Nonnus of Panopolis (Greek: Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, Nónnos ho Panopolítēs, fl. 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era.[1] He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the EgyptianThebaid and probably lived in the 5th century CE. He is known as the composer of the Dionysiaca, an epic tale of the god Dionysus, and of the Metabole, a paraphrase of the Gospel of John. The epic Dionysiaca describes the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return. It was written in Homeric Greek and in dactylic hexameter, and it consists of 48 books at 20,426 lines.
There is almost no evidence for the life of Nonnus. It is known that he was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in Upper Egypt from his naming in manuscripts and the reference in epigram 9.198 of the Palatine Anthology.[a] Scholars have generally dated him from the end of the 4th to the central years of the 5th century CE. He must have lived after the composition of Claudian's Greek Gigantomachy (i.e., after 394–397) as he appears to be familiar with that work. Agathias Scholasticus seems to have followed him, with a mid-6th-century reference to him as a "recent author".[3][4]
Nonnus' principal work is the 48-book epicDionysiaca, the longest surviving poem from classical antiquity.[6] It has 20,426 lines composed in Homeric Greek and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return. The poem is to be dated to the 5th century. It used to be considered of poor literary quality, but a mass of recent writing (most notably in the Budé edition and commentary on the poem in 18 volumes) has demonstrated that it shows consummate literary skill, even if its distinctly baroque extravagance is an acquired taste for a modern reader. His versification invites attention: writing in hexameters he uses a higher proportion of dactyls and less elision than earlier poets; this plus his subtle use of alliteration and assonance gives his verse a unique musicality. An error to be corrected is that he must have been a pagan when writing the poem: but the treatment of myth as agreeable fiction had been common since the Hellenistic period, and Nonnos ignores pagan ritual, which was the essence of authentic paganism.
The Paraphrase of Johnedit
His Paraphrase of John (Metabolḕ toû katà Iōánnēn Euaggelíou) also survives. Its timing is a debated point: textual analysis seems to suggest that it preceded the Dionysiaca while some scholars feel it unlikely that a converted Christian would have gone on to devote so much work to the Dionysiaca’s pagan themes.[7][8]
Worksedit
A complete and updated bibliography of Nonnus scholarship may be found at Hellenistic Bibliography's page at Google Sites.[9]
Editions and translations of the Dionysiaca include:
Bilingual Greek-English edition (initial introduction, some explanatory notes): W. H. D. Rouse (1940), Nonnos, Dionysiaca, With an English Translation by W. H. D. Rouse, Mythological Introduction and Notes by H. J. Rose, Notes on Text Criticism by L. R. Lind, 3 vols., Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge (Ma.)
Bilingual Greek-French edition (with introduction to the individual books and notes): F. Vian (general ed.) (1976-2006), Nonnos de Panopolis, Les Dionysiaques, 19 volumes, Paris
Bilingual Greek-Italian edition (with introductions and notes): D. Gigli Piccardi (general ed.) (2003-4), Nonno di Panopoli, Le Dionisiache, BUR, Milano
Nonno di Panopoli, Le Dionisiache, a cura di D. del Corno, traduzione di M. Maletta, note de F. Tissoni, 2 vols, Milano 1997.
F. Tissoni, Nonno di Panopoli, I Canti di Penteo (Dionisiache 44–46). Commento, Firenze 1998
Editions and translations of the Paraphrase include:
Translation into English: Sherry, L.F., The Hexameter Paraphrase of St. John Attributed to Nonnus of Panopolis: Prolegomenon and Translation (Ph.D. dissertation; Columbia University, 1991).
Translation in English: Prost, Mark Anthony. Nonnos of Panopolis, The Paraphrase of the Gospel of John. Translated from the Greek by M.A.P. Ventura, CA: The Writing Shop Press, 2006
The last complete edition of the Greek text: Nonni Panopolitani Paraphrasis S. Evangelii Joannei edidit Augustinus Scheindler, accedit S. Evangelii textus et index verborum, Lipsiae in aedibus Teubneri 1881
A team of (mainly Italian) scholars are now re-editing the text, book by book, with ample introductions and notes. Published so far:
C. De Stefani (2002), Nonno di Panopoli: Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto I, Bologna
E. Livrea (2000), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto B, Bologna
M. Caprara (2006), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto IV, Pisa
G. Agosti (2003), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto V, Firenze
R. Franchi (2013), Nonno di Panopoli. Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni: canto sesto, Bologna
K. Spanoudakis (2015), Nonnus of Panopolis. Paraphrase of the Gospel of John XI, Oxford
C. Greco (2004), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, canto XIII, Alessandria
E. Livrea (1989), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto XVIII, Napoli
D. Accorinti (1996), Nonno di Panopoli, Parafrasi del Vangelo di S. Giovanni, Canto XX, Pisa
^On the references to Egypt in the poem, see D. Gigli Piccardi (1998), “Nonno e l’Egitto”, Prometheus 24, 61-82 and 161-81. Enrico Livrea has proposed the identification of the poet with the Syrian bishop of Edessa of the same name.[2]
Referencesedit
^"Nonnus | Greek poet". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-10-06. Nonnus, (flourished 5th century CE, b. Panopolis, Egypt), the most notable Greek epic poet of the Roman period.
^E. Livrea (1987), “Il poeta e il vescovo: la questione nonniana e la storia”, Prometheus 13, 97-123
^"Nonnus", Hellenistic Bibliography, Google Sites.
Bibliographyedit
Cameron, Alan (2016), "The Poet, the Bishop, and the Harlot", Wandering Poets and Other Essays on Late Greek Literature and Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 81–90, ISBN978-0-19-026894-7.
Further readingedit
Accorinti, Domenico. ed. 2016. Brill’s Companion to Nonnus of Panopolis. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill.
Geisz, Camille. 2018. A Study of the Narrator in Nonnus of Panopolis’ Dionysiaca. Storytelling in Late Antique Epic. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill.
Hollis, Adrian S. 1994. "Nonnus and Hellenistic Poetry." In Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus. Edited by Neil Hopkinson, 43–62. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Philological Society.
Matzner, Sebastian. 2008. "Christianizing the Epic—Epicizing Christianity. Nonnus. Paraphrasis and the Old-Saxon Heliand in a Comparative Perspective: A study in the Poetics of Acculturation." Millennium 5:111–145.
Miguélez Cavero, Laura. 2008. Poems in Context: Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200–600 AD. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Shorrock, Robert. 2005. "Nonnus." In A Companion to Ancient Epic. Edited by John Miles Fowley, 374–385. Oxford: Blackwell.
Shorrock, Robert. 2001. The Challenge of Epic. Allusive Engagement in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus. Leiden: Brill.
Spanoudakis, Konstantinos. 2007. "Icarius Jesus Christ? Dionysiac Passion and Biblical Narrative in Nonnus’ Icarius Episode (Dion. 47, 1–264)." Wiener Studien 120:35–92.
Spanoudakis, Konstantinos, ed. 2014. Nonnus of Panopolis in Context: Poetry and Cultural Milieu in Late Antiquity with a Section on Nonnus and the Modern World. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
Van Opstall, Emilie. 2014. "The Golden Flower of Youth: Baroque Metaphors in Nonnus and Marino." Classical Receptions Journal 6:446–470.
Whitby, Mary. 2007. "The Bible Hellenised: Nonnus’ Paraphrase of St John's Gospel and ‘Eudocia’s’ Homeric Centos." In Texts and Culture in Late Antiquity: Inheritance, Authority, and Change. Edited by J. H. D. Scourfield, 195–231. Swansea, UK: The Classical Press of Wales.
Online text: Nonnus, Dionysiaca bks 1-14 translated by W. H. D. Rouse
Online English translation of Dionysiaca, bks 1-48, by W.H.D. Rouse, with place mentions mapped, in ToposText
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
Studia Nonniana Interretica: News from the world of Nonnian scholarship and an up-to-date bibliography of Polish studies on Nonnus
Nonnus' paraphrase of the Gospel of John - Metaphrasis Evangelii Ioannei
January 01, 1970
nonnus, other, uses, disambiguation, panopolis, greek, Νόννος, Πανοπολίτης, nónnos, panopolítēs, century, most, notable, greek, epic, poet, imperial, roman, native, panopolis, akhmim, egyptian, thebaid, probably, lived, century, known, composer, dionysiaca, ep. For other uses see Nonnus disambiguation Nonnus of Panopolis Greek Nonnos ὁ Panopoliths Nonnos ho Panopolites fl 5th century CE was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era 1 He was a native of Panopolis Akhmim in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century CE He is known as the composer of the Dionysiaca an epic tale of the god Dionysus and of the Metabole a paraphrase of the Gospel of John The epic Dionysiaca describes the life of Dionysus his expedition to India and his triumphant return It was written in Homeric Greek and in dactylic hexameter and it consists of 48 books at 20 426 lines NonnusNative nameNonnos ὁ PanopolithsBornPanopolis contemporary Egypt OccupationEpic poetLanguageHomeric GreekYears active5th century CENotable worksDionysiaca Contents 1 Life 2 The Dionysiaca 3 The Paraphrase of John 4 Works 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External linksLife editThere is almost no evidence for the life of Nonnus It is known that he was a native of Panopolis Akhmim in Upper Egypt from his naming in manuscripts and the reference in epigram 9 198 of the Palatine Anthology a Scholars have generally dated him from the end of the 4th to the central years of the 5th century CE He must have lived after the composition of Claudian s Greek Gigantomachy i e after 394 397 as he appears to be familiar with that work Agathias Scholasticus seems to have followed him with a mid 6th century reference to him as a recent author 3 4 He is sometimes conflated with St Nonnus from the hagiographies of St Pelagia and with Nonnus the bishop of Edessa who attended the Council of Chalcedon both of whom seem to have been roughly contemporary but these associations are probably mistaken 5 The Dionysiaca editMain article Dionysiaca nbsp Mosaic of Dionysus from Antioch Nonnus principal work is the 48 book epic Dionysiaca the longest surviving poem from classical antiquity 6 It has 20 426 lines composed in Homeric Greek and dactylic hexameters the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus his expedition to India and his triumphant return The poem is to be dated to the 5th century It used to be considered of poor literary quality but a mass of recent writing most notably in the Bude edition and commentary on the poem in 18 volumes has demonstrated that it shows consummate literary skill even if its distinctly baroque extravagance is an acquired taste for a modern reader His versification invites attention writing in hexameters he uses a higher proportion of dactyls and less elision than earlier poets this plus his subtle use of alliteration and assonance gives his verse a unique musicality An error to be corrected is that he must have been a pagan when writing the poem but the treatment of myth as agreeable fiction had been common since the Hellenistic period and Nonnos ignores pagan ritual which was the essence of authentic paganism The Paraphrase of John editHis Paraphrase of John Metabolḕ tou kata Iōannen Euaggeliou also survives Its timing is a debated point textual analysis seems to suggest that it preceded the Dionysiaca while some scholars feel it unlikely that a converted Christian would have gone on to devote so much work to the Dionysiaca s pagan themes 7 8 Works editA complete and updated bibliography of Nonnus scholarship may be found at Hellenistic Bibliography s page at Google Sites 9 Editions and translations of the Dionysiaca include Bilingual Greek English edition initial introduction some explanatory notes W H D Rouse 1940 Nonnos Dionysiaca With an English Translation by W H D Rouse Mythological Introduction and Notes by H J Rose Notes on Text Criticism by L R Lind 3 vols Loeb Classical Library Cambridge Ma Bilingual Greek French edition with introduction to the individual books and notes F Vian general ed 1976 2006 Nonnos de Panopolis Les Dionysiaques 19 volumes Paris Bilingual Greek Italian edition with introductions and notes D Gigli Piccardi general ed 2003 4 Nonno di Panopoli Le Dionisiache BUR Milano Nonno di Panopoli Le Dionisiache a cura di D del Corno traduzione di M Maletta note de F Tissoni 2 vols Milano 1997 F Tissoni Nonno di Panopoli I Canti di Penteo Dionisiache 44 46 Commento Firenze 1998 Editions and translations of the Paraphrase include Translation into English Sherry L F The Hexameter Paraphrase of St John Attributed to Nonnus of Panopolis Prolegomenon and Translation Ph D dissertation Columbia University 1991 Translation in English Prost Mark Anthony Nonnos of Panopolis The Paraphrase of the Gospel of John Translated from the Greek by M A P Ventura CA The Writing Shop Press 2006 The last complete edition of the Greek text Nonni Panopolitani Paraphrasis S Evangelii Joannei edidit Augustinus Scheindler accedit S Evangelii textus et index verborum Lipsiae in aedibus Teubneri 1881 A team of mainly Italian scholars are now re editing the text book by book with ample introductions and notes Published so far C De Stefani 2002 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto I Bologna E Livrea 2000 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto B Bologna M Caprara 2006 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto IV Pisa G Agosti 2003 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto V Firenze R Franchi 2013 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni canto sesto Bologna K Spanoudakis 2015 Nonnus of Panopolis Paraphrase of the Gospel of John XI Oxford C Greco 2004 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni canto XIII Alessandria E Livrea 1989 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto XVIII Napoli D Accorinti 1996 Nonno di Panopoli Parafrasi del Vangelo di S Giovanni Canto XX PisaSee also editKalamos and KarposNotes edit On the references to Egypt in the poem see D Gigli Piccardi 1998 Nonno e l Egitto Prometheus 24 61 82 and 161 81 Enrico Livrea has proposed the identification of the poet with the Syrian bishop of Edessa of the same name 2 References edit Nonnus Greek poet Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2021 10 06 Nonnus flourished 5th century CE b Panopolis Egypt the most notable Greek epic poet of the Roman period E Livrea 1987 Il poeta e il vescovo la questione nonniana e la storia Prometheus 13 97 123 Agathias Scholasticus Hist 4 23 530 x 580 Fornaro S s v Nonnus in Brill s New Pauly vol 9 ed Canick amp Schneider Leiden 2006 col 812 815 Cameron 2016 pp 85 ff Hopkinson N Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus Cambridge 1994 pp 1 4 Vian Francis Martus chez Nonnos de Panopolis Etude de semantique et de chronologie REG 110 1997 143 60 Reprinted in L Epopee posthomerique Recueil d etudes Ed Domenico Accorinti Alessandria Edizioni dell Orso 2005 Hellenica 17 565 84 Cameron 2016 Nonnus Hellenistic Bibliography Google Sites Bibliography editCameron Alan 2016 The Poet the Bishop and the Harlot Wandering Poets and Other Essays on Late Greek Literature and Philosophy Oxford Oxford University Press pp 81 90 ISBN 978 0 19 026894 7 Further reading editAccorinti Domenico ed 2016 Brill s Companion to Nonnus of Panopolis Leiden The Netherlands and Boston Brill Geisz Camille 2018 A Study of the Narrator in Nonnus of Panopolis Dionysiaca Storytelling in Late Antique Epic Leiden The Netherlands and Boston Brill Hollis Adrian S 1994 Nonnus and Hellenistic Poetry In Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus Edited by Neil Hopkinson 43 62 Cambridge UK Cambridge Philological Society Matzner Sebastian 2008 Christianizing the Epic Epicizing Christianity Nonnus Paraphrasis and the Old Saxon Heliand in a Comparative Perspective A study in the Poetics of Acculturation Millennium 5 111 145 Miguelez Cavero Laura 2008 Poems in Context Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200 600 AD Berlin De Gruyter Shorrock Robert 2005 Nonnus In A Companion to Ancient Epic Edited by John Miles Fowley 374 385 Oxford Blackwell Shorrock Robert 2001 The Challenge of Epic Allusive Engagement in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus Leiden Brill Spanoudakis Konstantinos 2007 Icarius Jesus Christ Dionysiac Passion and Biblical Narrative in Nonnus Icarius Episode Dion 47 1 264 Wiener Studien 120 35 92 Spanoudakis Konstantinos ed 2014 Nonnus of Panopolis in Context Poetry and Cultural Milieu in Late Antiquity with a Section on Nonnus and the Modern World Berlin and Boston De Gruyter Vian Francis 2005 L epopee posthomerique Recueil d etudes Edited by Domenico Accorinti Alessandria Italy Edizioni dell Orso Van Opstall Emilie 2014 The Golden Flower of Youth Baroque Metaphors in Nonnus and Marino Classical Receptions Journal 6 446 470 Whitby Mary 2007 The Bible Hellenised Nonnus Paraphrase of St John s Gospel and Eudocia s Homeric Centos In Texts and Culture in Late Antiquity Inheritance Authority and Change Edited by J H D Scourfield 195 231 Swansea UK The Classical Press of Wales External links editLibrary resources about Nonnus Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Nonnus Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Nonnus Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 19 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 737 Nonnus Bibliography Online text Nonnus Dionysiaca bks 1 14 translated by W H D Rouse Online English translation of Dionysiaca bks 1 48 by W H D Rouse with place mentions mapped in ToposText R F Newbold summarizes his work on Dionysiaca Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes Studia Nonniana Interretica News from the world of Nonnian scholarship and an up to date bibliography of Polish studies on Nonnus Nonnus paraphrase of the Gospel of John Metaphrasis Evangelii Ioannei Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nonnus amp oldid 1210537033, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
