Editing Nonnus (section)

==The ''Dionysiaca''==
{{Main|Dionysiaca}}
[[Image:Dionysos Mosaic.jpg|thumb|right|Mosaic of Dionysus from [[Antioch]]]]

Nonnus's principal work is the 48-book [[epic poetry|epic]] ''Dionysiaca'', the longest surviving poem from [[classical antiquity]].<ref>Hopkinson, N. ''Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus'' (Cambridge, 1994) pp.1–4.</ref> It has 20,426 lines composed in [[Homeric Greek]] and [[dactylic hexameter]]s, the main subject of which is the life of [[Dionysus]], his expedition to India, and his triumphant return. The poem is to be dated to the 5th century. It used to be considered of poor literary quality, but a mass of recent writing (most notably in the Budé edition and commentary on the poem in 18 volumes) has demonstrated that it shows consummate literary skill, even if its distinctly baroque extravagance is an acquired taste for a modern reader. His versification invites attention: writing in hexameters he uses a higher proportion of dactyls and less elision than earlier poets; this plus his subtle use of alliteration and assonance gives his verse a unique musicality.

{{anchor|Metabole|Paraphrase|Paraphrase of John}}