Neoplatonism in Nonnus' Dionysiaca: Aesthetics, Allegory, and Inspiration

Abstract

My PhD thesis offers a sustained analysis of Nonnus of Panopolis Dionysiaca and its Neoplatonic influences. The 5th century epic-encomium was produced in the predominantly Christian literary environment of Alexandria or the Egyptian Thebaid. Although there has been a recent surge in interest in Nonnus and his poetry, the philosophical context of his work has been largely overlooked. Neoplatonic thought had a profound impact on early Christian theology and literature, and it formed an important cultural bridge between Hellenic and Christian philosophic and literary traditions.

My project identifies distinct Neoplatonic themes and motifs throughout Nonnus poem. This includes mimesis (loosely, imitation ) as an aesthetic, ethical, and metaphysical principle of Nonnus Dionysiac world. I argue that mimesis is a Nonnian poetic principle, second only to poikilia (variety), which he invokes in his proem. This argument is supported by a series of case studies and a macro-level frequency analysis of mimetic vocabulary, which is compared against a broader corpus of texts to highlight Nonnus innovation in this regard.

During the 5th-century, Neoplatonism was the primary lens for ancient literary criticism, particularly on the Homeric poems. While Nonnus debt to Homer has long been recognised, his knowledge and use of Neoplatonic literary approaches (particularly allegoresis) has been left understated. My project identifies key allusions to Neoplatonic exegetical commentaries, including Porphyry s On the Cave of the Nymphs. Nonnus use of allegorical models implies a familiarity and nuanced understanding of Neoplatonic Homeric criticism, and he is able to transpose and rework existing models into new frameworks and contexts. Collectively, this creates almost meta-allegorical episodes, that look back to poetic models through a lens of Neoplatonic allegory. I argue that correspondences between the Dionysiaca and the Odyssey, a text that Neoplatonists subjected to extensive mystical exegeses, suggest that Nonnus own poem may have triggered similar interpretive techniques among its audience. Conclusions have implications for our understanding of the sophistication of Nonnus poetry, and methodologies can potentially be applied to a wider corpus of Late Antique literature.