Sites and Cities in Late Antique Literature. Athens and Cultural Self-identification in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus of Panopolis (original) (raw)
Related papers
This contribution aims to show Nonnus’ intertextual strategies by looking at the presences of Aratus’ Phaenomena in the Dionysiaca. In order to do so, I analyze a passage I consider particularly significant, i.e. Dion. 1.448-467, where Typhon promises Cadmus a series of catasterisms in exchange for his music. I argue that the Panopolitan places himself at the intersection point of a crossroads between two dimensions that are strictly connected to each other. The first one, vertical, enables us, in retrospect, to discover what Aratean elements attracted the author’s interest and how he incorporated them in his poem through refined games of variatio and interpretatio. The second one, horizontal, concerns the cultural (especially philosophical) context in which Nonnus works, that serves to explain the meaning of the employment of Aratus’ poem. The importance of such a study lies in the opportunity to understand and appreciate both Nonnus’ thematic and linguistic complexity, since it involves both thematic and linguistic analysis of a source that deals with a subject, i.e. astronomy, to which he devotes a lot of space in his work, in the light of the specific historical moment he lives. This context provided the author with the guidelines for the creation of a “Dionysian” astronomy. As innovation of the traditional astronomical genre, the latter represents one of the several manifestations of ποικιλία, as well as an attempt to lead ποικιλία to a sort of unity, in a Neoplatonic perspective. In conclusion, this contribution proves that Nonnus re-elaborates his model and finally outclasses it in order to build something new which leans on the philosophical background of his age. Therefore, it also allows us to better evaluate the relevance of Hellenistic poetry inside of a poem based primarily on Homer.
The Geography of Empire in Dionysius' Periegesis: A View from the Aegean
Classical World , 2017
The Periegesis of Dionysius of Alexandria has often been read as an idealized, literary geography. This paper argues instead for a political reading. The main north-south axis of Diony-sius' world runs through the Aegean Sea, connecting Alexandria, center of Hellenistic learning, to the Black Sea and its epic heritage. This creates not merely a Greek, but also a distinctly eastern, perspective on the space of empire. Furthermore, the Aegean axis is the point of convergence for all the poem's recognized acros-tics, including the one that names the emperor Hadrian. By placing the emperor's name neither at Rome, nor at Athens, but in lines that describe the Cycladic islands of the Aegean, Dionysius assigns Hadrian a place in an oikoumenē shaped by and for the politics of second century Hellenism.
Οὐδε γέρων Ἀστραῖος ἀναίνετο: The Dancing God and the Mind of Zeus in Nonnos’ Dionysiaca
2017
Mind of Zeus in Nonnos' Dionysiaca 2.2.3. Hymenaios-The war-love 2.2.4. Ariadne-The perfected wife 2.2.5. Aura-Defending divine decency 2.3. Hosts and harassers 2.3.1. Dionysos, absurdist general 2.3.2. Brongus and Staphylos 2.4. Dionysos tries his hand at world-ordering 2.5. Dionysos' shield 2.6. Hera maddens Dionysos 2.7. Hera breastfeeds Dionysos and battle proceeds to sea 2.8. Sea-battle and victory 3. Evangelism and Consolidation 3.1. Nonnos wraps things up Conclusion Bibliography me to gauge the Nonnian atmosphere over time. For now, suffice it to say that Nonnos has traditionally found himself scavenged for parts rather than enjoyed for his creation in its fullness. I hope to challenge his traditional treatment and do some credit to his marvelous creation, perhaps as well to contribute by my efforts to the ongoing understanding and appreciation of the poem.
“Rhetoric of Novelty in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus of Panopolis”
This paper attempts an analysis of the rhetorical elements of novelty in the Dionysiaca of the fifth-century Graeco-Egyptian Nonnus of Panopolis. The author concludes that the poet restricts his references to novelty to the second proem of the Dionysiaca, a programmatic space in which it became a common element. Though the poem was considered to embody the late antique 'new style' already in its time, novelty was too perilous a concept to be used extensively throughout the poem to characterise Dionysus and his world.
“Breaking the fourth wall”. On literariness and metalepsis in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca.
When in book 1 of the Dionysiaca Zeus’ position on the Olympus is threatened by Typhon, his first concern is his reputation among the Greeks (1.385-7). What if they defile his name, by calling Typhon now the “Bringer-of-rain”, the “Ruler-on-high” or even worse, the “all-highest” instead of Zeus? One can but smile about his apparent concern which adjectives are used by men to describe him. Our smile grows wider, when we realize that these are, of course, not merely adjectives, but epithets associated with Zeus in the literary tradition. “τις Ἀχαιῶν” in line 385 already reminded us of the Greeks of Homer, but a more important clue for interpreting this passage as a metalepsis (breaking the boundaries between narrative levels) is the reference to Hellas as “μυθοτόκος” (bringing forth mythological stories) in the same line. As a self-conscious literary character Zeus, indeed, seems not only to care about his reputation within the literary world he is confined to, but also to fear the way his story will be told. As a mise-en-abyme, this passage is an important clue for interpreting the characterization strategies for both Zeus and Typhon in the first books of the Dionysiaca. Taking the case of Zeus and Typhon as a starting point, I will try to shed new light on the constant dialogue with the literary tradition in the Dionysiaca. Regardless of whether he does so by giving his characters a say in how they want to be remembered, by anachronistically comparing them with characters from the Iliad that “actually” still have to be born or by juxtaposing two versions of one myth, Nonnus continuously prevents his audience from believing his story. Instead, he seems to focus their attention on his demonstration of literary skills and education.
Major Themes and Motifs in the Dionysiaca
Brill's Companion to Nonnus of Panopolis, 2016
A feature which will immediately strike the first-time reader of Nonnus' Dionysiaca is the poet's penchant for creating formulaic scenes or expressions: verses can be repeated verbatim or in a slightly varied form, and passages can be recast several times, with different protagonists and only minor alterations.1 These recurrent scenes and expressions are certainly a manifestation of Nonnus' aesthetic principle of ποικιλία (variatio),2 and have an obvious role to play in structuring the poem. For example, in looking for unifying threads that would tie together the disparate episodes of the Dionysiaca, scholars have identified a set of close structural parallels between the first and last books of the epic.3 Thus, the narrative proper begins with a rape (of Europa, by Zeus) and ends with a rape (of Aura, by Dionysus). The Typhonomachy, in which Zeus defeats Typhoeus, in Books 1-2 corresponds to the Gigantomachy, in which Dionysus defeats the Giants of Thrace, in Book 48. The tragic narratives of Actaeon (Book 5) and Pentheus (Books 44-46) clearly echo each other. Even though this chapter will often focus on the thematic correspondences between the first and last books (as themes which appear in these narratively privileged positions are likely to be fundamental for the whole poem), it does not aim to explore structural questions, such as how far we can push these particular similarities and to what extent Nonnus was indeed striving for a perfect ring composition.4 My aim is to provide an outline of the most important themes and motifs which recur throughout the entire epic, and which will be studied