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The Diliad or Deiliad is a lost parody of the Iliad composed by Nicochares, referenced in Aristotle’s Poetics. In chapter two of his work, Aristotle describes the characters of the Diliad as examples of personages whose moral integrity is below that of the normal man. By mentioning the Diliad so early in his treatise on poetry, Aristotle appears to place the work in a pre-eminent position within the genre of comedy. Sadly however, Aristotle makes no further reference to either Nicochares or the Diliad for the rest of the Poetics, casting doubt on the quality of the parody. There is no other surviving classical reference to the Diliad, thus granting the work an incredible amount of mystique in certain comic circles. Nicochares died circa 345 B.C. thus placing the creation of the Diliad on or prior to that date, for reasons that are obvious by simple logic – one cannot create a work after they are dead. In his novel, “A Frolic of His Own,” William Gaddis refers to Nicochares on page 324 (in the Scribner softback edition). Annotations for the book describe Nicochares as a 5th century B.C. poet, thus conflicting with reports of the time of Nicochares’ death.

In an interview for the New Republic with journalist Stephen Glass, Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis used an anecdote involving the Diliad to describe the writing process. “As I wrote The Last Temptation of Christ I considered many different potential temptations to construct my novel around. Before finally settling on the idea of tempting Jesus with the possibility of a long yet uneventful life as a family man, I toyed around with the idea of tempting him with a discovered hardbound copy of Nicochares’ Diliad eloquently translated into perfect Aramaic. However, I scrapped that idea when I realized it would ultimately be impossible for Christ to deny himself such a temptation.”

In 1996 Al Pacino released, Looking for Richard, a film documenting his desire to perform Shakespeare’s Richard III. In his review of the film, notable nationally-televised critic, Roger Ebert stated, “Look, I’ve already found Richard III. It’s on my bookshelf, right next to Richard II. What I am looking for is a copy of the Diliad. I bet it’s hilarious… Thumbs down for me, Gene Siskel.”

Upon the untimely death of comedian Phil Hartman, Andy Dick in a tearful interview with David Letterman, explained his sorrow thusly, “It’s like losing The Diliad. Once it’s gone there is no getting it back.”

Hip hop is a medium of artistic expression characterized by music sampling and cultural referencing also known as “giving shout-outs.” Perhaps no other hip-hop artist is more famous than Snoop Doggie Dogg or Snoop Dogg. In a Michigan concert, he once greeted the audience, “Hello Detroit. What’s the Diliad?” A salutation met with great applause.

Nobel laureate Octavio Paz once harshly criticized fellow Latin American fictionalist and literary critic, Jorge Luis Borges, in a critical essay entitled, “Pierre Minard, Author of the Diliad.” In this essay Paz famously castigates all South American authors for their self-indulgence and redundancy. The essay focuses on Borges’ short story, “Pierre Minard, Author of the Quixote,” in which a modern-day writer miraculously manages to recreate the novel, Don Quixote, word for word. “Why do we need another Quixote?” asks Paz, “I already have that book. Borges would have served the world much better if he had created a character that could have re-written the Diliad for us. O Dios mio! I’m dying to read that hilarious parody of the Iliad!”