Nonnus Panopolitanus

Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides’ Bacchae . As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the “foreign” god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial conquest. Thus, readings of the Bacchae frequently foreground conflicts between religious autonomy and political authority, and between ethnic diversity and social cohesion. This cross-disciplinary study traces appropriations and evocations of this drama ranging from the fifth century BCE through Byzantium not only among “pagans” but also Jews and Christians. Writers variously articulated their religious visions over against Dionysus, often while paradoxically adopting the god’s language and symbols. Consequently, imitation and emulation are at times indistinguishable from polemics and subversion.

There are two interconnected feminine homoerotic threads in the Dionysiaca, the references to the myth of Callisto, scattered throughout the poem, and the episode of Aura in book 48, which I read against the  narratives of heteroerotic relationships and male homoerotic ones

The shape shifting of Dionysus:  When metamorphoses from myths appear in Greek and Roman art, it is for the most part only the central moment that is indicated, and the physical change in shape is left to the imagination of the viewer. 
This study will point out, by means of a Roman monument, the possibility that water and fountains could represent one particular metamorphosis; the self-willed transformation of a god.  The fountain as such may solve the artistic problem of how to represent a perpetually recurring metamorphosis and would in itself realize that metamorphosis by means of its iconography and water.

This study attempts the comparative examination and interpretation of specific lexical types that are used with different giving of meaning in both works which are attributed to Nonnus from Panopolis. The use of specific definitions that have differential semantic content in the greatest in size epic poem of antiquity, Dionysiaka, and in the metrical paraphrases of the Gospel according to St John, that is known as Metabole, are examined.

This paper focuses on the analysis of the Lycophronean references in two passages from the section of the Dionysiaca narrating Dionysus’ youth, i.e. IX 200-205 and XI 171-174. Nonnus draws from Lycophron a word (in the first case) and an expression (in the second)  dealing  with  Telephus’  myth,  as  he  wants  to  highlight  Dionysus’  salvific role through some prophetic allusions. Thus, the Panopolitan becomes a sort of prophet himself.  It  is  then  possible  to  observe  that  he  is  interested  not  in  the  epic  element of the Alexandra, but, rather, in its oracular element, which is embedded in the poem as part of its variety (ποικιλία).

RESUMEN En este artículo analizamos la figura de Eros, algunos aspectos de erotismo griego y las histo-rias de amor en el poema épico Las Dionisiacas, de Nono de Panópolis. PALABRAS CLAVE: Eros. Erotismo griego. Historias de amor. Nono de Panópolis. ABSTRACT «Love-stories and eroticism in Dionysiaca of Nonnus». In this article we analyse the figure of Eros, some aspects of Greek eroticism and the love-stories in the epic poem Dionysiaca of Nonnus of Panopolis. KEY WORDS: Eros. Greek eroticism. Love stories. Nonnus of Panopolis. 1. El erotismo en la literatura ha pasado a ser una de las líneas de investigación más cultivada en los últimos años, después de haber sido poco atendida hasta las déca-das de los ochenta y noventa del siglo pasado. Libros como los de S. Alexandrian (1990) y G. Morales (1998), por poner sólo un par de ejemplos, son bien signifi-cativos de lo que decimos, uno de cuyos exponentes últimos es la reciente recopi-lación editada por R. Sánchez García (2005). 2. Uno de los capítulos más interesantes para nosotros dentro de la literatura griega antigua es el concerniente al dios masculino del amor: Eros. A esta divinidad veni-mos dedicándole en los últimos años algunos de nuestros trabajos más recientes, en los que hemos tocado algún aspecto de esta figura mitológica, como son los himnos que se le han compuesto (1998a), sus genealogías (2005), su poderío (2006) o su presencia en la obra de Plutarco (2007), cuya finalidad última es conformar una monografía dedicada a este dios que pueda añadirse a las magníficas ya existentes, como la de F.. 3. Las historias de amor constituyen uno de los ejes más significativos de cualquier literatura. Desde que hacen su aparición en la Ilíada (s. VIII a. C.) hasta hoy en día HISTORIAS DE AMOR Y EROTISMO EN LAS DIONISIACAS... 69 FORTVNATAE, 18; 2007, pp. 69-94