LUCIAN (Λουκιανός) of SAMOSATA. - Rhetorician and sophist, born at Samosata (Syria) near the Euphrates about A.D. 125, died c. A.D. 190. He traveled throughout the Empire: Gaul, Italy, and finally Egypt; he spent twenty years in Athens (165–185), where he refined his sophist skills and his polished Attic Greek.
He wrote 82 short works on various subjects, in which he displayed his sarcastic wit against every form of theological belief and religious manifestation that he considered superstitious, though they were much in vogue at the time. He favored the dialogic form, as seen in the *Dialogues of the Gods* (26 in number), which ridicule popular religiosity; the *Dialogues of the Dead* (30), which expose the spurious fame of supposed illustrious figures; the *Dialogues of the Sea-Gods* (15), akin in spirit to those of the gods; and the *Dialogues of the Courtesans*, a mirror of contemporary social life. He was not an atheist, though so regarded for his boldness in theological matters, but he was certainly anti-mystical and opposed to the many philosophers against whom he wrote: *The Fisherman*, *The Philosophers for Sale*, *Nigrinus*, and *The Symposium*; and to the charlatans posing as wonder-workers and miracle-mongers, whom he exposed in *Alexander or the False Prophet*. It is not necessary to review all of L.’s works here. Notable are *The Dream*, where he recounts his life; *Anacharsis*, a finely wrought irony on the Greek educational system based on athletic competition; *True History*, a satire on fantastic travel narratives beginning with that of Odysseus in the *Odyssey*; and *How to Write History*, also elegantly satirical in content. Against Christianity he did not display the violence and dialectical vigor of Celsus, but he portrayed its adherents in an unsympathetic, though not hostile, light, among the ranks of fanatics and almost madmen. The Christian is depicted (in *The Death of Peregrinus*) as a Cynic philosopher named Proteus who, after a scandalous life that included parricide, converts to Christianity and, thanks to his skill, soon becomes the leader of Christian assemblies, interprets their sacred books, and even writes them himself, so that his fellow worshippers hold him in the highest esteem (alluding to Christ, L. affirms that he was a great man, crucified in Palestine for introducing new mysteries into life). This esteem did not diminish even when Peregrinus was imprisoned for parricide; indeed, it brought him wealth and loyal support after his release, until he was abandoned when he was seen eating meat sacrificed to idols. Returning to Cynicism, Peregrinus Proteus ended his life on a pyre he had prepared during the Olympic Games, perhaps in A.D. 165. Apart from the overly credulous view that Christians took of Peregrinus as a “new Socrates” and “a god,” L. sketches a profile of them that, in essence, corresponds to reality: use of sacred books and assemblies, belief in immortality, brotherly love, mutual assistance, no accusations of moral turpitude against them, contempt for death, and readiness to disavow those who fail to practice the precepts of their religion. Many of L.’s works are considered pure satire, but the *De Syria Dea* must be excluded from this list, as it describes the sanctuary of Atargatis, the great deity of his native region; while the *Philopatris* should be included, a Byzantine work (L. was much in vogue in the Byzantine age) from the time of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (c. 968), which depicts a dispute between a conservative (Triephon), who abhors the Hellenistic rhetoric revived at that time in Constantinople, and a defender of it (Kritias).
In sum, L. is a writer who did not delve deeply into any of the subjects he treated, content merely to present a vivid and faithful picture of the customs of his time with inexhaustible verve, an abundance of witty turns, and skillful use of irony and satire, while holding all forms of superstition in profound contempt. It must be observed, however, that even while depicting Christians as inclined to religious fanaticism, he sketched a brief profile of Christianity that captures some of its essential features.