Pseudo-Documentarism and the Limits of Ancient Fiction

Abstract

Pseudo-documentarism is a strategy in which an author claims—with varying degrees of irony—to have discovered an authentic document which he transmits to his readers. This article explores three texts of pseudo-documentary fiction from the Imperial period (Dictys’ Journal of the Trojan War , Antonius Diogenes’ The Wonders Beyond Thule , and Lucian’s True Histories ). By suggesting ways in which the implied readers of these texts may be relatable to “real,” exodiegetic readers, the article illustrates how pseudo-documentarism reflects aspects of the contemporary literary and cultural Zeitgeist .