Dionysiaca

The Dionysiaca (Greek: Διονυσιακά) is an ancient epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west.

Composition

The poem is thought to have been written in the late 4th and/or early 5th century CE. The Dionysiaca appears to be incomplete, and some scholars believe that a 49th book was being planned when Nonnus stopped work on the poem, although others point out that the number of books in the Dionysiaca is the same as the 48 books of the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It has been conjectured that a possible conversion to Christianity or death caused Nonnus to abandon the poem after some revisions. Editors have pointed out various inconsistencies and the difficulties of Book 39 which appears to be a disjointed series of descriptions, as evidence of the poem's lack of revision. Others have attributed these problems to copyists or later editors, but most scholars agree on the poem's incompleteness.