The Bacchae: Lines 520 - 866 Summary & Analysis

One of the functions of the chorus is to raise the dramatic tension of the play, which they do so here by inciting Dionysus to punish Pentheus. Olympus is the mountain home of the Greek gods.

Dionysus shows the futility of his imprisonment—by destroying the palace from within, he is making more blatant display of his power than if he were to do so from afar. The members of Dionysus’ chorus are terrified of his power but, as his followers, are under his protection. Pentheus’ palace is supposed to project his own power and the rigid structure of Theban society and his rule—its destruction shows that his power means nothing without the support of the gods.

Dionysus shows that he’s been in control all along, and is just toying with Pentheus. The “bull” symbolizes Dionysus’ raw masculinity, showing that he is capable of embodying aspects of both men and women. Euripides doesn’t make it clear whether Pentheus was hallucinating or not, leaving it up to the audience whether it is Dionysus’ behavior or Pentheus’ denial of the gods that is “irrational.” Pentheus’ stabbing at the shadows shows that physically he is no match for Dionysus.

To Pentheus, it’s physically impossible for Dionysus to appear outside the palace so suddenly. This contributes to the destabilization of Pentheus’ mind that Dionysus will later use to his advantage. As Dionysus says, the material world cannot contain the power of a god—there’s no use putting chains on him or enclosing him in walls.

This is the first instance in which a minor character arrives to bring news of violence. The fact that Pentheus’ aunts and mother are the leading Bacchae is an extra taunt on Dionysus’ part—they’re the ones who originally denied his godliness and sullied his mother’s name.

The women of Thebes are deeply entranced by Dionysus, engaging in behaviors far removed from the established order of society. The Bacchae’s nursing of wild animals indicates that they have returned to a more primal state—it’s up to the audience to decide if Dionysian life represents a liberation, as both the chorus and Tiresias (to a lesser extent) implied earlier, or if it is a descent into irrationality and madness. The nursing, though obviously quite strange, momentarily depicts the Bacchae as tender and caring—making their following actions all the more shockingly violent.

The herdsman thought he would earn grace and favor with Pentheus by capturing his mother, showing that Thebes’ residents usually respect their King. Once again, they thyrsus is a phallic symbol that, when used by the women, represents a disruption of the usual order of male-dominated society. Violence is usually the male domain, but Dionysus has given that power to his female followers.

The behaviors of the Bacchae are intended to come across as animalistic and savage—in short, uncivilized. This further poses the question of whether they are “freed” or “mad,” or perhaps both. Interestingly, Euripides never depicts the violent scenes on stage, but instead has messengers describe them in vivid detail. This spurs the audience to examine their own relationship with violence—by watching this play, perhaps they are indulging in violent fantasies of their own.

Here, the Bacchae show themselves as truly distanced from conventional morality—and it’s clear that Dionysus has granted them superhuman abilities, thus demonstrating his power. The Bacchae have lost all respect for human life and treat the men as they did the cattle earlier. This speech represents another warning to Pentheus that he ought to obey Dionysus and pay tribute. The violence in this story presages the violence described at the end by the second messenger.

Ironically, Pentheus sees the Bacchae’s behavior as going against nature, while Dionysus’ followers see his rituals as a return to nature. Pentheus insists on trying to summon all the mortal might of Thebes to combat Dionysus, which already appears doomed to fail.

Dionysus lays down the opposition between himself and Pentheus in clear, unambiguous terms, offering Pentheus another chance to avoid tragedy.

Pentheus has no reason to trust Dionysus at this point. He still thinks he can compete with Dionysus, even though all the evidence so far is to the contrary. Pentheus, then, displays an arrogant refusal to see what’s in front of him.

It’s notable how quickly Pentheus switches from his militaristic mode to admitting he would like to spy on the Bacchae. This suggests that either his mind is weak and Dionysus is taking advantage of him, or that he harbors a secret desire to experience the Dionysian rituals too, even just as a bystander. It seems that something about the “wild” and “free” behavior of the Bacchae attracts him. This desire suggests that, for all his protestations, his projection of himself as a mighty and powerful ruler is not as strong as he pretends.

Dionysus is seeking to further undermine Pentheus’ identity as a strong male ruler by cunningly convincing him to dress as a woman—there’s no doubt who is control of the situation here. Once again, hair is used to symbolize male effeminateness.

Dionysus explicitly articulates his aim here as bringing irrationality to Pentheus’ “orderly” mind. Dionysus’ statement that he is both “terrible and gentle” could be interpreted in two ways: either he is simply terrible to those who deny his godliness and gentle to those who worship him, or perhaps he is stating that his primary motivation is to disrupt the order of “the world of man” and undermine the values that hold society together.