Trivia / Bacchae

• Reality Subtext: 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 the gods must be very pissed off and decided that the 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.