© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi 10.1163/9789 004310698_017 CHAPTER 15 The Mystery Terminology in Nonnus’ Paraphrase Filip Doroszewski 1 Preliminary Notes The issue of the mystery terminology in ancient Greek literature is neither new nor neglected. Nevertheless, the fact that the figurative use of the mystery terms in antiquity was a literary device that enjoyed great popularity and occurred in a variety of contexts makes the issue noteworthy. There are still many texts in which the role of mystery terminology, although prominent, has not received sufficient attention. This is particularly true of Nonnus’ Paraphrase of St John’s Gospel, one of the most intriguing poems of Late Antiquity. The present chap- ter, therefore, will discuss the place occupied by the mystery terminology in this biblical epic.1 Naturally enough, one can hardly address this issue without explaining what the mystery terminology actually is. That, in turn, is intrinsi- cally linked to the more general question of the ancient mystery cults.2 Due to the limited size of this chapter, however, the latter subject will be outlined only very briefly. The introduction will also include a concise and selective overview of the historical development of the mystery metaphor in antiquity as well as the status quaestionis of research done to date on the mystery terminology in the Paraphrase. Thus, the reader will be provided with an essential background necessary to understand the phenomenon discussed in the subsequent parts of the chapter. 2 Historical Development The ancient mystery cults were secret religious rites to which only the initiated were admitted. Two of them are especially important for our understanding of 1  Most of the issues discussed in the analytical part of the chapter were already addressed by the author in two papers: Doroszewski (2014b) and (forthcoming). This may result in a simi- lar or even identical form of certain paragraphs, sentences and expressions that can be found in the two papers and the present chapter. I would like to express my gratitude to Domenico Accorinti for having invited me to contribute to this volume, and to Kurt Nelson for his care- ful reading and suggestions. 2  See now Bremmer (2014).