It was an open protest based of selfishness and arrogance and it had no rational explanation. Pentheus is punished by death and dies from the hands of his mother who thought he was a wild beats. Such death is very symbolic as it outlines that the will of god is higher than love of mother to son and god's punishment has no mercy to sinners: "What is wisdom? Or what fairer gift from the gods in men's eyes than to hold the hand of power over the head of one's enemies? And 'what is fair is always followed"(Euripides, The Bacchae) In the tragedy of Sophocles Antigone, another opposite case is presented as Antigone the niece of the king Creon demonstrates the actions which are worth admiration and respect. She neglects the order of the new king and buries her brother according to Greek customs. This deed is very symbolic as she demonstrates respect to her brother and to the will of gods. Antigone is arrested by the...
But she is confident in her innocence and is faithful to her ideals:
He and Pentheus meet and Dionysus asserts that Zeus and Semele were married and that their child was the god Dionysus, who is honored by the Bacchae. Pentheus refuses to believe it and professes his skepticism -- yet Dionysus inflames his curiosity and Pentheus admits to desiring to see the rites performed: he is like the unbeliever who asks to see a miracle, when the person with faith is
However, Pentheus is a flawed king. He seems driven by inner needs and is fascinated as well as revolted by the changes Dionysus is bringing. He is easily swayed, and sees some aspects of the new religion as alluring as well as a threat to the status quo. Part of him wants a compromise so that the new religion will not completely fade away. He seems to find it a
Aeneas' detachment differ from Rama's? The French philosopher Simone Weil once wrote that, "There is no detachment where there is no pain. And there is no pain endured without hatred or lying unless detachment is present too." In the Aeneid and Ramayana a central issue is how each text's protagonist detach themselves from the consequences of their actions. The greatest juxtaposition can be seen in how the two men respond
Euripides’ Bacchae Hubris is perhaps the greatest offense that could be given in ancient Greek society. Hubris means showing arrogance and a belief that a human being can challenge the power of the gods. Pentheus, by the standards of his society, has committed the greatest offense possible in Euripides’ Bacchae by attempting to ban the revels of Dionysius. This is not a privilege extended to him as an earthly ruler. Thus,
The bacchius ritual is an expression of another related god, who has been embraced by some as the guide of the spiritual through free expression and has been judged by others as the leader of good people to wicked excess. Though the story of Bacchus is controversial it is one that needs retelling. In Andrew Dalby's work, Bacchus a Biography the life story of Bacchus is told, from am ore
Greeks The narrator is coy about whether or not he views Alexander as Great. He makes a lot of jokes about people want to be great and starts off the lecture with a bit about Kim Kardashian -- but it's not really a fair comparison in my estimation. Fame does not equate to greatness and one can be famous for being rich, pretty and making a sex tape (and having a
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