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Lori Thompson
Professor Kenna
Greek Mythology
3/18/20
The Bacchae
The plot of The Bacchae begins when Zeus has an affair with the mortal woman, Semele,
resulting in the birth of Dionysus, who would go on to become to God of wine, theatre, and
known for general debauchery. Dionysus’ mother was killed when Hera, in a jealous plot for
revenge, convinced Semele to ask to see Zeus’ true, godly form, which in turn, burned Semele to
death. In the first depiction of rebirth in Dionysus’ mystique, Zeus takes the unborn baby and
sews Dionysus into his thigh, later birthing the god himself. Rebirth is a theme that follows
Dionysus as he is the god of the vine, living grapes being turned into intoxicating wine.
The play opens with Dionysus coming to Thebes, a city known for being seedy and
unsavory, angry with how his mother’s sisters have been defaming her since her death. Semele’s
sisters, and Dionysus’ cousin Pentheus, have been spreading the word that Semele was in fact
covering up her unwed pregnancy to a mortal, and that her father, Cadmus, had been the one to
start the lie. Enraged by the defamation of his family and what they had gone through, Dionysus
returns to the city disguised as a mortal, planning to imbibe the city with Bacchic revelry,
including his 3 aunts and sisters of Semele, who have already gone mad.
Pentheus enters the story as an uptight king of Thebes, trying to keep his city in order as
things get more and more out of hand. One could interpret his story as tragic, as he likely was
trying to bring prosperity back to the city that partying and drunkenness had overtaken. When he
comes upon a disguised Dionysus persuading Cadmus and Tiresias to join in the revelry, he
demands Dionysus be captured and brought back to the palace, as well as the arrest of anyone
else engaging in the worship of Dionysus. “But Pentheus is young and adamant; he accuses
Tiresias’ place of augury (after all, has he not himself desecrated his own priestly office?) and
the hunt down the effeminate foreigner who has corrupted the women of Thebes” (308) Pentheus
is completely unaware that he has captured the god and his cousin, Dionysus, and throws him
into the prison after a sort of game of wits in which Pentheus is completely unprepared to battle a
god. Dionysus then escapes easily, wreaking even more havoc onto the palace and city, causing
earthquakes and fire in his wake.
Pentheus is completely shocked by what as happened, yet still hasn’t put two and two
together to discover that this rampaging newcomer is the god that has caused all this Bacchic
revelry. A group of women soon arrive, including Semele’s sisters (Dionysus’s aunts, one of
which is Pentheus’ mother), arrive to the nearby woods, defiling the mountain with their worship
and spreading bloodshed of animals and livestock, as well as the people who try to get near
them. Pentheus at first plans to defeat them with an army but is convinced by Dionysus to instead
spy on the women, appealing to the internal struggle in Pentheus that wishes to see the Bacchic
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revelry for himself. “…in general, the complex neurosis that stems from his repressions; in
particular, his prurient preoccupation with sex and his desire to see the orgies that he insist are
taking place.” (313)
Pentheus is dressed as a Bacchae, preparing the lamb for the slaughter as they
symbolically dress what was once noble and fresh in their intoxication, and agrees to follow
Dionysus, despite being against his prior in the story. Though his rose-tinted glasses, Pentheus
believes he will pull the reigns on these women and teach them self-control, as Tiresias critiqued
earlier in the story as well, and through these same glasses we see the women both at one with
their primal nature, completely unencumbered by conscience and in essence, drunk. Despite
being disguised, Pentheus is soon caught by the women, who shed their peaceful and pleasant
aura and become bloodthirsty, ripping Pentheus to shreds for his hubris and for trespassing. The
last person Pentheus sees through his stupor is his own mother, Agave, overtaken by the revelry,
ripping his head off. Even after awakening from her stupor, the punishment for Pentheus has
already been carried out by her own hands, thereby cementing Dionysus’ power over not only
the one city of Thebes, but his rightful place as a god with divine power over mortals. The story
of Pentheus is one of a man who is disgusted by the base drunkenness displayed before him, yet
also fascinated by a base human nature and primal urges. “Was the celebration of [Dionysus’]
worship a cry for release from the restraints of civilized society and a return to the mystic purity
and abounding freedom of nature, or was it merely a deceptive excuse for self-indulgence in an
orgy of undisciplined passion?” (319)
The Greek image of tragedy is one that embodied a main character doing or discovering
something that thereby ruins his entire life, which perfectly describes Pentheus’ fall from grace
after his defamation of Semele and Dionysus. When Agave realizes what she has done to her
son, her story also turns into one of tragedy, similar to Oedipus discovering his murder of his
own father. Pentheus serves his punishment for denying, speaking against, or disbelief of the
gods and it is a cautionary tale for anyone who dares to question any god’s strength. Although
Dionysus may not have been head of the gods, and had humble beginnings with being half-
human, his power shall not be questioned after reading about his “mob fury and religious
ecstasy” (318) that he can bring wherever he goes.