Nonnus
（
*No/nnos), a Greek poet, was a native of Panopolis in Egypt, and seems to have lived shortly before the time of Agathias (iv. p. 128), who mentions him among the recent (
νέοι) poets. Whether he is the same person as the Nonnus whose son Soscna is recommended by Synesius to his friends Anastasius and Pylaemenes, is uncertain. (Synes.
Ep. ad Anast. 43,
ad Pylaem. 102.) Respecting his life nothing is known, except that he was a Christian, whence he cannot be confounded with the Nonnus mentioned by Suidas (
s. v. Σαλούστιος).
Works
The Διονυσιακά, an epic on Dionysos
Nonnus is the author of an enormous epic poem, which has come down to us under the name of
Διονυσιακά or
Βασσαρικά, and consists of fortyeight books.
As the subject of the poem is a pagan divinity and a number of mythological stories, some writers have supposed that it was written previous to his conversion to Christianity or that it was composed in ridicule of the theology of the pagans; but neither opinion appears to be founded on any sound argument, for it does not appear why a Christian should not have amused himself with writing a poem on pagan subjects.
The poem itself shows that Nonnus had no idea whatever of what a poetical composition should be, and it is, as Heinsius characterises it, more like a chaos than a literary production. Although the professed subject of the poem is Dionysus, Nonnus begins with the story of Zeus carrying off Europa; he proceeds to relate the fight of Typhonus with Zeus; the story of Cadmus and the foundation of Thebes, the stories of Actaeon, Persephone, the birth of Zagreus and the deluge, and at length, in the seventh book, he relates the birth of Dionysus.
The first six or seven books are so completely devoid of any connecting link, that any one of them might by itself be regarded as a separate work.
The remaining books are patched together in the same manner, without any coherence or subordination of less important to more important parts.
The style of the work is bombastic and inflated in the highest degree; but the author shows considerable learning and fluency of narration.
The work is mentioned by Agathias, repeatedly by Eustathius in his commentary on Homer, and in the Etymologicum Magnum (
s. v. Διόνυοσος.
There is an epigram in which Nonnus speaks of himself as the author of a poem on the fight of the Gigantes, but it seems that this is not a distinct work, but refers to the fight of Zeus and the Gigantes related in the first books of the Dionysiaca.
Editions
The first edition that was published is that of G. Falckenburg, Antwerp, 1569, 4to. In 1605 an octavo edition, with a Latin translation, appeared at Hanau. A reprint of it, with a dissertation by D. Heinsius, and emendations by Jos. Scaliger, was published at Leiden in 1510, 8vo. A new edition, with a critical and explanatory commentary, was edited by F. Graefe, Leipzig, 1819-1826, in 2 vols. 8vo.
Paraphrase of the Gospel of St. John
A second work of Nonnus, which has all the defects that have been censured in the Dionysiaca, is a paraphrase of the gospel of St. John in Hexameter verse.
Editions
The first edition of it was published by Aldus Manutius, Venice, 1501, 4to.; and subsequently others appeared at
Rome, 1508,
Hagenau, 1527, 8vo. with an epistle of Phil. Melanchthon,
Frankfort, 1541;
Paris, 1541, 1556;
Goslar, 1616;
Cologne, 1566.
Translations
It was also repeatedly translated into Latin, and several editions appeared with Latin versions.
The most important of these is that of D. Heinsius, Lugd. Bat. 1627, 8vo.
There is further a collection and exposition of various stories and fables, bearing the titles of
Συναγωγὴ καὶ ἐξήγησις ἱστοριῶν, which is ascribed to Nonnus.
Editions
The
Collection and Exposition was published at
Eton in 1610, 4to. by R. Montacutius. But Bentley (
Upon the Ep. of Phalaris, p. 17, &c.) has shown that this collection is the production of a far more ignorant person than Nonnus.
Further Information
Comp. Fabricius,
Bibl. (
Graec. vol. viii. p. 601, &c.; Ouwaroff,
Nonnus von Panopolis der Dichter, ein Beitrag zur Gesch. der Griech. Poesie, Petersburg and Leipzig, 1817, 4to.
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L.S]
