A Revision Guide for Euripides' The Bacchae, made for the OCR Classical Civilisation Greek Theatre (H408/21) module but likely applicable across exam boards.
Includes theme-by-theme quotes, analysis and many secondary sources to help you achieve the top grades.
13 pages of quotable, in-depth ana...
Divine Strength versus Human Weakness
Quotes:
‘I have put aside my divine form, and in the body of a man I have come here.’ (Dionysus, l3)
- In the prologue Dionysus introduces himself and his mission of revenge, instantly
highlighting the strength of the divine. A Euripidian prologue always introduces what will
occur in the play, and the audience is aware that Dionysus will carry out his act of revenge,
whatever that is.
‘This city must learn its lesson well, even against its will, for not celebrating my rites’.
(Dionysus, l30) - Again, a hint in the prologue of Dionysus’ divine power and a promise that
he will carry out revenge, in whatever form he feels necessary. Penethus’ fate is decided
from the very beginning before he even appears on stage, and this showcases his mortal
weakness in the face of Dioysus’ divine power. His downfall is inevitable as soon as the
powerful god decides it will occur, and despite his obvious attempts to rid Thebes of
Dionysus, Pentheus cannot escape the god, or his death.
‘A god with the horns of a bull’ (Chorus, l85, Parados) - An Early reference to Dionysus’
association with nature and animals, showcases his divine strength in that his animal
incarnation is such a dominant and powerful animal associated with aggression and power.
‘Hunting the blood of goat-slaughter, The joy of eating raw flesh’ (Chorus, l118, Parados) -
This is an ominous introduction to the possibility of violence and destruction later on in the
play, the semantic field of death and hunting created here foreshadows Pentheus’ downfall
and the strength that Dionysus possesses. It also highlights the more sinister side of the
Dionysiac rituals, and introduces the ambiguity of Dionysus as a god. He is the god of nature
in all its powers of destruction and creation, the god of wild escaties and joys, of dancing and
celebration, but also the god of war. His very nature is as ambiguous as his greatest gift to
man: wine. It is brought out on occasions of revelry and celebration, and causes joy, but can
also lead to a loss of control and inhibition, even violence.
‘Take my advice, Pentheus. Do not be too sure that force dominates mankind.’ (Tiresias,
l248) - Tiresias is a recurring figure in Greek tragedy, and was widely characterised as being
the mouthpiece of the gods and pertaining to ‘sophia’ (wisdom in Ancient Greek). Here he is
pointing out to Pentheus that the will of the gods is final and that man is not what runs the
word, so Petheus must bow to Dionysus. He is, inevitably, correct.
‘I freed myself, easily, without effort’ (Dionysus, l519) ‘Did he not tie your hands in binding
knots?’ (Chorus) ‘That is exactly how I humiliated him: when he thought he was binding me,
he did not touch or hold me [...] He found a bull in the stable’ - Dionysus’ raw strength is
revealed and Pentheus’ humiliation begins. The description of his attempt to manacle
Dionysus neatly captures the futility of his struggle: he is attempting to chain down a wild
bull, a symbol for the force of nature. He does not know what he faces, and the effort leaves
him exhausted; he has been made to look ridiculous. The god humiliates Pentheus again
with the false image of himself; Pentheus takes wild swings at the air, and his physical
, strength comes to nothing. But the more miracles occur, the more Pentheus becomes
obsessed with defeating the new religion
‘’For our Lord, the son of Zeus, is attacking the palace, and has turned it upside down!’
(Chorus, l506) - Dionysus gets his revenge on the house of Cadmus.
‘Do I look more like a bacchant when I hold the thyrsus in my right hand, or in my left?’
(Pentheus,l798) - Pentheus is now under the complete control of Dionysus, his costume
change marks the extreme change in who exactly controls the situation, which is without
doubt Dionysus. It is almost comedic in a dark sense, as Pentehus is partaking in foolish
behaviour but he is also being dressed up by Dionysus for his death. Dionysus has also
tricked him into putting on the costume that his bachants wear, symbolising that Pentheus
now wears a symbol of what he once hated, the symbol of Dioysian rites and worship.
‘Clever you are, clever - except where you need to be clever!’ (Pentheus to Dionysus, l658) -
Ironic because Pentheus is the one who is not clever where he needs to be clever, in that he
does not realise the importance in believing in the gods. Pentheus claims to be rational, but
in reality he is absolutely irrational. The miracles continue, and by rejecting them as proof of
Dionysus' divinity, Pentheus proves he is as irrational and deluded as the most feverish
cultist. His treatment of the Messenger shows his lack of self-control; he is short-tempered,
and his behaviour toward his subjects is tyrannous. He promises that the more terrible the
news is, the more he will punish the priest for teaching this new kind of magic to the women:
with this resolution, he shows the extent of his blindness. Even before hearing the
Messenger's words, Pentheus has already rejected anything offered as proof of Bacchus'
divinity. He does not accept, as the Messenger does, that the events are miraculous. He has
reached his conclusion before hearing the evidence. This behaviour is not rational or
intelligent; for Pentheus, this struggle is no longer (if it ever was) about the truth. It is about
winning.
‘Here, you arrange it: I am in your hands now.’ (Pentheus, l791) ‘Your belt is loose, and the
folds of your dress don’t hang smoothly down to your ankles’ (Dionysus) - Pentheus is
completely under Dionysus control
‘Women, the man is moving into the net, and he will come to the bacchants, where he will be
punished by death’- the hunt is a theme of the play. Dionysus is described repeatedly as the
hunter. Take note of the reversal: Pentheus was about to lead an army on a hunt for the
women. Now, he is about to be emasculated, made into a woman himself, and transformed
from the hunter into the hunted. Dionysus speaks using images of the hunt. Both men aspire
to be hunters. But the god is more cunning than the man, and he also, as we shall see, has
more brute force at his command.
‘Dionysus has destroyed all of us; now I understand’ (Agave, l1125) This is both her moment
of peripeteia and anagnorisis. She has realised the true power of the god, and Pentheus’
hamartia has destroyed the house of Cadmus and ruined Agave’s life.
Secondary Sources:
E.R Dodds: ‘man is but a puppet in the hands of the gods.’
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