The Dionysiaca (Greek: Διονυσιακά ) is an ancient Greek 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, divided in 48 books-as many as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. Dionysiaca was composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters and its main subject is the life of Greek God Dionysos, His expedition to India, and His triumphant return to the West.
Below there are 3 links to the books of the epic poem. The text is in both English and Ancient Greek.
"Dionysos was, in my opinion . . . the first to invade India, and the first to bridge the river Euphrates. Zeugma (Bridge) was the name given to that part of the country where the Euphrates was bridged, and at the present day the cable is still preserved with which he spanned the river; it is plaited with branches of the vine and ivy. Both the Greeks and the Egyptians have many legends about Dionysos."
Pausanias, Description of Greece
Books 1-15 : https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca01nonnuoft
Books 16-35 : https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca02nonnuoft
Books 36- 48 : https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca03nonnuoft/page/n1
Source : https://catalog.perseus.org/catalog/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2045.tlg001.opp-eng1dio
Περί Ινδίας θυμάμαι είναι από το βιβλίο 13 και μετά.
ReplyDelete