Lucianea et Pseudo-Lucianea : studies on pseudepigrapha of Lucian and works by Lucian sometimes considered spurious

Abstract

Lucian of Samosata has been regarded as one of the main representatives of 2nd century Greek literature and of the Second Sophistic movement in a broad sense, despite being quite a singular individual among his contemporaries. Unlike the intellectuals of his time, including sophists and writers in general, he has enjoyed uninterrupted attention from the Middle Ages to the present day, passing through the Renaissance and Humanism. Many of his works have been translated, reworked, or imitated repeatedly in numerous languages. Lucian’s creativity, innovation, satire, humor, and universal interpretation of all aspects surrounding human beings have made him a continuous source of themes, characters and situations, and, at the same time, the preservation of his writings has deeply contributed to our knowledge of the most important traits of Greek intellectual life and literature. Understandably, a significant number of studies have been devoted to the Syrian writer, either examining his thought and works from a strictly literary perspective or seeking a better understanding of the broader revival of Classical Greek culture in the 2nd century.