Lucian of Samosata’s Imaginative Divine and Human Landscapes

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents Lucian’s theocentric works through the lens of fictional narratology and sociopragmatics and argues that he builds imaginary worlds that feature delinquent gods, regretful and spiteful corpses that contemplate life, and lands inhabited by lamp-shaped beings to explore humanity’s exploration of life and religious beliefs. More specifically, The Parliament of the Gods, Zeus Catechized, Zeus Rants, On Sacrifices, Dialogues of the Gods, Menippus, Icaromenippus, and the True Story are closely studied to argue that Lucian conceptualizes the quest into life’s unknowns by engineering imaginary worlds, estranging the normal, and questioning ground truths about life. Ultimately, he actualizes literary fiction to explain theology and philosophical inquiries and their implications for everyday people.