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, according to the terms set by ancient Greek morality and religion, he deserves to die in the horrible way that he does, ripped to pieces by the gods’ followers, including his own mother (who does not recognize him in her ecstatic frenzy).

Of course, by modern standards of justice, Pentheus’ punishment is far too harsh. First of all, he is very young, and merely shows the arrogance of youth. Human beings do have the capacity to change. Secondly, although he is committing an offense in terms of attempting to regulate people’s religious expression, there is no question that the revelers of Dionysius have been highly disruptive to society. Even though Pentheus oversteps his boundaries a ruler, and also is wrong to attempt to penetrate the ceremony of the god in disguise, this offense is not so great that he deserves death.

But Greek mythology, unlike a secular system of justice, is not interested in what is fair. It attempts to educate its readers about eternal moral truths, similar to how Oedipus’ blindness seems like an excessive punishment in his attempt to avoid his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. The gods have a different standard for themselves than the one they hold humanity. Pentheus defies that standard and thus according to Greek theological standards deserves to die within the logic of the story, if not the modern justice system.