Grouping | Science fiction |
---|---|
Similar entities | Cryptids |
Other name(s) | Aliens, space aliens |
An extraterrestrial or alien is any extraterrestrial lifeform: a lifeform that did not originate on Earth. The word extraterrestrial means "outside Earth". The first published use of extraterrestrial as a noun occurred in 1956, during the Golden Age of Science Fiction.[1]
Extraterrestrials are a common theme in modern science-fiction, and also appeared in much earlier works such as the second-century parody True History[2] by Lucian of Samosata.[3]
History
The 2nd century writer of satires, Lucian, in his True History claims to have visited the Moon when his ship was sent up by a fountain, which was peopled and at war with the people of the Sun over colonisation of the Morning Star.[4]: 30–31
See also
Articles related to the phenomenon of extraterrestrials in fiction and popular culture:
- History of science fiction
- Alien invasion
- Parasites in fiction
- List of fictional extraterrestrials
- List of films featuring extraterrestrials
- List of humanoid aliens
- Mars in fiction
Articles related to the purported or theorized existence of extraterrestrials:
- Grey alien, frequently reported alien in field of ufology, now with some usage in fiction and popular culture
References
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "extraterrestrial". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ↑ Doody, Margaret Anne (1996), A True Story of the Novel, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, p. 26, ISBN 0-8135-2168-8, retrieved December 16, 2020
- ↑ Richter, Daniel S. (2017). "Chapter 21: Lucian of Samosata". In Richter, Daniel S.; Johnson, William A. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic. Vol. 1. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 328–329. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199837472.013.26. ISBN 978-0-19-983747-2.
- ↑ Grewell, Greg (2001). "Colonizing the Universe: Science Fictions Then, Now, and in the (Imagined) Future". Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 55 (2): 25–47. doi:10.2307/1348255. JSTOR 1348255. S2CID 171048588.
Further reading
- Baxter, Stephen (2011). "SETI in Science Fiction". In Shuch, H. Paul (ed.). Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: SETI Past, Present, and Future. The Frontiers Collection. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 351–372. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-13196-7_19. ISBN 978-3-642-13196-7.
- Killheffer, Robert K. J.; Stableford, Brian; Langford, David (2023). "Aliens". In Clute, John; Langford, David; Sleight, Graham (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.). Retrieved 2023-12-15.
- Roth, Christopher F., "Ufology as Anthropology: Race, Extraterrestrials, and the Occult." In E.T. Culture: Anthropology in Outerspaces, ed. by Debbora Battaglia. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2005.
- Sagan, Carl. 1996. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark: chapter 4: "Aliens".
- Stableford, Brian (2006). "Alien". Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-0-415-97460-8.
- Westfahl, Gary (2005). "Aliens in Space". In Westfahl, Gary (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 14–16. ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7.
- Westfahl, Gary (2005). "Aliens on Earth". In Westfahl, Gary (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 16–18. ISBN 978-0-313-32951-7.
- Westfahl, Gary (2021). "Aliens". Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6617-3.
- Westfahl, Gary (2022). "Aliens—The Company We Seek: Aliens in Fact and Fiction". The Stuff of Science Fiction: Hardware, Settings, Characters. McFarland. pp. 227–234. ISBN 978-1-4766-8659-2.