A True Story
A satirical novella featuring space travel and alien warfare.
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Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian writer from the second century AD, authored A True Story (also known as True History). This long novella or short novel is his most famous work. It satirizes ancient sources that reported fantastic or mythical events as fact. The story is the earliest known fiction to feature space travel, alien life, and interplanetary war, leading some to call it the first text that could be considered science fiction.
Plot
The plot begins with Lucian stating that everything in the tale is a complete lie. He and his companions sail past the Pillars of Heracles, are blown off course, and find an island with a river of wine and trees resembling women. A whirlwind then carries them to the Moon, where they become involved in a war between Endymion, king of the Moon, and Phaethon, king of the Sun, over colonizing the Morning Star.
Both armies include bizarre hybrid creatures. The Sun’s forces win by blocking out the light, and a peace treaty is made. Lucian describes life on the Moon as different from Earth.
Back on Earth, the travelers are swallowed by a whale 200 miles long. Inside its belly, they fight and defeat fish-people, then escape by lighting a fire and propping the whale’s mouth open. They later encounter a sea of milk, an island of cheese, and the Island of the Blessed, where Lucian meets heroes of the Trojan War, Homer, and Pythagoras.
Sinners are punished, especially writers of lies and fantasies like Herodotus and Ctesias. They deliver a letter from Odysseus to Calypso, then sail around a chasm in the ocean, discover a far-off continent, and decide to explore it. The book ends abruptly with Lucian promising a sequel, which a disappointed scholiast called “the biggest lie of all.”
The work is often seen as literary criticism, parodying authors like Homer and Herodotus who presented false tales as truth. Lucian claims his story is the only truthful mythological one because it admits it is all lies. Modern science fiction critics note that its satirical streak does not conflict with the genre, as Lucian’s approach to identifying false values in contemporary philosophy—then considered science—creates a sense of “cognitive estrangement.” The story was also a response to Antonius Diogenes’ lost work Of the Wonderful Things Beyond Thule, which also involved a lunar journey. The conflict over colonizing the Morning Star, with its struggle for territory and resources, further aligns it with science fiction themes.
Lore & Background
The novel begins with an explanation that the story is not at all 'true,' and that everything in it is a complete and utter lie. The narrative follows Lucian and his fellow travelers journeying out past the Pillars of Heracles. Blown off course by a storm, they come to an island with a river of wine filled with fish, a marker indicating that Heracles and Dionysus have traveled to this point, and trees that look like women. Both armies include bizarre hybrid lifeforms.
The armies of the Sun win the war by clouding over the Moon and blocking out the Sun's light. Both parties come to a peace agreement. Lucian describes life on the Moon and how it is different from life on Earth.
After returning to Earth, the adventurers are swallowed by a 200-mile-long whale, in whose belly they discover a variety of fish-people, against whom they wage war and triumph. They kill the whale by starting a bonfire and escape by propping its mouth open. Next, they encounter a sea of milk, an island of cheese, and the Island of the Blessed.
They find sinners being punished, the worst of them being the ones who had written books with lies and fantasies, including Herodotus and Ctesias. After leaving the Island of the Blessed, they deliver a letter to Calypso given to them by Odysseus explaining that he wishes he had stayed with her so he could have lived eternally. They discover a chasm in the ocean, but eventually sail around it, discover a far-off continent and decide to explore it. The book ends abruptly with Lucian stating that their future adventures will be described in the upcoming sequels, a promise which a disappointed scholiast described as 'the biggest lie of all.'
Reader's Guide
A True Story is significant as the earliest known work of fiction to include travel to outer space, alien lifeforms, and interplanetary warfare, and has been described as 'the first known text that could be called science fiction.' However, the work does not fit into typical literary genres: its multilayered plot and its characters have been interpreted as belonging to science fiction, fantasy, satire or parody, and have been the subjects of scholarly debate. In one view, Lucian intended his story to be a form of literary criticism, a satire against contemporary and ancient sources which quote fantastic and mythical events as truth. He mentions the tales of Ctesias, Iambulus, and Homer and states that 'what did surprise me was their supposition that nobody would notice they were lying.' Many characters and events are exaggerated to ridiculous ends to mock the original tellings.
As noted by classicist B.P. The defining element of science can be found in Lucian's specific and effective approach to identifying false values and misidentifications in contemporary philosophy, which was very much the general term of science then. The estranging feeling of the story as a defining element of science fiction has also been noted. Some Roman readers believed that the events in A True Story actually occurred, although Lucian was trying to parody untrue accounts of voyages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote A True Story?
The novella was penned by Lucian of Samosata, a Syrian author active in the second century AD. It remains his most widely recognized work.
Why is A True Story considered a landmark in fiction?
It is the earliest surviving work of imaginative fiction to depict travel to outer space, encounters with extraterrestrial beings, and warfare between planets. Scholars often cite it as a proto-science-fiction text.
What genre or literary category does A True Story fall under?
It is classified as a satirical novella or short novel. Lucian uses the form to lampoon ancient writers who presented outlandish mythical events as genuine historical reports.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: A True Story (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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