Download or read book Chattering Courtesans and Other Sardonic Sketches written by Lucian and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2004-06-24 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Described by a later Greek historian as "a man seriously committed to raising a laugh", Lucian exulted in the exposure of absurdity and the puncturing of pretension, and was capable of finding a comic angle on almost any subject. In this selection we see him conversing with his literary enemies, railing against hypocrisy and the vanity of human wealth and power, and taking a wry look at the power of lust and the unsatisfactory nature of deviant sexual practices.