He was born in Samosata, Syria and died in Athens, and he was also known as Lucianos, Lucianus and Lucinus. He is attributed as author of over 80 works but almost certainly did not write them all. His best known works are Dialogues of the Gods and Dialogues of the Dead.
Lucian wrote a satire called The Passing of Peregrinus, in which the lead character, Peregrinus, takes advantage of the generosity and gullibility of Christians. This is one of the earliest surviving pagan perceptions of Christianity.