Lucian's True History

Question 1

who are the main characters in True History?

Answer 1

• Lucian (narrator, fictionalized version of Lucian himself)
• Lucian’s companions (crew of 50 men)
• Endymion (king of the moon)
• Phaethon (king of the sun)
• Homer (meets him during journey to Isle of the Blessed)
• vine-women/tree-men (Lucian encounters plant-people, emphasizes mock tales of exotic peoples)

Question 2

what are the main plot points of True History?

Answer 2

• Lucian sets sail w/ crew of 50 men seeking to explore unknown lands (start at Pillars of Heracles)
• giant whirlpool lifts their ship in the sky & they land on the moon
• caught in war b/w moon people & sun people over colonizing the Morning Star (Venus)
• moon people win & Lucian is welcomed by Endymion to tour the moon
• Lucian & crew swallowed by whale containing cities, fight a war b/w factions inside its stomach
• eventually kill the whale & escape
• also visits an island of cheese, a river of wine, islands of the damned, & the Isle of the Blessed (meet Homer, Plato, & Odysseus)

Question 3

what main themes of the course are reflected in True History?

Answer 3

• epic adventure (cf. Odyssey)
• satire
• science fiction