The Bacchae
by Euripides
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At a glance:
- Author: Euripides
- First Published: 405
- Type of Work: Drama
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Religion, Kings, queens, or royalty, Gods or goddesses, Cults, Greek or Roman times, Sacrifice, Greece or Greek people
- Locales: Greece, ancient, Thebes, ancient, Boeotia
The play emphasizes Pentheus’ youth, his insecurity as heir to Cadmus, and his sexual insecurity. It parodies Dionysian ritual, for the maenads (frenzied female worshipers of Dionysus) turn the sparagmos (tearing to pieces) of the victim into human sacrifice. This establishes Euripides’ intention: to show that if deities exist at all, they are essentially demonic enemies of humanity.
Cadmus has accepted his grandson Dionysus as a god, comically ironic considering Cadmus’ age and Dionysus’ association with fertility. By contrast Pentheus, Cadmus’ very young grandson, is...
(The entire page is 548 words.)
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