This book starts with a ‘user manual’ (‘Hinweise zur Benutzung’, p. 7), which states that the authors intend to support readers of Lucian's works. After all, we are dealing with an author who hides behind a number of authorial figures and whose texts are difficult to categorise within traditional genres and literary forms. In this endeavour B. and v.M. largely succeed. This book provides a thorough introduction to Lucian and his intellectual context and then goes on to offer a variety of tools for interpretation. It is made clear at the beginning that not all 86 works ascribed to Lucian can be treated with equal attention, but, in fact, one of the great strengths of this book is that it demonstrates the huge variety within the Lucianic corpus. A rough count suggests that more than 50 of Lucian's works are discussed in some detail.
Instead of an introduction, readers are treated to a ‘Lucianic’ dialogue: our author arrives at the Styx and finds that his name, Loukianos of Samosata, is not on the ferryman's list. Does he exist at all? Should we rather call him Lykinos or even think of him as the alter ego of the Cynic philosopher Menippus? This leads into the first chapter, which tries to find Lucian, the man behind the texts, and ends up showing how cleverly the writer creates various ‘masks’ for himself, the authorial figures who often dominate his texts, leaving us with no concrete information and no more than some conjectures about his life. This chapter does not only show up misguided attempts to force concrete facts out of Lucian's works, it also offers an excellent discussion of Lucian's many literary games in creating his characters.
The second chapter tackles one of Lucian's favourite themes, namely Greek education and intellectual distinction, and sets his work in the context of the Second Sophistic. The discussion goes well beyond the usual introduction to these topics: through close text analysis, we get to see how Lucian's audience might have reacted to his reflections about the right way of acquiring and displaying paideia. The authors offer valuable commentary on specific passages, while also demonstrating techniques crucial for reading literature of the Second Sophistic.
An overview of Lucian's works and ways of working, Chapter 3, is the central and longest section of the book. The authors first tackle Lucian's handling of various genres, focusing on declamation, diatribe, treatise, polemic, prolalia and letters, with a focus on the innovation and subversion he brings to all of them: he does not use them as a blueprint for specific kinds of text, but rather as a toolkit to create works which cannot be easily categorised. The second section of the chapter deals with different modes of representation, such as allegory, ecphrasis, anecdotes, short narrative interludes, eccentric perspectives and dramatisation; these are all stylistic features which intersect with different genres to create yet more new variations. Finally, there is a discussion of favourite motifs in Lucian's writings, namely trials, journeys, dreams, ailments and healing. At times there is not enough space to present a full argument or to do justice to some of the more complex texts; some discussions end in speculation. However, this chapter covers a lot of ground, and there are many suggestions for ways in which readers might approach parts of Lucian's oeuvre.
Chapter 4 takes some of the themes of the previous chapter and pursues them in more detail. Here we see Lucian at his most self-referential as B. and v.M. track down his commentary on his own literary innovations. At the centre of this chapter is the hybrid between comedy and (predominantly philosophical) dialogue, which is represented in a number of Lucian's texts and which has an influence on several others. In this chapter we see a good deal of detailed analysis and original argumentation, as B. and v.M. go well beyond introduction mode into detailed scholarly discussion.
Finally, the fifth chapter discusses how Lucian was received in Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period, and how the collection of texts we have under his name may have been assembled: it is good to see such a study in a work that is aimed at a wider readership. The manuscript tradition and reception of ancient texts should not remain the domain of the most specialised experts, and the story of Lucian's texts presented here helps explain the nature of his surviving work and enhances the understanding of ancient text tradition more generally.
The book includes an appendix that lists all works of Lucian and provides short summaries. The works are ordered alphabetically by their traditional Latin titles; Greek and German titles are also provided. B. and v.M. recommend that readers look up these summaries when they come across a new work in the text, but this list is generally useful as a quick point of reference, allowing readers to keep track of Lucian's works.
This is an enjoyable, informative book about Lucian, but it also has some puzzling features. In particular, there is a question of presentation and target audience – one might say that, like its subject, this book toys with genre conventions, in this case those of scholarly publishing. At the beginning (p. 7), B. and v.M. state that they have not included footnotes in order to make the book more ‘readable’. This may be due to publishing guidelines for the series to which it belongs (Heidelberger Studienhefte zur Altertumswissenschaft), but it does diminish the usefulness of the work. The book is rather too specialised for a general audience, and groups who will find it most useful are probably students and researchers in search of a helpful introduction to Lucian; Lucian experts will also find much that is of interest. All these potential readers would benefit from proper scholarly references; as it is, debates behind many arguments remain entirely opaque. There are references at the end of each chapter, but instead of plain lists, short bibliographical essays would have been of more use.
This book is clearly designed to be accessible for people who do not read Greek, whilst offering all relevant text in the original as well. All passages are translated, and Greek words are usually transliterated. It is therefore a pity that there is no real guidance on where to find translations of Lucian's texts. The bibliography has a section on translations, but this lists only three items (one by B., two by v.M.), which cover only a small part of Lucian's works; older translations should have been included here, with the aim to point readers to accessible translations of the whole Lucianic Corpus, in German and, where necessary, in other languages.
The volume is a thorough introduction to Lucian – the broad coverage of so many of Lucian's texts is impressive, and the effort to make complex arguments and literary analysis accessible is to be commended. B. and v.M. communicate successfully the literary range, playfulness and sophistication of Lucian as a writer and introduce their readers to a whole variety of approaches to the ancient author. At the same time, there are many instances where B. and v.M. contribute valuable insights to the wider debate. The lack of scholarly references is regrettable, since these would have made it easier for the book to find its place within the wider scholarly discourse about Lucian, and it would have allowed readers new to Lucian to follow up relevant debates. What matters most, however, is that the book is a good way of introducing Lucian to new readers and enticing them to explore his works well beyond the best known examples.
