The Bacchae

Nahir I. Otaño Gracia; Averie Basch

19 The Bacchae

Nahir I. Otaño Gracia and Averie Basch

Greek

405 BCE

Euripides is recognized as the last great poet of Greece’s Golden Age of Athenian drama. A contemporary of Aeschylus and of Sophocles, Euripides was one of the most celebrated tragic playwrights of his time. Only 19 of his 92 plays are still in existence today, the most famous being Medea, the Trojan Women, and the Bacchae. Euripides’ Bacchae is a religious play highlighting the worship of Dionysus. Greek theater was divided into either comedy (stories with happy endings) or tragedies (stories with unhappy endings), overseen by the Muses Thalia and Melpomene, respectively.

The Bacchae is a tragedy, ending with a violent murder and a harsh lesson on piety. The title Bacchae refers to the followers of the Greek god Dionysus (Roman form: Bacchus). Dionysus is the god of wine, frenzy, and madness, especially the sort of madness that results from drunkenness. Dionysus’ life is that of a demigod turned immortal: the son of the god Zeus (ruler of the skies and king of the Olympians) and the mortal princess Semele (daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes and the minor goddess Harmonia, usually depicted as the child of Ares and Aphrodite). Cadmus, the brother of Zeus’ lover Europa, founded and ruled the city of Thebes with his divine wife. Their marriage produced many children, including daughters Semele and Agave, and son Polydorus, who became an ancestor of Oedipus. Semele fell in love with Zeus. Zeus’ wife Hera convinced Semele to demand Zeus to show her his true form; being a mortal, seeing Zeus in his godly form incinerated her body, killing her. As a god, Zeus was able to save the demigod fetus that pregnant Semele was carrying by sewing it into his own thigh. Since Dionysus was formed both in his mother’s womb and in Zeus’ thigh, he is recognized as being “twice born;” the tradition that Dionysus is a reincarnated form of the Hades and Persephone’s son Zagreus only adds to that claim. Dionysus lived as a mortal but after inventing wine was elevated to the status of Olympian. Since there were already 12 Olympians, Dionysus’ appointment almost led to war until the goddess Hestia stepped down. Afterwards, the twelve Olympians included seven men (Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysus) and five women (Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis) with Hestia demoted and Hades (a chthonic god) unrecognized. Dionysus, then, was exalted as the son of the chief god and a mortal princess who rose to godhood as a result of his earthly deeds.

The play opens as Dionysus observes how Thebes honors or dishonors himself and his mother Semele. Pentheus, son of Agave, has assumed the throne while his maternal grandfather Cadmus lives out his old age. Pentheus demonstrates blatant disrespect for the Dionysian cult but Cadmus and the prophet Tiresias fully embrace it. Nature played a central role in Dionysian cult worship. The contrast between the city (polis) and nature is emphasized in the Bacchae. Followers, called Bacchae or Maenads, flock naked to the woods to honor Dionysus in a natural setting. Since the Maenads are female, nature becomes a feminine space while the polis, where Pentheus reigns, remains masculine. During the festival, Theb.eans are meant to embrace the feminine, as Cadmus and Tireseias do, but Pentheus scorns such actions and rejects the idea that his aunt Semele concieved Dionysus via Zeus. Dionysus takes it upon himself to punish Pentheus for his closedmindedness, appearing as a stranger in disguise to test his cousin’s hospitality, as the gods were wont to do. Pentheus learns that meddling in divine practices only results in disaster while Dionysus proves his godliness and defends his mother’s reputation. The tragedy at the end of the play thus reaffirms the importance of venerating the gods in daily life, during festivals, and in theater.