Lucian of Samosata Verae historiae
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Lucian of Samosata

Verae historiae

history

Lucian's masterpiece. Two books of fantastical voyages — to the Moon, inside a whale, to the Island of the Blessed. He warns the reader at the start: everything in this book is a lie. The ancestor of science fiction.

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Books

  • 1
    Book 1

    Lucian sails beyond the Pillars of Heracles into pure fantasy — his ship is swept to the Moon, where he finds himself conscripted into an interplanetary war between the King of the Moon and the King of the Sun.

    ~5,580 words
  • 2
    Book 2

    After escaping the belly of a whale the size of an island, Lucian visits the Island of the Blessed and meets Homer, then continues through increasingly absurd adventures that parody every travel narrative ever written.

    ~5,650 words
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