The first science fiction novel about man on the Moon was written in Greek by Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς), a Hellenized Syrian writer, 2,000 years ago.
True History (Verae Historiae in Latin) or Αληθής Ιστορία in Greek, is the fictitious account of man’s journey to the moon. With descriptions of great detail and an intricate plot, some scholars argue that this was the first novel of the popular science fiction genre.
The Greek-speaking rhetorician and writer was born around 125 CE in Samosata, in what is today Turkey. He was known as a great satirist who had gained the respect of his contemporaries for his sharp observations and vitriolic writings.
Lucian’s works appealed to casual readers and scholars alike as he exhibited a keen sense of humor in writing about serious philosophical subjects such as morality, epistemology and politics. However, he was very satirical about epistemology and his best known work is True History, in which he describes in detail an elaborate fantasy of himself travelling to the moon in the exquisite company of Greek mythological heroes and famous philosophers.
Heracles, Homer, Odysseus and Pythagoras thrown in
The man on the moon science fiction story begins with a statement that the story is not true—even though the title is True History—and that everything in it is, in fact, a complete and utter lie. It bears a resemblance to Homer’s Odyssey. The narrative begins with Lucian and his companions traveling outside the Pillars of Hercules.
Having been thrown off course by a storm, they come to an island of fish and bears with a river of wine full. There are indications that Hercules and Dionysus have traveled to this point, and there are trees that look like women.
Shortly after leaving the island they are caught in a whirlwind and transported to the moon, where they find themselves embroiled in a full-scale war between the Moon King and the Sun King over the colonization of Venus. Both armies are home to strange hybrid life forms.
The armies of the sun win the war by creating clouds on the moon and blocking the sun’s light, resulting in a peace agreement. Lucian then describes life on the moon and how it differs from life on Earth.
A long parade of bizarre beasts inhabit the moon: elephant-sized fleas, three-headed vultures, grass-bodied birds with wings of giant leaves, half women-half grapevine beings from whom a kiss would send one “reeling drunk,” and men who sweat milk of such quality “that cheese can actually be made from it by dripping in a little of the honey” which runs from their noses.
After returning to Earth, the travelers are swallowed by a huge whale, in whose belly they discover a variety of fish-men, whom they fight and triumph over. They kill the whale by lighting a fire and escaping, leaving through its open mouth.
A new method of reproduction
They then 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 people, as well as Homer and Pythagoras. They find sinners being punished, the worst being those who had written books of lies and fantasies, including Herodotus and Ctesias.
On the moon there are also innovative new methods of reproduction, since there are no women there. On one part of the moon babies are born from men’s swollen calves, delivered dead but brought to life by putting them in the wind with their mouths open.
A people known as the Arboreals have a different method: a man’s right genital gland is cut off, planted, and from it grows a very large tree of flesh, “resembling the emblem of Priapus,” and from its fruit of huge acorns men are shelled.
After leaving the island, they deliver a letter to Calypso that Odysseus had given them, explaining that he wished he had stayed with her so that he could live forever. They then discover a gap in the ocean, but eventually sail around it, and discover a distant continent which they decide to explore.
The “first science fiction” book of man on the Moon written in Greek ends abruptly with Lucian declaring that their future adventures will be described in subsequent sequels, a promise that a disappointed schoolmaster described as “the biggest lie of all.”
A great satirist
In addition to being the creator of satirical stories, Lucian is considered as one of the greatest Attic writers of the Second Sophistic period, having left behind a great and rich body of work, including the Dead Dialogues.
Lucian said that his native language was “barbaric,” so he chose to write in Greek and specifically in the Attic dialect.
Although True History is considered one of the first novels in history, it is widely recognized if not as a pure work of science fiction, at least as a novel of satirical fantasy. There are some scholars who question Lucian’s primacy and trace the first examples of the genre even further back, considering that its roots are with Plato.
This has been argued in a series of essays published by the award-winning author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), citing Plato’s Republic as an early example of science fiction.
Lucian uses satire to ridicule pseudo-science and superstition, especially when he writes, “Everything in my story is a more or less comical parody of one or another of the poets, historians and philosophers of old, who have written much that smacks of miracles and fables.”
Even though Lucian’s satire doesn’t spare poets like Homer and historians like Herodotus, Lucian believed that the real culprits are the philosophers, and he intended to give them a proper whipping.
Lucian takes great offense at the epistemological hypocrisy of those who would elevate themselves as arbiters of truth and falsity, while at the same time resorting to ‘lies’ and ‘fictions’ to make their case. As he puts it: “On reading all these authors I did not find fault with them for their lying, as I saw that this was already a common practice even among men who profess philosophy.”
Lucian’s turn to philosophy
At the age of 40, Lucian abandoned Sophism and rhetoric and turned to philosophy. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of the Platonic philosopher Nigrinus, whom he admired. A restless spirit, he immersed himself in almost all philosophical schools, but it was the philosophical movements of the Epicureans and the Cynics that attracted him the most.
Lucian admired the Cynic philosophers’ attitude towards life. This is reflected in the characters of many of his dialogues. On the other hand, he disliked the Stoics, perhaps because of their well-known tendency to interfere in politics, their pompous style and their dogmatism.
In general, Lucian detested dogmatism, intransigence and extreme philosophical disputes, as well as pretentious language and sophisms. In his dialogue Hermotimus or On Heresies, he criticizes the dogmatic way of thinking and the entire psychology of the “follower” of a school, a trend or a faith.
In 165 CE he settled in Athens, the capital of the spirit of that era. There he developed his particular style of writing, making extensive use of simple and straightforward dialogue and wit. His works had a comic, teasing style—as exemplified by his science fiction novel of man on the Moon—which is his particular characteristic. Often, however, especially towards the end of his life, his writings were filled with bitterness and sarcasm.
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