Dionysus, in my opinion, was portrayed in a condemning light in this play. He temps the king, Pentheus, to get dressed and come with him to Mount Cithaeron and see the Bacchic women that have been worshiping Dionysus. The king previously established that he was against everything happening on the mountain, and yet Dionysus was able to persuade him into personally investigating. Why would he lure the king to his death instead of just kidnapping him and abandoning him elsewhere? How did Pentheus's mom, Agave, get involved? The descriptive language used to describe her murdering her own son was so vivid and barbaric, while the language used to describe her realization of what she had done was heartbreaking. The only people in the kingdom who saw Dionysus as good were the king's father, Cadmus and Tiresias.
Dionysus
11 discussions
To begin my response, I really enjoyed this play and the story of Dionysus. I found this story to really have that greek mythology type of feel to it. For a God to make someone see a lion rather than a human is crazy. What I also found crazy is that Dionysus, God of wine known to be relaxed, truly knows how to punish his enemies. It is so interesting that he has a complete plan to punish people and he makes it so complex to where it deeply punishes and destroys one's life. In my opinion I think Pentheus and his family deserved the punishment because they insulted the God. Even though Dionysus was in disguise it is fair to say they should've been respecting the God in general. Not only is Dionysus a God of wine and relaxation, but he also has great wisdom to create such a complex plan to punish those who anger him.
When Pentheus was insulting the disguised Dionysus, I thought that he would lash out at Pentheus and smite him. Instead, he remained very calm and let himself be taken by the guards. I was confused as to why Dionysus did not just kill him initially or subject him to his godly wrath. While I was reading, I realized that he had made a plan not just to kill Pentheus, but to destroy his family and humiliate him as well. He very carefully placed Agave at the head of the Maenads and set up the circumstances so that Pentheus would have to dress as a woman. These actions are evident of Dionysus' forethought of the situation. In this story he acts in a very cold and calculated manner with no mercy for even his most devoted of followers. These attributes were not ones I had expected to be associated with Dionysus.
Both Dionysus and Aphrodite are gods that have ties to the East. As we’ve discussed in class, Aphrodite is often portrayed as having eastern qualities of appearance as well as being closely related to Cyprus, which is just south of modern day Turkey. Dionysus is portrayed as often returning from the East, followed by a herd of Asiatic maenads, as he is in Euripides', where he comes on the scene saying “Already I’ve made Asia dance and serve me,” (line 21).
Another thing that Aphrodite and Dionysus have in common is that they stand apart from the Olympians in the realm of genealogy. Both Aphrodite and Dionysus lack the traditional birth origins of the other Olympians, with Aphrodite coming from a much older lineage and Dionysus being of half mortal heritage.
Dionysus and Aphrodite are also frequently linked together- in Euripides, Aphrodite is mentioned in regards to Dionysus several times by both Pentheus and the chorus of Asiatic maenads. Pentheus says, when describing the women of the city who have begun to serve Dionysus sexually that “They say this craziness is for the god/ But they like Aphrodite more than Bacchus” (line 225). He also says that, like elite women of the era, Dionysus stays inside to keep his skin pale “hunting Aphrodite with your beauty” (line 459). The maenads long to “go to Cyprus, Aphrodite’s Island...or Paphos,” (lines 403-407) where they can act as they are supposed to “performing celebrations” (line 416).
So what is the significance of Aphrodite and Dionysus’ close connection in mythology, especially the significance of the East, or at least, the perception of the East? Comparing similarities, we see that both are gods who encourage desire and its manifestations, both are physically beautiful, and both cause mortals to engage in the visceral behavior that perhaps Zeus, or most certainly Pentheus would discourage. So is it fair to assume that the Greeks, at least those who helped to build the foundations of the mythology of these two gods, thought of the East as a place of exotic desires, exotic beauties, and exotic behaviors? And what is the significance of the two gods who are associated with the East being of irregular birth compared to the Olympians? Perhaps it has a nationalist flavor; the gods that are of the most kosher origin are those that form the clique of the Olympians, which one could consider the most traditionally Greek gods, while those of bastardized or less orthodox origin are associated with the non-Greek. In summary, what was the ancient Greek view of the East and how can we use that perception to gain a deeper understanding of these gods separately and together?
When I started, I thought it would be a difficult time to try and figure out what would happen. As it went on, the plot was clearly stated to me and gave me significant detail. Dionysus was brought onto a pirate ship as the form of a young man. The pirates were happy to get him and to put him in shackles. Once they realized the shackles would not work, the helmsman said to the crew that they were crazy to try and tie up a god the way they did. The crew then got scared because vines and grapes were starting to form on the ship. They did not know how to react and started to freak out. He eventually turned into a lion and a bear showed up. The crew jumped into the water and were turned into dolphins. The helmsman was held back by Dionysus and he revealed himself to him. He appreciated what he did and spared him. He thanked him and said he would never forget this moment. To me, he is showing mercy to him because he was the only one that showed him any sympathy. Also, I think he did what he did in the beginning because he was scared that the gods would punish them for trying to tie up a god. Overall, it worked out for him because of his actions in the beginning.
Since Dionysus is half mortal, he has to work very hard to prove himself that he IS in fact a god (lines 40-41), and I think that reflects in his followers/cult. They bang drums, sing praises of Dionysus, and they all dress the same with head pieces. I think that since they are dressed a certain way and make so much noise, with their singing, tambourines, and drums, they intend to draw attention to themselves, which in turn draws attention to Dionysus. As he said earlier, the city needed to learn that he was the son of Zeus, even if he needed to use force, (lines 39-41) and the force he uses is his cult.
In Bacchae, Dionysus and the people that follow him seem to be rebels of the society that Thebans have become accustomed to. Instead of following their normal, day-to-day, lives, people actually listen to what the chorus of maenads. Women decide to leave their homes and follow the chorus to Dionysus and men leave Thebes to go into the woods as Dionysus says, changing their wardrobe and wearing animal skins. I also think it is interesting that Dionysus seems to be doing this the Thebes out of spite because his aunt, the queen, tells her people that Dionysus is not the son of Zeus. It is hard to tell is Dionysus is doing this to help the people of Thebes or just to prove that he is in fact a god.
In the Hymn to Dionysus, he almost reminds me of the Christian God. The way he first appears as a young man to the pirates could resemble the story of Jesus coming to Earth in human form. Then, the way that he shows them his power with the act of breaking himself out of the shackles could be compared to the times when Jesus performed miracles as told in the New Testament of the Bible. Finally, when Dionysus reveals himself as a God at the end of the hymn by growing the vines and turning the men into dolphins, yet still saving the helmsman who believed he was a god in the beginning, it resembles the example of the "merciful God" that is described in the Bible that saves those that believe in Him. There are many similarities between all religions, because most religions have the same principles. In this story, though, Dionysus's mannerisms and attitudes reminded me a lot of the stories I've heard in the Bible about a wrathful God punishing most but saving those that believe in His power.
Reading this play about Dionysus I was a little surprised at the attitude that he has. He comes off cocky through his words but I think that in reality he actually struggles with identity issues and feels under appreciated by the mortals. He is quick to react in anger and wrath every time somebody does not recognize him as a god or they do not praise him in their prayers. His main goal is feel appreciated and make everyone see that he is a god. He wants to be put on the same pedestal as the other gods.
I have always heard of and thought of Dionysus as a very peaceful and gentle god. The neo-pagan community has adopted this idea as well. But, reading the play about Dionysus, I was taken by surprise. It was surprisingly gruesome and cruel from what I have heard about the god. To think that this was an interpretation of his character shocked me quite a lot, and gave me a lot of perspective on modern day and ancient views of these gods.
The Homeric Hymn to Dionysus and the Dionysus Kylix tell the same story in two very different ways. The Homeric Hymn uses verse to tell the story of pirates kidnapping Dionysus. It describes the crewman discovering that he is a god. The shackles couldn't bind him, "and the withes fell far away from his hands and feet; and he sat there smiling and dark-eyed." The pirates start to understand what's happening, "When the helmsman perceived what this meant, he quickly called upon his shipmates and said: 'Why do you seize and bind this mighty god, you crazy men?'" The crewmen all jumped from the ship and were turned into dolphins. This is depicted in the kylix with the dolphins frolicking around the ship. The hymn describes this in the traditional way, through written word and song. The kylix tells the story through visual art, but it still tells the same story.