Nonnos: Dionysiaca, Volume I, Books 1-15 (Loeb Classical Library No. 344)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.48 (875 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0674993799 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 576 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-12-23 |
| Language | : | Ancient Greek |
DESCRIPTION:
The wild ecstasy inspired by the god is certainly reflected in the poet's style, which is baroque, extravagant, and unrestrained. The Loeb Classical Library edition of the Dionysiaca is in three volumes.. Nonnos of Panopolis in Egypt, who lived in the fifth century of our era, composed the last great epic poem of antiquity. It seems that Nonnos was in later years converted to Christianity, for in marked contrast to the Dionysiaca, a poem dealing unreservedly with classical myths and redolent of a pagan outlook, there is extant and ascribed to him a hexameter paraphrase of the Gospel of John. The Dionysiaca, in 48 books, has for its chief theme the expedition of Dionysus against the Indians; but the poet contrives to include all the adventures of the god (as well as much other mythological lore) in a narrative which begins with chaos in heaven and ends with the apotheosis of Ariadne's crown
Joe Kenney said The Dionysiaca Volume 1 -- The Forgotten Epic of Late Antiquity. This is the longest surviving epic from Antiquity, longer even than the Iliad and the Odyssey, but it's been forgotten. And this is the only English language translation currently available - itself nearly seventy years old. Why the Dionysiaca (aka "The Story of Dionysos") is overlooked is a mystery, as it's a hallucinogenic, kaleidoscopic, psychedelic trip through the Greek mythos, complete with the sex, violence, and usual acts of rape, bestiality, and general unpleasantness that the Greek gods were known for. And even this translation, published by WHD Rouse i. "A little known classical epic" according to David J Telford. I read this after reading Robin Robertson's freely translated versions/reconstructions of parts of books VI to XV. This poem is a more detailed construction of the story of Dionysius, that otherwise has not survived, written at the end of the Hellenistic era. The translation is a little clunky, perhaps due to its Edwardian-classicist voice, but still an interesting read. A very stylized , a tad over worked, self conscious ( the burden of 1000 year literary tradition?) poem, but not as bad as the translator apparently believes. I also highly recommend Robert Rober