Κληρονόμος τοῦ αἰωνίου πυρὸς μετὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ ? La fortune de Lucien entre sources littéraires et tradition manuscrite

The relatively small corpus of codices which contain Lucian of Samosata’s works, as well as a few explicit references to his work found in Greek texts written in the period from the late antiquity to the eleventh century, suggest that the reception of this author was dual: on the one hand, he was criticized and neglected because of his irreverent wit, but on the other hand, his texts were widely read and known. This paper explores the hidden allusions to Lucian and his works and takes into account the tremendous influence that he had on Byzantine authors, especially during the Komnenian and Palaeologan periods. Without the intention to be exhaustive, it provides an initial assessment of explicit and hidden references to Lucian; it also aims to reopen the debate on a possible “implicit presence”, which can help us understand better the cultural transmission and circulation dynamics in Byzantium.