Nonnus
Nonnus of Panopolis (, "Nónnos ho Panopolítēs", 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He is known as the composer of the "Dionysiaca", an epic tale of the god Dionysus, and of the "Metabole", a paraphrase of the "Gospel of John". The epic Dionysiaca describes the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west. It was written in Homeric Greek and in dactylic hexameter, and it consists  of 48 books at 20,426 lines. Life. There is almost no evidence for the life of Nonnus. It is known that he was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in Upper Egypt from his naming in manuscripts and the reference in epigram 9.198 of the "Palatine Anthology". Scholars have generally dated him from the end of the 4th to the central years of the 5th century. He must have lived after the composition of Claudian's Greek "Gigantomachy" (i.e., after 394–397) as he appears to be familiar with that work. Agathias Scholasticus seems to have followed him, with a mid-6th-century  reference to him as a "recent author". He is sometimes conflated with St Nonnus from the hagiographies of St Pelagia and with Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa who attended the Council of Chalcedon, both of whom seem to have been roughly contemporary, but these associations are probably mistaken. The "Dionysiaca". Nonnus' principal work is the 48-book epic "Dionysiaca", the longest surviving poem from antiquity. It has 20,426 lines composed in Homeric Greek and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west. 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 for a modern reader a taste that has to be acquired. 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. An error to  be corrected is that he must have been a pagan when writing the poem: but the treatment of myth as agreeable fiction had been common since the Hellenistic period, and Nonnos ignores pagan ritual, which was the essence of authentic paganism. The "Paraphrase of John". His "Paraphrase of John" ("Metabolḕ toû katà Iōánnēn Euaggelíou") also survives. Its timing is a debated point: textual analysis seems to suggest that it preceded the "Dionysiaca" while some scholars feel it unlikely that a converted Christian would have gone on to devote so much work to the "Dionysiaca"’s pagan themes. Works. A complete  and updated bibliography of Nonnus scholarship may be found at Hellenistic Bibliography's page at Google Sites. Editions and translations of the "Dionysiaca" include: Editions and translations of the "Paraphrase" include: A team of (mainly Italian) scholars are now re-editing the text, book by book, with ample introductions and notes. Published so far: