The longest surviving poem from antiquity — forty-eight books on Dionysus's conquest of India. Nonnus writes in a baroque, extravagant style that marks the last flowering of Greek epic.
Start ReadingThe abduction of Europa opens the vast epic, as Zeus in bull form carries the Phoenician princess across the sea, setting in motion the events that lead to Dionysus's birth.
The early genealogy of Dionysus, tracing the divine lineage through Cadmus, Semele, and the thunderbolt that destroyed and immortalised Dionysus's mother.
Cadmus's foundation of Thebes, the city destined to be Dionysus's birthplace and the centre of his cult.
The birth stories and early divine conflicts that precede Dionysus's entry into the world.
Zeus's seduction of Semele and the tragic consequences of Hera's jealous intervention — Semele is destroyed by divine fire and Dionysus is saved by being sewn into Zeus's thigh.
The infant Dionysus is hidden from Hera's wrath and raised in secret, learning the mysteries that he will one day teach to mortals.
Dionysus grows to young manhood and begins to manifest his divine powers, attracting followers and alarming the established Olympian order.
The preparations for Dionysus's great expedition to India, gathering an army of satyrs, maenads, and mortal devotees.
The Indian campaign continues as Dionysus's army advances eastward, encountering resistance and spreading the cult of wine.
The Indian campaign continues as Dionysus's army advances eastward, encountering resistance and spreading the cult of wine.
The Indian campaign continues as Dionysus's army advances eastward, encountering resistance and spreading the cult of wine.
The Indian campaign continues as Dionysus's army advances eastward, encountering resistance and spreading the cult of wine.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
The great battles of the Indian War, where Nonnus unleashes his baroque descriptive powers on scenes of cosmic combat.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
Dionysus's triumphs and setbacks in India alternate with mythological digressions, love stories, and celebrations that expand the epic into an encyclopaedia of Greek myth.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
The later stages of the Indian campaign see Dionysus consolidate his conquests and turn his attention back toward Greece.
Dionysus returns westward, confronting resistance to his divinity — including Pentheus at Thebes — and establishing his cult throughout the Mediterranean.
Dionysus returns westward, confronting resistance to his divinity — including Pentheus at Thebes — and establishing his cult throughout the Mediterranean.
Dionysus returns westward, confronting resistance to his divinity — including Pentheus at Thebes — and establishing his cult throughout the Mediterranean.
Dionysus returns westward, confronting resistance to his divinity — including Pentheus at Thebes — and establishing his cult throughout the Mediterranean.
Dionysus returns westward, confronting resistance to his divinity — including Pentheus at Thebes — and establishing his cult throughout the Mediterranean.
The final books bring Dionysus to his apotheosis, his acceptance on Olympus, and the triumph of wine and ecstasy as permanent forces in the divine order.
The final books bring Dionysus to his apotheosis, his acceptance on Olympus, and the triumph of wine and ecstasy as permanent forces in the divine order.
The final books bring Dionysus to his apotheosis, his acceptance on Olympus, and the triumph of wine and ecstasy as permanent forces in the divine order.