The Surprising Dawn of Science Fiction: Unpacking Lucian’s “A True Story”
As was explored in the video above, the realm of science fiction, with its sprawling cosmic battles, fantastical alien encounters, and visions of advanced technology, might seem like a distinctly modern invention. Blockbuster films and intricate novels featuring epic space operas dominate today’s entertainment landscape, yet the genre’s true origins reach back much further than many might imagine. Long before the groundbreaking works of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells, an ancient Greek satirist from the 2nd century AD crafted a narrative that can be considered the earliest known science fiction novel: Lucian of Samosata’s “A True Story.” This remarkable work, penned during an era of wooden ships and horse-drawn chariots, offers a fascinating glimpse into the imaginative depths of antiquity.
Lucian’s Satirical Genius: Poking Fun at 2nd Century Fads
Lucian of Samosata was not just a storyteller; he was a wildly popular satirist whose sharp wit was used to ridicule the prevailing superstitions, religions, and even political figures of his time. With over 80 of his works surviving to this day, it is clear that his over-the-top, exaggerated humor captivated audiences. However, for a modern reader, much of Lucian’s work might seem confusing or even “total trash,” as the video aptly points out. This is because his humor was deeply embedded in the cultural context of his era, appealing directly to the educated upper class of Greece who understood his witty, referential jokes.
Two of the most popular literary genres throughout the Roman Empire during Lucian’s time were the travelog and the debate. Travelogs, which often blended guide book elements with personal journals, saw men journeying to distant lands and publishing their discoveries. However, this genre had become rife with sensationalism, with writers frequently embellishing and outright fabricating “discoveries” to maintain their relevance. Debates, on the other hand, were written arguments between respected public figures, often perceived by Lucian as long-winded, highbrow, and prone to bickering over trivial or unknowable semantic points. Lucian held a passionate disdain for what these genres had become, seeing them as bloated with falsehoods and intellectual pomposity.
It was with this critical eye that Lucian crafted “A True Story.” His aim was to satirize these popular trends by creating a narrative so absurd, so clearly fabricated, that its fictional nature could not be missed. The brilliance of his approach lay in his upfront honesty. On the very first page, Lucian declares that his entire book is a work of fiction. This direct admission would have been a startling contrast to the travelogs of the time, which often masqueraded as factual accounts. Lucian boldly proclaims, “I confidently pronounce that truthfully, I lie. I write of matters which I neither saw nor suffered, nor heard by reports from people that I made up… Let no man therefore in any case believe these words.” This meta-commentary serves as both a preface and a punchline, signaling to his readers that they were about to embark on a journey of pure, unadulterated fantasy.
Plotting the Ancient Cosmos: A Journey Beyond the Pillars of Hercules
Lucian’s “A True Story” begins with the protagonist, Lucian himself, gathering a crew of 50 men. Driven by a desire to explore the world, they set sail from the Pillars of Hercules (modern-day Strait of Gibraltar). Their provisions are ample, and an expert pilot guides them towards what they believe to be the end of the Earth. After sailing for a day and a night, a colossal tempest engulfs their ship. This terrifying storm lasts for an astonishing 79 days, a testament to the author’s flair for exaggeration. On the 80th day, the storm finally clears, revealing a nearby island.
An Encounter on the Wine River
Upon landing, a scouting party of 20 men discovers a bronze slab indicating that the gods Hercules and Dionysus had visited the island, with massive footprints serving as proof. Further exploration leads them to a river teeming with wine. The fish caught from this river have an intoxicating effect, making the men drunk. Following the river upstream, they encounter an extraordinary sight: grapevines shaped like women. These arboreal ladies speak Greek and invite the men to kiss them. In a moment of lust-fueled indiscretion, two crew members embrace the trees, only to be snared by the branches and transformed into trees themselves. This early, bizarre episode sets the tone for the increasingly outlandish adventures that follow.
To the Moon and Interplanetary Warfare
Leaving the doomed men behind, Lucian and his crew hastily depart the island. Before long, their ship is caught in a great whirlwind, pulling the entire vessel out of the water and launching it into outer space. For seven days, they sail through the cosmos, propelled by an improbable space wind, until they arrive at the moon on the eighth day. The moon, to their surprise, is inhabited and features cities. Lucian’s party is promptly arrested by the Hippogypenes, or Vulture Dragoons—men riding colossal birds—who serve as the moon’s police force.
They are brought before King Endymion, a human who, conveniently, speaks Greek. Endymion welcomes them warmly and reveals that the Moon Kingdom is locked in a fierce interplanetary war with the Sun Kingdom over the colonization of Venus. Lucian and his men, having nothing better to do, agree to join Endymion’s army. They are outfitted with armor and individual giant vultures for aerial combat.
The ensuing battle is a spectacle of ancient speculative fiction:
- **Moon Army:** 100,000 Moon soldiers, supported by almost a million galactic allies, including Grasplumes (grass-covered birds with lettuce wings), Vulture Dragoons, and archers riding elephant-sized fleas. Island-sized spiders, such as “Owlett, Son of Fairweather,” weave a massive web in space to serve as a makeshift battlefield.
- **Sun Army:** Dragoons mounted on 200-foot-long ants, enormous mosquitoes, men who hurl poison radishes, warriors wielding asparagus spears and mushroom shields, and “puppycorns” (representatives of the Dog Star) fighting on the backs of winged acorns.
Lucian’s satirical touch is evident in the humorous details, such as the Sun army’s poor management, with slingers from the Milky Way failing to appear and Cloud Centaurs arriving after the battle had concluded. This likely poked fun at the random, often irrelevant, details travelog writers included to lend their fantastic tales an air of authenticity. The Moon Kingdom achieves a glorious victory, with much blood flowing on the clouds, dyeing them red “as they do when the sun is setting.”
Life on the Moon and a Treaty of Dew
After the battle, Lucian and two companions are captured by the belated Cloud Centaurs and taken to the Sun, where they meet King Phaethon. Phaethon, initially furious, attempts to build a wall of clouds to divide the sun from the moon. However, Endymion’s compassion leads to a peace offering, and after two days of intense deliberation, a treaty is forged. The Sunites agree to dismantle the cloud wall and release prisoners. In return, the Moonites pledge to leave the stars unconquered, and both kingdoms agree to mutual aid in times of attack. A unique detail of the treaty is Endymion’s annual tribute of 10,000 gallons of dew to Phaethon, and a joint colonization effort on Venus is established.
Upon their return to the moon, Lucian and his friends are hailed as heroes. Endymion, hoping they will stay and join the Venusian colony, even offers his son’s hand in marriage. Lucian pointedly declines, stating “There are no women on the moon,” leading to a week-long description of lunar peculiarities:
- Moonites are born of men, not women.
- Individuals are wives up to the age of 25, then husbands thereafter.
- Pregnancy occurs in the calf of the leg, not the belly.
- The moon is home to flying frogs, which are caught and eaten fried.
- Moon men have a single toe on each foot.
- Honey serves as their snot, and they sweat milk instead of perspiration.
- Their bellies function as pockets, and their clothes are made of glass.
- Their eyes are removable, and their ears are crafted from leaves.
During this stay, Lucian discovers an intriguing piece of technology: a vast pane of glass suspended over a shallow well that acts as an ancient form of television, telegraphing events on Earth. Through this, Lucian spies on his family, adding another layer of meta-commentary by jokingly challenging the reader, “If you think that I am lying, go there yourself, and you will see that I am telling the truth”—a likely jab at a contemporary author’s defensive claims.
Back to Earth, and Deeper Terrors
After seven days, Lucian and his crew embark on their journey back to Earth, guided by Endymion’s royal guard. Their return path takes them through Lamptown, a city inhabited by sentient, floating lamps, each bearing the name of a person on Earth and reporting on their assigned human’s activities to a magistrate. If a lamp fails its duty, its flame is extinguished forever. Lucian finds his lamp and inquires about his family, but the strange city unnerves the crew, who quickly depart.
They pass by the elusive Cloud Cuckoo Town and, after four days, are finally lowered back to Earth. Their respite is short-lived; on the third day back in the ocean, they are attacked by colossal sea monsters. Their ship is swallowed whole by a whale an astounding 187 and a half miles long. Inside the whale’s belly, they discover an entire hidden world, complete with forests, animals, and even civilizations of fish people. They encounter other swallowed seamen and learn of six warring kingdoms within the whale, finding themselves once again thrust into conflict. They survive in this bizarre internal world for almost two years before devising an escape plan: they set the whale’s internal forests on fire, slowly killing the beast over 13 days. Once the whale dies, they use beams to pry open its mouth and sail out.
The Island of the Blessed and Unfinished Journeys
Yet, the journey is far from over. The video highlights many more adventures that follow: a 30-day ordeal on frozen ice, a hunting expedition on a desert island, a voyage through a sea of milk, and an island made of cheese. They encounter the cork feet, who possess the ability to walk on water, and arrive at the legendary Island of the Blessed. This central city, an afterlife kingdom of gold with emerald walls, allows Lucian to meet veterans of the Trojan War, witness celestial court cases, and converse with historical figures like Pythagoras and Homer. He even overhears gossip about Socrates and Diogenes, and a particularly “spicy” detail: “Plato was not there. It was said that he was living in an imaginary city under the constitution and laws that he himself wrote.” This playful jab at Plato’s philosophical ideals showcases Lucian’s continuous use of literary and philosophical satire.
After six months on the island, a rebellion erupts, leading to Lucian and his party being asked to leave before the rebels’ sentencing. Though Lucian weeps at the prospect of departing, the demigod Rhadamanthus assures him of a future return and points out six great islands in the distance. Beyond these, he explains, lies a great continent opposite their own, promising many more adventures before they finally reach home. Rhadamanthus hands Lucian a marshmallow plant, instructing him to pray to it in times of trouble.
The book then recounts parts of the perilous journey through these six islands, where many men perish amidst new horrors. The narrative abruptly concludes mid-voyage, with Lucian stating, “What happened on that island, I shall tell you in the next book.” A disgruntled Greek scholar, perhaps a predecessor to modern frustrated readers, famously scribbled in the margins of a surviving copy, “This is Lucian’s greatest lie of all,” acknowledging that no sequel was ever written. This final, unfulfilled promise serves as one last, brilliant satirical flourish in what is truly the earliest science fiction.
Lost Scrolls & Cosmic Conundrums: Your Absurd Inquiries
What is considered the earliest science fiction story?
Lucian of Samosata’s “A True Story,” written in the 2nd century AD, is often hailed as the earliest known science fiction novel.
Who wrote “A True Story” and when?
It was written by Lucian of Samosata, an ancient Greek satirist, in the 2nd century AD.
What makes “A True Story” an early example of science fiction?
It features imaginative elements like space travel, alien encounters, lunar wars, and advanced technology, long before the modern science fiction genre existed.
What was one of the unusual places Lucian’s crew visited in the story?
After being caught in a whirlwind, Lucian and his crew are launched into outer space and arrive at the moon, where they find inhabited cities and get involved in a war.