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OverviewLucian's Alexander Or The False Prophet is a satiric biography of the religious entrepreneur and career fraudster Alexander of Abonouteichos. It recounts how, during the reign of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161), Alexander succeeded in setting up a fraudulent new oracular cult of the snake-god Glykon in his home-town of Abonouteichos in Paphlagonia. In the Alexander, Lucian sets out to debunk the oracle as a scam, its founder as a debauched crook, and its clients as gullible idiots. The Alexander is an extraordinary and unclassifiable work: part biography, part invective, part Epicurean critique of divination. It casts a uniquely vivid light on social mores and religious beliefs in the Antonine age, and was a major influence on Erasmus, Ben Jonson, and Henry Fielding. The present volume is the first full-length treatment of the Alexander in English, and includes an extended historical and literary introduction, a new English translation, and a detailed commentary on the text. The volume also includes a translation of the surviving fragments of Oinomaos of Gadara's The Exposure of Sorcerers, a contemporary Cynic attack on oracular divination. All Greek is translated throughout. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Peter Thonemann (Forrest-Derow Fellow and Tutor, Forrest-Derow Fellow and Tutor, Wadham College, University of Oxford)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 14.50cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 22.30cm Weight: 0.434kg ISBN: 9780198868248ISBN 10: 0198868243 Pages: 252 Publication Date: 14 May 2021 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsReviewsa ... fluent and inventive translation * Malcolm Heath, Greece & Rome * Author InformationPeter Thonemann teaches Greek and Roman history at Wadham College, Oxford. His books include The Birth of Classical Europe (2010, with Simon Price), The Maeander Valley (2011, winner of the Runciman Prize 2012), The Hellenistic Age (Oxford, 2016) and An Ancient Dream Manual (Oxford, 2020). He writes regularly on all aspects of the ancient world for The Times Literary Supplement and The Wall Street Journal. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |