Nonnus
Late antique poet who composed the Dionysiaca, the longest surviving epic poem from Greco-Roman antiquity
The Meaning of Nonnus
Nonnus of Panopolis in Egypt (fifth century CE) composed the Dionysiaca, a sprawling epic in forty-eight books narrating the life, wars, and triumphs of Dionysus — the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at over 20,000 lines. The poem follows Dionysus from his birth through his campaign to conquer India and his triumphant return, incorporating hundreds of mythological episodes, metamorphoses, and digressions. Nonnus's baroque, kaleidoscopic style overflows with learned allusions and virtuosic metrical technique. He also composed a Paraphrase of the Gospel of John in Homeric hexameters, suggesting he either converted to Christianity or worked comfortably across both traditions. The Dionysiaca preserves many mythological variants found nowhere else.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
At over 20,000 lines, the Dionysiaca is longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Dionysiaca
💭 conceptLiterature
Nonnus's sprawling epic poem narrating the life and conquests of the god Dionysus in forty-eight books
Apollonius of Rhodes
💭 conceptEpic poetry, Argonauts
Hellenistic poet who composed the Argonautica, the epic of Jason and the Golden Fleece
Iliad
💭 conceptLiterature
Homer's epic poem recounting the wrath of Achilles during the final year of the Trojan War
Virgil
💭 conceptEpic poetry, Rome, fate
Roman poet who composed the Aeneid linking Rome's founding to the Trojan War through Aeneas's journey
Homer
💭 conceptEpic poetry, Troy, Odyssey
Legendary blind poet credited with composing the Iliad and the Odyssey
Ovid
💭 conceptPoetry, transformation, love
Roman poet whose Metamorphoses became the most influential retelling of Greek myth in Western culture
Theogony
💭 conceptLiterature
Hesiod's epic poem describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods
Hesiod
💭 conceptDidactic poetry, cosmogony
Boeotian poet who composed the Theogony and Works and Days in the archaic period
Aeneid
💭 conceptLiterature
Virgil's epic poem following the Trojan hero Aeneas from the fall of Troy to the founding of Rome
Argonautica
💭 conceptLiterature
Apollonius of Rhodes' epic poem narrating Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece
Homeric Hymns
💭 conceptLiterature
A collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual Olympian and chthonic deities
Epic
💭 conceptLanguage and literature
An English adjective meaning grand in scale or heroic, derived from the Greek epos meaning word or speech, referring to the tradition of long narrative poems about heroes and gods