History Theatre / Bacchae

* OffWithHisHead

The play is available online [[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0091 here]]... if you're not in the mood to translate ancient Greek, you could look [[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0092 here]] or [[http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/bacchan.html here]].

* NonViolentConfrontation: Pentheus angrily confronts a disguised Dionysus verbally, and Dionysus ultimately convinces him to dress as a woman to spy on the Bacchae, luring Pentheus to his (offstage) violent death.

-->--'''Opening lines'''[[labelnote:Translation]]I have come, the child of Zeus, to this land of Thebes. I, Dionysus, whom Semele the daughter of Cadmus once bore, brought forth by the fire of lightning.[[/labelnote]]

The play follows the young god of wine and ecstasy Dionysus' return to Thebes, where most of his mortal family -- his grandfather Cadmus, his aunts (Ino, Agave, and Autonoe) and his cousin Pentheus -- have openly denied his divinity, claiming instead that Semele was [[BoltOfDivineRetribution killed by Zeus]] for pretending he was the father of her illegitimate child, who in reality Zeus rescued, raised and deified. Dionysus is enraged by this insult to him and his mother, and seeks revenge against the whole city.

Pentheus soon captures Dionysus, who is disguised as a mortal priest, and questions him. Frustrated by his evasive replies, the king has him imprisoned. However, Dionysus quickly escapes, destroying Pentheus' palace with an earthquake.

The god then takes advantage of Pentheus' desire to see the secret orgiastic rites of his followers, convincing him to dress as one of the women and spy upon them. Soon the doomed king is disguised and led from the safety of Thebes into the mountains, where Dionysus enacts his punishment upon both his cousin and his aunts.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Dionysus's morality is arguable [[AboveGoodAndEvil for a number]] [[OmniscientMoralityLicence of reasons]], but he's at the very least flippant. However he takes his mother's reputation very seriously.

* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:Agave does to to Pentheus, though unknowingly]].

* TragicMistake: Faced with a palace Dionysus struck down as a warning, the unruly [[AngelUnaware "Bacchant"]] who had miraculously escaped from his prison, and the messenger who reccounts the wonders of Dionysus and his maenads, [[ObliviousToHints Pentheus makes the wrong choice]]: to continue waging his war against the god.

''Bacchae'' is a Greek tragedy composed by {{Euripides}} and performed posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC, where it and the accompanying tragedies won first prize.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: Pentheus and Dionysus are cousins. Pentheus [[{{Foreshadowing}} also mentions another cousin]], [[ClassicalMythology Actaeon]], in the play.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Pentheus himself mentions [[ClassicalMythology his cousin, Actaeon]], and Cadmus reminds his grandson of Actaeon's horrible fate for challenging a goddess.

* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: Is foreshadowed a few times in the play by mentions of [[ClassicalMythology Actaeon]], and finally happens to Pentheus.

* FoeYay: Pentheus seems a bit too obsessed with Dionysus at times. Other times he outright hits on him.
** Someone in charge of a 2013 Greek production of the play seems to agree, because the subtext was heavy enough that Dionysus and Pentheus had an AlmostKiss that wasn't even the most blatant part. That honor surely goes to the scene where Dionysus, preparing Pentheus to go among the maenads, slowly dresses him in a wedding gown, complete with a stefana (entwined garlands worn by a newlywed bride and groom) - joined to ''the one that Dionysus is wearing''.

* RealitySubtext: The play was written and performed during a time when Athens was suffering the worst effects of the Peloponnesian War and Athens itself was suffering under both a devastating plague that was decimating the population and a Spartan NavalBlockade that was starving it. Many Athenians felt that [[BoltOfDivineRetribution the gods must be very pissed off]] and decided that the [[TheScapegoat sophists, who had questioned the existence of the gods, were to blame]] (this bad feeling towards sophists and philosophy in general indirectly resulted in the execution of Creator/{{Socrates}} for, among other things, impiety). It's hard not to see evidence of this sentiment in characters constantly chastising Pentheus for being "clever, but not wise" and the punishment he receives for his blasphemy.

* RealitySubtext: The play was written and performed during a time when Athens was suffering the worst effects of the Peloponnesian War and Athens itself was suffering under both a devastating plague that was decimating the population and a Spartan naval blockade that was starving it. Many Athenians felt that [[BoltOfDivineRetribution the gods must be very pissed off]] and decided that the [[TheScapegoat sophists, who had questioned the existence of the gods, were to blame]] (this bad feeling towards sophists and philosophy in general indirectly resulted in the execution of Creator/{{Socrates}} for, among other things, impiety). It's hard not to see evidence of this sentiment in characters constantly chastising Pentheus for being "clever, but not wise" and the punishment he receives for his blasphemy.

** Someone in charge of a 2013 Greek production of the play seems to agree, because the subtext was heavy enough that Bacchus and Pentheus had an AlmostKiss that wasn't even the most blatant part. That honor surely goes to the scene where Bacchus, preparing Pentheus to go among the maenads, slowly dresses him in a wedding gown, complete with a stefana (entwined garlands worn by a newlywed bride and groom) - joined to ''the one that Bacchus is wearing''.

** Someone in charge of a 2013 Greek production of the play seems to agree, because the subtext was heavy enough that Bacchus and Pentheus have an AlmostKiss and it isn't even the most blatant part. That honor surely goes to the scene where Bacchus, preparing Pentheus to go among the maenads, slowly dresses him in a wedding gown, complete with a stefana (entwined garlands worn by a newlywed bride and groom) - joined to the one that Bacchus is wearing.

* FoeYay: Pentheus seems a bit too obsessed with Dionysus at times. Other times he outright hits on him.

The play follows the young god of wine and ecstasy Dionysus' return to Thebes, where most of his mortal family -- his grandfather Cadmus, his aunts (Ino, Agave, and Autonoe) and his cousin Pentheus -- have denied his divinity, claiming instead that their sister Semele was [[BoltOfDivineRetribution killed by Zeus]] for pretending he was the father of her illegitimate child, who in reality Zeus rescued, raised and deified. Dionysus is enraged by this insult to him and his mother, and seeks revenge against the whole city.

Pentheus soon captures Dionysus, who is disguised as a mortal priest, and questions him. Frustrated by his evasive replies, the king has him imprisoned. However, Dionysus quickly escapes, destroying Pentheus' palace as well.

-->--'''Opening lines'''[[hottip:*:(I have come, the child of Zeus, to this land of Thebes. I, Dionysus, whom Semele the daughter of Cadmus once bore, brought forth by the fire of lightning.)]]

-->--'''Euripides''', ''Bacchae'', Lines 1-3 [[hottip:*:(I have come, the child of Zeus, to this land of Thebes. I, Dionysus, whom Semele the daughter of Cadmus once bore, brought forth by the fire of lightning.)]]

Pentheus soon captures Dionysus, who is disguised as a mortal and the leader of the maenads, and questions the god. Frustrated by his evasive replies, the king has him imprisoned. However, Dionysus quickly escapes, destroying Pentheus' palace as well.

The god then takes advantage of Pentheus' desire to see the secret rites of the maenads, convincing him to dress as one of the women and spy upon them. Soon the doomed king is disguised and led from the safety of Thebes into the mountains, where Dionysus enacts his punishment upon both his cousin and his aunts.

The play follows the god of wine and ecstasy Dionysus' return to Thebes, where most of his mortal family -- his grandfather Cadmus, his aunts (Ino, [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Agave/Agaue]], and Autonoe) and his cousin Pentheus -- have denied his divinity, claiming instead that their sister Semele was [[BoltOfDivineRetribution killed by Zeus]] for pretending he was the father of her child, who in reality Zeus saved from death. Dionysus is enraged by this insult to him and his mother, and seeks revenge against the whole city.

As a result, he drives his aunts and the rest of the Theban women mad, causing them to desert their homes and dwell in the mountains with his own followers, the maenads. He then turns his attention upon Pentheus, the present king of Thebes, who dares to θεομαχεῖν (make war against a god) -- not a wise thing to do.

* PrettyBoy[=/=]DudeLooksLikeAlady: Dionysus is very ''very'' pretty. Pentheus describes his feminine beauty at great length.

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Dionysus would frankly be a CompleteMonster even in universe, if not for the fact that being a god puts him above it all.

* RealitySubtext: The play was written and performed during a time when Athens was suffering the worst effects of the Peloponnesian War and Athens itself was suffering under both a devastating plague that was decimating the population and a Spartan naval blockade that was starving it. Many Athenians felt that [[BoltOfDivineRetribution the gods must be very pissed off]] and decided that the [[TheScapegoat sophists, who had questioned the existence of the gods, were to blame]] (this bad feeling towards sophists and philosophy in general indirectly resulted in the execution of {{Socrates}} for, among other things, impiety). It's hard not to see evidence of this sentiment in characters constantly chastising Pentheus for being "clever, but not wise" and the punishment he receives for his blasphemy.

-->--'''Euripides''', ''Bacchae'', Lines 1-3 [[hottip:*:(I have come, the child of Zeus, to this land of Thebes. I Dionysus, whom Semele the daughter of Cadmus once bore, brought forth by the fire of lightning.)]]

* balefulPolymorph: At the end, Cadmus and his wife Harmonia are turned into serpents by Dionysus.

''Bacchae'' is a tragedy composed by {{Euripides}} and performed posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC, where it and the accompanying tragedies won first prize.