Abstract
This paper discusses a selection of passages from Nonnus’ Paraphrase of the Gospel of Saint John, where Nonnus borrows phrases or words from Hellenistic poetry. The discussion shows that Nonnus refers to his Hellenistic predecessors in both kinds of amplification he adopts throughout the Paraphrase, i.e. when he expands textual units that are to be found in the Gospel and when he makes additions that find no cue in the text of the Gospel. Nonnus takes his inspiration from many authors and genres of Hellenistic poetry. As a rule, his references to Hellenistic poetry are not merely ornamental, but contribute to embody his expressive and exegetical intentions.
