Chattering Courtesans
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Initially I thought this book was going to be incredibly difficult to read and so put off reading it for as long as possible.
However, chattering courtesans was interesting, insightful and at times even funny. Lucian makes fun pre-concieved ideals about women and men in that time. He even makes fun of religion and customs, for example mourning those who have died.
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'True Histories'
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For the non-classicist Lucian is famous for his 'True Histories', recounting a fantastic voyage that incorporates a trip to the moon, an inter-stellar war, a sojourn in a whale so big it contains a land-mass and various inhabitants, and perilous encounters in numerous islands filled with strange and wonderful sights. Although it parodies Homer and other classical writers, you are inevitably reminded of subsequent works by Swift, Cyrano, Milton, Calvino, even Terry Gilliam... Lovers of imaginative literature will want this volume just for 'True Histories', but there are lots of other reasons for buying it. This is the sort of book you are just so grateful that Penguin are still happy to publish - a real labour of love with maps, glossary, 100 pages of notes, and a really nice cover. I'm not competent to judge the translation but it reads well and conveys Lucian's wit (at one point there is even a small but justifiable reference to Cork, where the translator teaches). I liked 'The Ship', a very natural dialogue which features enjoyable speculation on what its protagonists would do if they could have anything in the world. 'Toxaris' includes 10 condensed tales of friendship and reads a bit like a slice of the 'Decameron'. The 'Chattering Courtesans' dialogues have an almost 'floating world' feel to them - brief, sparkling reflections on the love lives of these Greek geishas. Art historians will be interested in the story about Apelles in 'Slander' and discussion of the work of other artists in 'Images'. Lucian constantly reminds you of the glories of Greek philosophy and literature (Rome is barely mentioned) and the whole book provides a fascinating sense of the continuity of Greek civilisation, down to Lucian's time in the second century AD. Highly recommended.
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