Lucian's laughing gods : religion, philosophy, and popular culture in the Roman East /
No comic author from the ancient world features the gods as often as Lucian of Samosata, yet the meaning of his works remain contested. He is either seen as undermining the gods and criticizing religion through his humor, or as not engaging with religion at all, featuring the gods as literary charac...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ann Arbor :
University of Michigan Press,
2023.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | No comic author from the ancient world features the gods as often as Lucian of Samosata, yet the meaning of his works remain contested. He is either seen as undermining the gods and criticizing religion through his humor, or as not engaging with religion at all, featuring the gods as literary characters. His humor was traditionally viewed as a symptom of decreased religiosity, but that model of religious decline in the second century CE has been invalidated by ancient historians. Understanding these works now requires understanding what it means to imagine as laughing and laughable gods who are worshipped in everyday cult. Lucian challenges the dominant theologies of his day as he refused to interpret the gods as ethical model. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 293 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-269) and indices. |
| ISBN: | 9780472133345 0472133349 |