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 content simply to practice and perform the religious rites of that faith. Dionysus thus aptly tells Pentheus that "a man of godless life is an abomination to the rites of the god" (Euripides 343; line 475).
Dionysus's words are proven true as Pentheus continues to insult Dionysus before having the "stranger" arrested and then unwittingly allowing himself to be guided by Dionysus to where the rites are performed -- only to be set atop a tree so that he might see them and the Bacchae see him. In this manner, Dionysus exacts his vengeance: the Bacchae, of whom is Agave, Pentheus's own mother, are possessed by the spirit of the god. They are behaving wildly, dismembering cattle, dancing, chanting, and giving evidence that Dionysus is real. Dionysus calls the women and shows them Pentheus atop the tree: they, in their frenzy, attack Pentheus, tearing him apart. Agave decapitates her son Pentheus, believing in her possessed state that she is ripping the head off a lion. Thus, Dionysus "pays out" Pentheus, who stubbornly refused to make obeisance to the god, and Agave, who denied the truth of her sister Semele's story.
Agave goes home to show off her trophy -- the head of her son, which she still believes to be the head of a lion. But when the god's spell over her wears off, she realizes in horror what she has done. Cadmus likewise recoils at the sight of his grandson's head in his daughter's hands. Here, Dionysus shows how those who affront him are punished by their own misdeeds.
Finally, Agave and Cadmus...
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
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
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
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