Book excerpt: Lucian's On the Death of Peregrinus is an excellent text for students who have completed the first year of college-level Ancient Greek or its equivalent. Its length is relatively short, its syntax is generally straightforward, and its narrative is inherently interesting, for it recounts the life of a man who was so determined to establish a new religious cult to himself that he committed suicide at the Olympic Games in 165 CE by self-immolation. Lucian, an eyewitness to this event, depicts Peregrinus as a glory-obsessed impostor who began his career as an adulterer, pederast, and parricide before becoming a leader of the Christian Church, a Cynic philosopher, and an aspiring “divine guardian of the night.” Also of interest to readers today is that Lucian's text contains some of the earliest and most interesting comments made by a member of the Greco-Roman educated elite concerning Jesus and the Christians of the 2nd century CE.This edition includes detailed grammatical, syntactical, literary, historical, and cultural notes. Complete vocabulary is provided for each section of the text, with a glossary of all words at the end.