# name
Menippus, a truly living ghost in Lucian’s Necromancy

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
The cynic philosopher Menippus is a standard character in Lucian’s works.
In Menippus or Necromancy, Lucian tells the story of the philosopher’s katabasis
which he undertakes to consult the seer Tiresias about true wisdom and the best way
to lead one’s life. Menippus has been unable to solve the question of the meaning of
human life from the precepts of the different philosophical schools and the conduct
of the philosophers themselves, who are often the butt of Lucian’s criticism. Menippus
narrates this voyage after his return to Earth. The philosopher has not died but has
become a ghostly apparition to men still alive. The message that he brings with him
from the world of the dead is none other than an exaltation of common sense and the
value of humour as a universal pattern of behaviour for an authentic life. The aim of
this chapter is to analyse some of the formal resources and themes that Lucian uses to
achieve his goal through parody and, at the same time, to highlight his ability to create
surprising narrative frameworks in which the contents of his writings always acquire
a new perspective.

# metadata.dc.publisher[].value
Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos da Universidade de Coimbra

# metadata.dc.relation.ispartof[].value
Capítol de llibre: Romero-González, Dámaris & Muñoz-
Gallarte, Israel & Laguna-Mariscal, Gabriel, Visitors from beyond the Grave. Ghosts in World Literature, Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos da Universidade de Coimbra, 2019, ISBN 978989261657, pp. 47-64

# metadata.dc.rights[].value
(c) Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos da Universidade de Coimbra, 2019

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Llibres / Capítols de llibre (Filologia Clàssica, Romànica i Semítica)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Menippus, a truly living ghost in Lucian’s Necromancy