Moon in art and literature

The Moon has been the subject of many works of art and literature and the inspiration for countless others. It is a motif in the visual arts, the performing arts, poetry, prose and music.

In many fantasy stories, a full moon means vampires and werewolves running loose.

Lucian's Icaromenippus and True History, written in the 2nd century AD, deal with imaginary voyages to the moon such as on a fountain after going past the Pillars of Hercules. The theme did not become popular until the 17th century, however, when the invention of the telescope hastened the popular acceptance of the concept of "a world in the Moon", that is, that the Moon was an inhabitable planet, which might be reached via some sort of aërial carriage. The concept of another world, close to our own and capable of looking down at it from a distance, provided ample scope for satirical comments on the manners of the Earthly world. Among the early stories dealing with this concept are:

The first flight to the Moon was a popular topic of science fiction before the actual landing in 1969.

Robert A. Heinlein wrote extensively, prolifically, and inter-connectedly about first voyages and colonization of the Moon, which he most often called Luna. He also was involved with the films Destination Moon and Project Moonbase.

The moon is sometimes imagined as having, now or in the distant past, indigenous life and civilization.

Human settlements on the Moon are found in many science fiction novels, short stories and films. Not all have the Moon colony itself as central to the plot.

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