The Bacchae (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Euripides
- First Published: 405
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Tragedy
- Time of Work: Antiquity
- Setting: Thebes, in Boeotia
- Principal Characters: Dionysus, Pentheus, Cadmus, Tiresias, Agave
- 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 Story:
Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, the king of Thebes, was visited by Zeus and conceived a child. While she was still carrying her unborn child, she prayed to see Zeus in all his splendor. Zeus accordingly appeared to her in the form of a bolt of lightning, and Semele was killed instantly. Zeus took the prematurely born child he had fathered and placed him within himself. At the proper time, the child was born again and was named Dionysus. When he grew up and became the god of revelry and wine, men established a cult for his worship. The cult of Dionysus spread...
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See Also:
Euripides (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Euripides (Drama)Euripides (Encyclopedia of the Ancient World)
See Also:
- - The Bacchae summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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