Ancient Greek tragedy "Bacchae", Euripides: summary, characters, reader reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The basis of human cultural heritage is the myths of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. How often do people in their speech mention Sisyphean labor, titanic efforts or panic horror. All these expressions came to the modern world from ancient Greek mythology. That is why it is very important to study the literature created by the poets and thinkers of the ancient world. One of the famous playwrights of that time is Euripides. Among his works is an ancient Greek tragedy dedicated to Dionysus (that was the name of the god of winemaking). In his work, the playwright shows the life of the Greeks in the city of Thebes and their relationship with the gods. Euripides' play "The Bacchae" will be of interest to all those who are interested in history.

Life of Euripides

The playwright was born in 480 BC on the island of Salamis. His birth coincided with a significant Greek victory in a naval battle against the Persian king Xerxes, which took place on September 23. However, many historians believe that the date of birth of Euripides wastied to the victory over the Persians for beauty, which ancient authors often did when describing the lives of great people.

The future playwright lived in a rich family, went in for sports and drawing, but could not get to the Olympic Games, because he did not fit in age. Drawing classes also did not bring him much success. The young man received a good education. His teachers were Socrates, Anaxagoras, Prodicus and Protagoras.

Initially, the playwright collected a library of books, and later began to write plays himself. One of the first tragedies of Euripides is called Peliad. She was shown on stage in 455 BC. The family life of the playwright was unsuccessful. He was married twice, but both of his wives turned out to be unfaithful in their married life. Thanks to this, Euripides became a misogynist. The comedian Aristophanes often made fun of the unfortunate playwright on this subject. The tragedy of Euripides "Bacchae", was written shortly before the death of the writer. Euripides died in 406 BC.

Who are the Bacchantes

The basis of the work "Bacchae" was the myth of Dionysus. In ancient Roman mythology, Dionysus is called Bacchus, and his servants, maenads (translated as "crazy"), respectively, are called Bacchantes. Written in Macedonia, the tragedy "Bacchae" by Euripides was one of the last works of the playwright. Then, in Athens, she was introduced by the son of Euripides. It became the last play of the golden age of Athenian tragedy.

Greek City of Thebes

The action of the tragedyEuripides takes place in Thebes. It was the main city in the central part of Greece. It was surrounded by a wall with seven gates. The founder of Thebes is considered the mythological king Cadmus, who was the grandson of the god Poseidon (by his father). Harmony became the wife of Cadmus. She is the daughter of Ares and the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Their wedding was great. It was attended by all the Olympic gods. One of the daughters of Cadmus and Harmony was Semele, who became the mother of the god Dionysus. However, some did not consider it as such. Consider what this god was like.

The Origin of Dionysus

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele. Zeus fell in love with the young daughter of Cadmus and promised, swearing by the waters of Styx, that he would fulfill her every desire. Zeus' wife Hera hated her husband's beloved and decided to get rid of her. She advised Semele to test the love of Zeus and ask him to appear before her in all the splendor of the Roman god. Bound by an oath, Zeus was obliged to fulfill this desire of Semele. The unfortunate woman could not endure the divine fire and died in it, but dying, she managed to give birth to a son.

Little Dionysus almost died in the fire, like his mother, but Zeus managed to protect his son from the flames by wrapping the boy in green ivy. The child was very weak. To save his life, Zeus sewed his son into his thigh. When the boy got stronger, he was born a second time from his father's hip.

Raising a young god

After the second birth of his son, Zeus decides to send him to be raised by Ino. She is Semele's sister. He calls Hermes, andorders to take little Dionysus to the family of Ino and her husband Atamant. But the angry Hera prevented this plan of Zeus. Having sent madness on Atamant, she destroys his entire family. Hermes manages to save the little god and transfers him to the upbringing of the nymphs. They took care of the boy and raised him to be a beautiful and powerful god who gives people joy, fun and fertility.

Feast of Dionysus

The matured god Dionysus has become a real handsome man. He loved to walk around the world surrounded by his retinue. The following story is known about him: Dionysus leads a festive procession, on his head is a wreath of vines, and in his hand is a thyrsus (a wooden rod) decorated with ivy. He is accompanied by maenads and satyrs singing songs and dancing in round dances. Behind everyone on a donkey are the teachers of Dionysus, the old Silenus. He was so drunk that he was about to fall off the donkey. To the music of flutes and timbrels, a noisy crowd marches through the mountains and fields, subjugating everyone they meet on the way to their power.

But not everyone falls under the power of the god of winemaking so easily. Many are trying to resist. Once King Lycurgus attacked the feast of Dionysus, for which he paid with his eyesight. So Zeus punished him, avenging his son. Another time, in the city of Orchomenus, the priest of the god of winemaking called all the girls to a feast dedicated to Dionysus. The daughters of King Minius did not recognize Dionysus as a god and refused to take part in the festivities. They were in their house doing needlework. After sunset in the palace of Minyas, the sounds of flutes and pipes spilled through the halls. The yarn from which the girls wove has turned intointo the vine, and the looms sprouted with green ivy. The halls filled with wild animals. The princesses were turned into bats, which flew out of the palace in fear.

King Midas and Dionysus

Once during regular festivities in the forests, the old man Silenus lagged behind the noisy retinue of Dionysus and got lost. He was found by the locals and taken to King Midas. He immediately recognized in the old man the teacher of the god of winemaking. The king left him in his palace and entertained him with rich feasts for nine days. Then Midas himself took the old man to Dionysus. For the honors given to the teacher, the young god promised any reward that Midas wants to receive. The king asked to give him the ability to turn into gold any object that he touches. Dionysus kept his promise.

Pleased Midas returned to the palace. At first, he rejoiced at the gift he received and turned everything he saw into gold. Tired and hungry, Midas decided to drink wine and eat fruit. But wine and fruit turned to gold in his mouth. Then the king understood what a terrible gift he had received from Dionysus. Terrified, he began to pray to God to take away his gift. Dionysus took pity on the unreasonable king and ordered to bathe in the waters of Pactol in order to wash away his gift, and also to wash everything that Midas, through negligence, turned into gold. Since then, Pactol began to bring golden dust.

The Bacchae Tragedy

It is interesting to talk about the adventures of Dionysus, but let's get back to the work of "Bacchae". The characters in it are as follows:

• Cadmus - the founder of the city of Thebes, the former Theban king.
• Penfei- young Theban king, grandson of Cadmus.
• Agave - mother of Pentheus, daughter of Cadmus.
• Dionysus is the god of winemaking.
• Teiresias is a soothsayer.
• Servant of Pentheus.
• Shepherd.
• Servant - messenger.
• Chorus of the Lydian Bacchantes.

Many will be interested in reading the tragedy of Euripides "Bacchae". The plot of the work in a few words:

Young Dionysus returns from his wanderings to his hometown of Thebes. He wants to establish his cult here. King Pentheus considers the new cult immoral and does not want to recognize Dionysus as a god. The result of this struggle is the death of Pentheus.

A summary of Euripides' Bacchae is given below.

The prologue of the work describes the origin and birth of Dionysus. His return to Thebes and the young god's memories of how the goddess Hera treated his mother unfairly, forcing Zeus to appear before her as the god of thunder. Dionysus sees his mother's grave, which is still smoking from heavenly fire, and thanks Cadmus for preserving the sanctuary of Semele. He wraps grapes around the grave.

Then he recalls his travels to different countries (Persia, Phrygia, Asia and other lands), where he established his cult. Returning to Thebes, the young god deprives the women of the city of reason, persuades them to leave their families and go to Cithaeron (a mountain range in Greece) to participate in orgies. King Pentheus does not want to accept the cult of the new god in Thebes. He does not recognize the divine origin of Dionysus, for which he threatens to give the king a fight, leading an army of Bacchantes. A choir of Lydian Bacchantes praises the young Dionysus and advises mere mortals to take part in his feasts.

Action one

The blind soothsayer Tiresias appears on the stage, then the aged Cadmus comes out. Both elders are wearing Bacchic clothes and green ivy ornaments. They discuss the feasts of Dionysus. Cadmus recognizes the young god as his grandson and is going to glorify him with a dance in the Bacchic round dance. Tiresias supports Cadmus. They both come to the conclusion that the fun rejuvenated them, gave them fresh strength.

While Cadmus and Tiresias are deciding how to get to Cithaeron faster, Pentheus enters the scene, but does not notice the old people. He is preoccupied with the behavior of the Theban women, who left their children at home and went for a walk, being in Bacchic madness. Some of the runaway women Penfey managed to catch and imprison. For the rest, he is going to Cithaeron in order to catch them and chain them in iron. The young king considers Dionysus a sorcerer and a deceiver.

Seeing Cadmus and Tiresias in Bacchic attire, Pentheus first taunts them, and then threatens Tiresias. He says that only old age saved him from prison for participating in orgies. The soothsayer believes that the king lacks intelligence, since he does not want to honor the new god. He is sure that Dionysus gave ordinary people a remedy for all sorrows - a drink from grapes. He advises Pentheus to humble himself, recognize God and join the dance. Cadmus supports the words of Tiresias and also persuades Pentheus. He reminds him that arguing with the gods is dangerous. But the king disagreesold people and drives them away from him. He orders his servants to catch Dionysus and bring him to him. The chorus of the Bacchantes heralds an evil end for fools.

Act two

Servants bring Dionysus to Pentheus. They claim that the young man did not resist and let himself be tied, but the captured Bacchantes miraculously freed themselves from the dungeon and fled. Pentheus arranges an interrogation for the young man, trying to find out who he is, where he came from to Thebes. Dionysus tells his story and describes to the king how his orgies go. At the same time, he pretends to be a minister of the cult of the god of winemaking, and does not appear to be the god himself. Pentheus orders the servants to throw the impudent youth into the dungeon. Choir of Bacchantes glorifies Dionysus and curses Pentheus.

Act three

There is no one on stage. Ground pounding is heard. A fire is lit on Semele's grave. Then Dionysus comes out of the palace. He explains to the chorus of Bacchantes that he laughed at Pentheus, since the royal servants tied the bull, and not him. Pentheus is confused, but tries to catch Dionysus again. At this time, a shepherd comes from Cithaeron. He tells Pentheus about the dances of the Bacchantes on the mountain. He also mentions how the shepherds tried to catch them, but the Bacchantes rushed at the shepherds, and when they fled, the women tore the flock to pieces with their bare hands. The shepherd sees this as divine help and asks the king to recognize the new god.

Pentheus kicks out the herald, and Dionysus invites the king to look at the Bacchantes himself. He persuades him to put on women's clothes and go to Cithaeron. When the king agrees, Dionysus rejoices. He imagines,what punishment will overtake Pentheus at the Bacchantes.

Acts four and five

Dionysus leads the king in a woman's attire to Cithaeron through Thebes. He anticipates the massacre of Pentheus. Among the Bacchantes there is the mother of the king - the daughter of Kadma Agave. The chorus sings that it is she who will be the first to notice Pentheus and take him for the son of a lioness. And so it happened.

A messenger comes from Kieferon and informs about what a terrible death Penfey died. His mother, whose mind is clouded by Dionysus, takes her son for a lion and, together with her friends, tears him apart. Agave puts the head of the unfortunate on the thyrsus, being in full confidence that this is the head of a lion. With her prey, she heads to the palace of Pentheus.

Agave appears on the stage with her trophy, a little later Cadmus enters the stage, who brought the remains of Pentheus to the palace. Agave shows his father his prey, from which Cadmus is horrified. He explains to his daughter who it really is. The veil of madness falls from Agave, she does not remember anything. Realizing that she killed her son, she sobs and tries to hug the remains.

Cadmus laments the misfortune that befell his family because of Pentheus' unwillingness to recognize Dionysus as a god. Agave asks God to take pity on them, but it's too late to lament. Cadmus and Agave go into exile.

Reader opinions

About the tragedy of Euripides "Bacchae" reviews of readers are very ambiguous. Some consider this work informative and interesting, others are horrified by the plot of the tragedy.

For anyone interested in Greek mythology, read the workEuripides "Bacchae" is a must. Many readers in the reviews write that this work is relevant today. It vividly shows the terrible consequences of drunkenness.

Almost all readers note that the work is written in a beautiful style, that it has a clear storyline, once again confirming how talented Euripides was.