Bacchae Punishment for the Irreverent

Bacchae Punishment for the Irreverent in the Bacchae In Euripides's play The Bacchae, Dionysus represents the gods' beneficent attitude towards those who reverence them -- and the wrath they dole out to those who deny them. In The Bacchae, Dionysus punishes Pentheus and destroys the house of Cadmus, for -- as Cadmus himself acknowledges at the end of the play -- the god "suffered insults…his name receiving no meed of honor in Thebes" (Euripides 350; line 1377).

This paper will show how Dionysus returns to Thebes to take vengeance on the house which failed to believe Semele's words -- that she had conceived by Zeus and bore the divine Dionysus.

The priest Teiresias represents the voice of reason and piety in the play when he states early his reasons for dancing in Bacchus' honor: "Some will say, I have no respect for my grey hair in going to dance with ivy round my head; not so, for the god did not define whether old or young should dance, but from all alike he claims a universal homage, and scorns nice calculations in his worship" (Euripides 341; line 205-10). Teiresias understands that the gods demand worship from one and all alike.

Therefore, he goes to pay homage to Bacchus in the prescribed method. Teiresias, it is worth noting, is spared any calamity: he alone of all the main characters in the play is dealt with benevolently, since he alone worshipped as he knew he ought. However, Pentheus, the son of Agave, has none of Teiresias' sense. Pentheus refuses to admit that Dionysus is a god. He, like those in the house of Cadmus, have never believed that Semele conceived by Zeus.

He refers to Dionysus as a "new god…whoever he is" and asserts that he will "put an end to these outrageous Bacchic rites" and decapitate the strange man who has come to Thebes to lure the women away from their homes to give homage to the gods (Euripides 341; line 215-30). Pentheus is proud and impious in his attitude of irreverence. He sees the women as being tricked and is surprised to find the priest Teiresias, as well as his own grandfather Cadmus, among them.

Pentheus laments their foolishness and the Chorus accuses Pentheus of impiety. It is clear that Pentheus represents the unbeliever -- and his fate is that which he intends for the "stranger," who is, of course, none other than the god Dionysus. Teiresias advises Pentheus to worship the god Dionysus -- but Pentheus appears to believe that man's might is what rules the world rather than the might of the gods. Teiresias' faith is firm and strong.

Cadmus chimes in to give his own two cents on the matter and reveals himself as one who goes along to get along: "Even though he be no god, as thou assertest, still say he is; be guilty of a splendid fraud, declaring him the son of Semele, that she may be thought the mother of a god, and we and all our race gain honor" (Euripedes 342; line 334-6). Cadmus argues that even if one does not believe in the gods, it is best to pretend as though one does.

He argues that since the cult of Dionysus has now come to flourish in Thebes, it is best to embrace it -- after all, it does honor to the house of Cadmus, whose daughter was Semele. But Pentheus refuses to accept even Cadmus's rationalism. If Teiresias represents true faith and Cadmus represents shallow faith, or rather political charm, Pentheus stands for a kind of Puritanical madness: he cannot believe, because he feels it would be beneath him to do so; but he also cannot let well enough alone.

His curiosity to see what the Bacchanal is all about (even as he condemns it, is his undoing). Dionysus arrives, disguised as the stranger of whom Pentheus has heard. 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 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 grieve, openly admitting their faults and realizing that they must now suffer the fate that the gods have set for them. Agave, for tearing off the head of her son, is to be exiled from Thebes.

Cadmus is to be transformed into a snake. Dionysus tells them that had they only recognized.