bacchae quotes on themes

Question 1

the correct nature of god/mortal relationships (points)

Answer 1

• humans should respect gods no matter what
• there should be no question of a god’s legitimacy
• mortals must worship the gods
• gods are vengeful and right to enact punishment on the mortals who do not respect them
• cadmus and tiresias choose not to ride to the mountain in a wagon as not to show dionysus less honour
• tiresias tells pentheus of the greatness of dionysus and how he has given the great gift of wine to mortals

Question 2

the correct nature of god/mortal relationships (quotes)

Answer 2

• ‘pentheus, who now fights with gods- with me!- leaving me our of his sacrifices, and making no mention of me in his prayers’
• ‘blessed is he who in his good fortune knows the rites of the god’ chorus
• ‘i do not scorn the gods, since i am mortal myself’ cadmus
• we must honour him as much as we are able’ cadmus
• ‘we do not hold intellectual debates on the gods’ tiresias
• ‘blasphemy! stranger, have you no respect for the gods’ chorus
• the chorus approve tiresias ‘in honouring the great god bromios you show wisdom’
• the chorus describe pentheus as ‘savage, unnatural creature, inhumane, a giant so bloody he threatens the gods!’
• after hearing the messengers story and pentheus’ refusal still, dionysus directly tells him ‘although i have been shamefully treated by you, nonetheless i tell you that you must not take up arms against the god’
• ‘he will come to know that dionysus, son of zeus, is fully a god: most terrible, and yet most gentle to mankind’
• pentheus is to be brought back ‘as an example to all’ ‘you are a man to inspire terror’ the function of pentheus is to alert the significance of worshipping the gods, above all
• messenger finishes the horrible account of pentheus’ death with ‘the best thing is to know one’s pace and revere the divine; i think that is also the wisest path for mortals to take’
• ‘if anyone despises divinity, let him look on this man’s death, and believe in the gods!’
• ‘it is not right that the gods should resemble mortals in their passions’

Question 3

wisdom

Answer 3

• cadmus and tiresias are the only men who will worship Bacchus, ‘for we alone have sense’ tiresias
• cadmus adresses tiresias ‘i recognised the wise voice of a wise man’
• pentheus calls cadmus ‘an utter laughing-stock’ and ‘i am ashamed, grandfather, to see you so empty-headed at your age’
• ‘you have a smooth tongue… but there is no sense in your words’ tiresias to pentheus
• ‘the fool is speaking folly’ tiresias about pentheus
• ‘one who speaks wisdom will seem foolish to the ignorant’ dionysus’ reply to pentheus when p does not understand what d is saying- using dramatic irony because the audience does understand
• ‘you will pay the penalty for your vile cleverness!’ ‘you will pay, for your ignorance and irreverence to the gods!’
• ‘how clever you are, and have been all along!’
• ‘divine power is certain. it corrects mortals who worship arrogance and do not revere the divine’ ‘for a man must not think and act beyond the ways of tradition’ chorus speech following dionysus saying what will happen now to pentheus

Question 4

justice

Answer 4

• dionysus recognises cadmus’ goodness ‘cadmus, however, i praise, for he has declared this place sacred as his daughter’s shrine’
• pentheus threatens at the very beginning, if he catches dionysus under his roof, ‘by cutting his head from his body’
• cadmus reminds pentheus of actaeon who was torn apart for claiming he was better than artemis at hunting
• ‘unbridled mouths and lawless folly end in disaster’ chorus
• pentheus has locked up the bacchants but is told by the soldier that their chains snapped free and the gates opened without being touched by a human hand
• when being told him pentheus plans to punish him, dionysus hints three times that he is the god himself ‘he is here now’ ‘where i am’ ‘you have no revenerance, so you do not see him’
• dionysus ‘will exact recompense… for when you wrong me, you re imprisoning the god’
• ‘that is exactly how i humiliated him’ Dionysus describes to the chorus of maenads how he made pentheus tie up a bull and then call for the entire river achelous to put out a fire
• ‘though only a man, he dared to fight against a god’ dionysus on pentheus trying to fight the vision, foreshadowing
• ‘if you had been there the sight would have made you approach the god in prayer’
• ‘my friend, it is still possible to put this right’
• ‘let justice appear’ personification of justice as agave, killing pentheus
• chorus says pentheus is ‘the enemy of gods, laws and justice’
• for the first time other characters address the chorus- the messenger ‘what’s that? what are you saying? woman, are you rejoicing at my master’s misfortune?’
• both pentheus and agave given epithet ‘poor’
• pentheus begs for mercy from his mother ‘for my mistakes’
• agave ‘he is young, this cub; his cheek is growing his first beard’
• ‘the god, lord bromios, who was born in this family, has destroyed us; with justice, yes, but excessively hard’
• ‘still you will be counted among those i love most, child’ ‘who is wronging you… who is treating you with disrespect… tell me, so that i can punish the man who is wronging you, grandfather’

Question 5

the bacchants/dionysiac worship

Answer 5

• ‘i have stung them into a frenzy’ dionysus
• ‘stung to madness by dionysus’ chorus
• ‘the joy of eating raw flesh’ chorus

Question 6

women

Answer 6

• the women of thebes are ‘far from their shuttles and loom’ chorus
• ‘our women have abandoned their homes’ pentheus
• ‘they let their hair down to their shoulders’ breastfeeding animals ‘having left their babies behind’
• ‘they snatched children from their homes’
• ‘overpowered by the hands of countless young girls’
• ‘women overcoming men!’
• ‘it has gone too far, if we are to suffer this at the hands of women’

Question 7

femininity

Answer 7

• pentheus describing dionysus ‘his blond hair smelling of perfume, his cheeks flushed, with the charms of aphrodite in his eyes’
• ‘what? shall i change from man to woman?’
• ‘escort me through the heart of Thebes, for i am the only Theban man enough to dare this deed’ Pentheus is no longer scared of being seen

Question 8

tyranny

Answer 8

• soldier brings Dionysius to pentheus, relating how he came very easily, and mentions the bacchants ‘the ones you had seized, shackled in chains and locked up in the public prison’
• ‘i say you shall be bound, and i have more authority than you!’ pentheus to dionysus
• pentheus says that he will either make slaves or servants of the women dionysus engaged with
• ‘every slave was put to work, but toiled for nothing’ dionysus’ recounting of how pentheus made his slaves bring him tons of water to put out a fire
• ‘i fear the swiftness of your moods, lord, and your temper, which is excessively kinglike’ messenger to pentheus (dionysus earlier also makes a comment about how a wise man controls his emotions and good sense)
• ‘i am afraid to speak freely before the king’ chorus echoes messenger’s worry
• ‘i will sacrifice a great slaughter of women’