Source edition
Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a fantastical and satirical travelogue in which the author, intending to mock the lies and exaggerations of ancient historians and poets, declares from the very beginning that everything he writes is a lie. Setting sail into the great ocean, the narrator and his companions are swept up by a whirlwind into the heavens, eventually reaching the Moon. There, they become embroiled in a cosmic war between the King of the Moon and the King of the Sun, allowing them to observe the bizarre anatomy and customs of the lunar inhabitants. After returning to Earth, they are swallowed by a colossal whale, where they fight various tribes inside its belly, before escaping to visit the Island of the Blessed to converse with legendary heroes, philosophers, and the poet Homer. Their journey continues through various surreal places like the Island of Dreams, until their ship is wrecked just off the coast of a mysterious new continent, ending with a false promise of future adventures in a subsequent volume.