Lucianos of Samsat Conversations of the Gods

Lukianos of Samsat, the most realistic, most skeptical, most sharp-tongued writer of the Anatolian ancient times, is also the creator of the first science fiction work in the history of literature.

IS II. Lukianos, who lived in the middle of the century, was born in Samosata, the capital of Syria's Commagene province. Today we call Samosata Samsat, it is a small town in Malatya province. (...) Lukianos' main works were written to criticize the bad sides of the human soul and to show the rottenness and meaninglessness of the ancient religion that accepted many gods. Even though it was not his native language, he wrote Greek very clearly. (...) Eighty-three works from Lukianos remain to us; Some things that are not his own are included in these writings, some of which are small and some large. Maybe one day all his works will be translated into Turkish; I found it enough to buy some for now.
-Nurullah Ataç-

Samsatli Lukianos appears before us as a unique source: he not only gives us insightful information about the ancient Greek universe, but also, as an author who is inside this culture but also knows how to look at it from the outside, discusses its basic values and reveals its gaps and flaws. . He exposes and ridicules the weaknesses and inconsistencies of all superior beings, from the greatest god Zeus to the greatest poet Homer.

After reading seven or eight pages of Lucian's translation, we find in it both the fluency of a lively spoken language and the clarity of a meticulous written language, and we think, "A writer can only find a translator this close to himself." From where? Is there a similarity over centuries and languages between Lukianos, who originates from Malatya, and Ataç, who originates from Adana and Maras? Or is it that two sister thoughts and two sister styles find each other, again across languages and centuries? I think it's both.
-Tahsin Yücel-
(From the Promotional Bulletin)



Number of Pages: 600

Year of Printing: 2016


Language: Turkish
Publisher: Everest Publications

Cover Design: Emir Tali

First Print Year: 2016

Number of Pages: 600

Language Turkish