
and Phaethon, the lover of Selene the moon goddess and the son of Helios
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...
the sun god
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
respectively. Both armies include bizarre
hybrid lifeforms. The armies of the Sun win the war by clouding over the Moon and blocking out the Sun's light. Both parties come to a peace agreement. Lucian describes life on the Moon and how it is different from life on Earth.
After returning to Earth, the adventurers are swallowed by a whale, in whose belly they discover a variety of fish people, against whom they wage war and triumph. They kill the whale by starting a bonfire and escape by propping its mouth open. Next, they encounter a sea of milk, an island of cheese, and the
Island of the Blessed. There, Lucian meets the heroes of the
Trojan War, other mythical men and animals, as well as
Homer and
Pythagoras. They find sinners being punished, the worst of them being the ones who had written books with lies and fantasies, including
Herodotus and
Ctesias. After leaving the Island of the Blessed, they deliver a letter to
Calypso given to them by
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
explaining that he wishes he had stayed with her so he could have lived eternally. They discover a chasm in the ocean, but eventually sail around it, discover a far-off continent and decide to explore it. The book ends abruptly with Lucian stating that their future adventures will be described in the upcoming sequels, a promise which a disappointed
scholiast described as "the biggest lie of all".
Analysis
Satire
In one view, Lucian intended his story to be a form of
literary criticism
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
, a satire against contemporary and ancient sources which quote fantastic and mythical events as truth. He mentions the tales of
Ctesias,
Iambulus, and
Homer and states that "what did surprise me was their supposition that nobody would notice they were lying." Many characters and events are exaggerated to ridiculous ends to mock the original tellings. As noted by classicist B.P. Reardon, "above all, it is a
parody of literary 'liars' like Homer and
Herodotus". Consequently, Lucian goes on to state that the story recounted in ''A True Story'' is about "things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." He justifies the title by arguing that his is the only truthful mythological story ever written, inasmuch as it is the only one that admits that it is all lies. He also promises a sequel but it is not known if such a sequel existed.
Science fiction
Modern science fiction critics do not necessarily view the satirical streak of the story as conflicting with modern notions of science fiction. The defining element of science can be found in Lucian's specific and effective approach to identifying false values and misidentifications in contemporary philosophy, which was very much the general term of science then. Additionally, they point out that ''A True Story'' was written in response to another work that also contained science fictional elements, that is
Antonius Diogenes' lost ''Of the Wonderful Things Beyond
Thule'', whose protagonist also reached the Moon. The estranging feeling of the story as a defining element of science fiction has also been noted:
According to Grewell, whose definition of science fiction focuses on the struggle between supposedly superior and inferior life forms, "part of the tale that qualifies it as science fiction, rather than as fantasy or imaginative fiction, involves Lucian and his seamen in a battle for territorial and colonization rights."
The typical
science fiction themes and
topoi that appear in ''True Stories'' are:
*travel to
outer space
*encounter with alien life-forms, including the experience of a first contact event
*
interplanetary warfare and imperialism
*colonization of planets
*artificial
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
*liquid air
*motif of
giganticism
*creatures as products of human technology (
robot theme)
*worlds working by a set of alternate 'physical' laws
*explicit desire of the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
for exploration and adventure
A middle position seems to be taken up by critic
Kingsley Amis, who acknowledged the science fiction and satirical character of ''True Stories'' at the same time:
Modern equivalents, combining science fiction and parody in equal measure, may be found in
Voltaire's ''
Micromégas
''Le Micromégas'' is a 1752 novella by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. Along with his story "Plato's Dream", it is an early example in the literary genre of science fiction and has its place in the development of the history of li ...
'' and the works of
Douglas Adams.
See also
*
History of science fiction
*
Moon in science fiction
The Moon has appeared in fiction as a setting since at least classical antiquity. Throughout most of literary history, a significant portion of works depicting lunar voyages has been satirical in nature. From the late 1800s onwards, science fic ...
*
Meropis
*''
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'', a 1988 film by
Terry Gilliam with various plot similarities.
References
Bibliography
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* .
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Further reading
*
External links
*
''A True History''at sacred-texts.com
Loeb Classical Library, vol. 3/8 of Lucian's works, with facing Greek text, at ancientlibrary.com
Lucian of Samosata Projectnbsp;– Articles, timeline, maps, library, and themes
The bookat Project Gutenberg
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:True Story
2nd-century novels
Ancient Greek novels
Novels set on the Moon
Satirical works
Science fiction novels
Fiction about the Sun
Novels set on Venus
Works by Lucian
Novels set on fictional islands