chapter 6 Major Themes and Motifs in the Dionysiaca Fotini Hadjittofi A feature which will immediately strike the first-time reader of Nonnus’ Dionysiaca is the poet’s penchant for creating formulaic scenes or expressions: verses can be repeated verbatim or in a slightly varied form, and passages can be recast several times, with different protagonists and only minor alterations.1 These recurrent scenes and expressions are certainly a manifestation of Nonnus’ aesthetic principle of ποικιλία (variatio),2 and have an obvious role to play in structuring the poem. For example, in looking for unifying threads that would tie together the disparate episodes of the Dionysiaca, scholars have identified a set of close structural parallels between the first and last books of the epic.3 Thus, the narrative proper begins with a rape (of Europa, by Zeus) and ends with a rape (of Aura, by Dionysus). The Typhonomachy, in which Zeus defeats Typhoeus, in Books 1–2 corresponds to the Gigantomachy, in which Dionysus defeats the Giants of Thrace, in Book 48. The tragic narratives of Actaeon (Book 5) and Pentheus (Books 44–46) clearly echo each other. Even though this chapter will often focus on the thematic correspondences between the first and last books (as themes which appear in these narratively privileged positions are likely to be fundamental for the whole poem), it does not aim to explore structural questions, such as how far we can push these particular similarities and to what extent Nonnus was indeed striving for a perfect ring composition.4 My aim is to provide an outline of the most important themes and motifs which recur throughout the entire epic, and which will be studied 1 The formularity of Nonnus’ language will not concern me in this chapter, but see D’Ippolito in this volume. For specific examples of formulaic language see Livrea (1971); Gigli Piccardi (1980); D’Ippolito (2003) and (2013a); Massimilla (2003); Miguélez Cavero (2008) 122–125 and 157–158. For repetitions (anaphoric, etymological, etc.) see Schmiel (1998a). 2 On variatio as the aesthetic principle underpinning much of late antique poetry in the Latin West see the classic analysis by Roberts (1989) passim, esp. 56. On ποικιλία in Nonnus see D’Ippolito (1964) 37–57; Fauth (1981); Hopkinson (1994c) 10–11 and 23–24; Shorrock (2001) 21–23; Miguélez Cavero (2008) 139–145 and 162–168; Giraudet (2014). 3 For a detailed scheme of thematic correspondences encompassing, in a circular manner, the entire poem see Collart (1930) 59–60. For criticism and modification of that scheme see Vian (1976) xxii; Shorrock (2001) 10–13; Giraudet (2014) 140–141. 4 On the structure of the Dionysiaca see Geisz in this volume. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi ��.��63/97890043�0698_008 126 Hadjittofi here under three headings: 1. Apotheosis, metamorphosis, and soteriology; 2. Theomachies and Gigantomachies; 3 Love, rape, and paradoxical generation. This overview will naturally raise the question whether Nonnus’ ideal audience would be expected to read meaning into the poem’s obsessive intratextuality (e.g. looking at one scene or verse under the light of its previous instantiations or putting side by side different forms of the ‘same’ episode). Although some observations will be made regarding the interpretation of specific themes and whether repetition can indeed be meaningful in the deep resonance chamber of the Dionysiaca, a systematic examination of this (very important) question lies beyond the scope of this chapter. 1 Apotheosis, Metamorphosis, and Soteriology If there is one thing the Dionysiaca is about, it is Dionysus and his long journey to Olympus, where he will finally be welcomed as a god in the last verses of Book 48 (974–978). From the Dionysiac ‘archaeology’ of Books 1–12 to Dionysus’ campaign against the Indians in Books 13–40 and the spreading of his cult along with its key component, wine, around the Eastern Mediterranean in the rest of the poem, everything builds up to Dionysus’ apotheosis.5 Dionysus becomes a god by being assimilated to his father, Zeus, to whom he is repeat- edly compared, and who serves as his ultimate model. As the epic draws to its close, Dionysus is increasingly seen as a replica of his father, and thus becomes himself an embodiment of the imitation motif (the tendency to see things as copies or imitations of other things), which is an integral part of Nonnus’ poetics.6 In Book 48 he fights against the Giants using a torch, which is ‘an exact imitation of the thunderbolt cast by Zeus’ (ἀντίτυπον μίμημα Διοβλήτοιο κεραυνοῦ, 66).7 Later on (551–552), Ariadne’s ghost appears to Dionysus in his sleep to accuse him of having forgotten her and complain about his repeated affairs: ‘You are just like Cronion changing from bed to bed, and you have imitated (μιμήσαο) the doings of your womanmad father, having 5 On the first twelve books of the epic as a Dionysiac ‘archaeology’ see Vian (1976) xxiii. 6 See, e.g., Riemschneider (1957) 57–61, and Schmiel (1998b) 394. 7 For the text of the Dionysiaca I am using the Budé edition (Vian et al. 1976–2006). Translations are adapted from Rouse (1940). For the expression ἀντίτυπον μίμημα as a Nonnian formula see Gigli Piccardi (1985) 233–235. For a metapoetic reading of this verse see Shorrock (2001) 199..