Loukianos - Lachen met de Tweede Sofistiek

This article deals with the relationship between the whimsical and witty oeuvre of Lucian and the cultural and literary system, coined 'The Second Sophistic' by Philostratus, in which it was produced. We notice that Lucian's work provoked rather divergent reactions, ranging from admiration (and imitation) to malicious abuse, all depending on the literary values and norms that prevailed in the receiving cultural system. Since a text is never intrinsically 'literary' and is always determined by a complex of norms, traditions, conventions and values, we can equally argue that a comical text is never intrinsically 'comical'. This is particularly relevant for intertextual humour, such as parody, in which the author plays with a literary tradition, genrecodes, and the literary conventions mentioned before. We have to be aware of the 'rules of the game' and the literary standards in the literature of the Second Sophistic, if we want to savour Lucian's literary playfulness, and respond to his work according to his intentions: with anamused, and sometimes gloating smile. In the conclusion of this article the author examines the ideological implications and meaning of Lucian's humour and argues that a 21st century reader might feel particularly well at home in Lucian's comical universe.