"Narres, si poteris narrare" (Ov. Met. 3.192-193) : Nonnus' (Dion. 5.287-551) response to Artemis' challenge to Actaeon in Ovid

Whether Nonnus knew Ovid has been the subject of much discussion and the Actaeon episodes in the Dionysiaca and Metamorphoses has been at its centre from the start. Even the advocates of a direct line between Ovid and Nonnus, however, usually assume Nonnus’ use of Ovid to be restricted to minor textual echoes. This article explores the possibility of a more playful and provocative type of allusive engagement and reads the speech of Actaeon’s ghost (Dion. 5.415-532) as Nonnus’ reaction to the challenge posed to Ovid’s Actaeon by Artemis Narres, si poteris narrare (Met. 3.192-193). Similarly Actaeon’s first speech (Dion. 5.337-365) reads as an allusive response to the prophetic words of Athena in Callimachus’ Hymn 5.Whether Nonnus knew Ovid has been the subject of much discussion and the Actaeon episodes in the Dionysiaca and Metamorphoses has been at its centre from the start. Even the advocates of a direct line between Ovid and Nonnus, however, usually assume Nonnus’ use of Ovid to be restricted to minor textual echoes. This article explores the possibility of a more playful and provocative type of allusive engagement and reads the speech of Actaeon’s ghost (Dion. 5.415-532) as Nonnus’ reaction to the challenge posed to Ovid’s Actaeon by Artemis Narres, si poteris narrare (Met. 3.192-193). Similarly Actaeon’s first speech (Dion. 5.337-365) reads as an allusive response to the prophetic words of Athena in Callimachus’ Hymn 5.A