Term Test 3 - Lecture 4 Flashcards
Who wrote Bacchae?
Euripides
Who is the child of Ares and Aphrodite? Who do they partner with?
Harmonia: marries Cadmus
Who is the father of Cadmus? Who is Cadmus’ sister?
Sister = Europe, father = Agenor
Is Thebes in Greece?
No, Cadmus is a foreigner on Greek soil
What is Cadmus’ fate? How does he find out?
His fate is to start a city on Greek soil (which is strange, because he is technically a foreigner). He is out looking for his sister Europa, who has been abducted by Zeus, and come to conceive King Minos who will start the Cretan civilization. Cadmus consults an oracle that tells him this.
What city does Cadmus establish?
Thebes
To establish the city of Thebes, what does Cadmus have to do?
He must slay a dragon. He slays the dragon and sows the teeth in the ground (like seeds), which results in the growth of a whole army of men (The Sown Men). They battle and only 5 are left standing.
Who are the sown men?
The men grown from the dragons teeth that Cadmus slayed. They are the fathers of the 5 leading families in Thebes.
Where is Cadmus from before he establishes the city of Thebes?
Phaeacia
What does autochthonous mean?
Indigenous: the sown men literally were born from the soil (paradoxical because Cadmus is Phaeacian, and not Greek)
Who are the children of Cadmus and Harmonia?
Four daughters (who marry 4 sown men): Ino, Semele, Agave, Autonoe
Who does Semele mate with? What happens? Who is the offspring?
Semele and Zeus sleep together. Semele is tricked by Hera into asking Zeus for a single favour: to show his true form. He appears as a lightning bolt and incinerates Semele.
Zeus sends Hermes to rescue the child she was pregnant with. Zeus sewed the baby (Dionysus) into his thigh, and birthed Dionysus. Dionysus was immediately immortalized.
Who is the son of Autonoe? What happens?
Actaeon, who catches Artemis bathing. Artemis changes him into a stag, and he is torn limb from limb (sparagmos) by the hunters that he was previously with.
What is the result of Cadmus and Harmonia having all daughters?
There is no direct offspring that Cadmus can hand down the throne to. He is forced to hand it down to his grandson, Pentheus, who is young and unprepared to handle the throne
Who were the parents of Pentheus?
Agave (daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia) and Echion
What happened to the children of Ino? Why?
Ino had 2 children. Dionysus (son of Semele and Zeus) had no one to live with, and so he was sent to live with his aunt Ino. Hera persecuted Ino, and drove her crazy, and she kills her children as a result.
Where are Dionysus’ origins?
Thebes, although he is very “other”. He is GREEK.
Who is the dissolver of boundaries? Who is the crosser of boundaries?
Dissolver: Dionysus
Crosser: Hermes
What is theomachy? Who is associated with?
Theomachy is resistance to the gods. Dionysus is associated with it. He punishes people who commit it against him.
What are the three specific rituals associated with Dionysus?
- Sparagmos: tearing limb from limb
- Omphagia: eating another human after cooking it with fire (people acting like animals, cooking another “animal”) = dissolver of boundaries
- Phallophoria: a ritual procession through the town in honour of a god with a float in the shape of an erect phalace
What is the general name given to Dionysus’ followers?
The Thiasos
Who was the Thiasos composed of?
Females: bacchants/maenads
Males: satyrs
What are the other names for Dionysus?
Bromius, Bacchus
What is a thyrsus? What does it represent?
A stick with a pinecone at the top. It represents the fertility that Dionysus brings.
What does the word “ecstasy” mean?
To stand outside of oneself: the Thiasos was known for this
What is the phallace?
An erect penis: someone rides it during the phallophoria (lol). It typically has an eye on it.
What war was occurring in Greece at the time that created anxiety about religious cults?
The Pelloponesian war was occurring in Athens at the time. Old, revered cults were threatened at this time.
Who violated the Eleusinian mysteries? When?
Alcibiades and others in 415 BCE. This was the cult of Demeter and Persephone.
What was Alcibiades charged for?
For revealing the Eleusinian mysteries to people who were not initiated into the cult.
What was Socrates charged for? When was he charged?
Charged for:
- Not believing in the city’s gods
- Introducing new gods
- Corrupting youth
This occurred in 399 BCE. He was put to death by the Olympians - he questioned everything.
How is Pentheus like Socrates and Alcibiades?
They all question the gods, and are punished for it.
Overall, why was Pentheus punished?
Because he was going around, saying that Semele (his aunt) made up a big story about Zeus to cover up the fact that she cheated on her husband. Pentheus, the cousin of Dionysus is going around saying things about his mom, and for this reason he is unhappy.
When was Euripides’ Bacchae written?
in 405 BCE (around the time of Alcibiades - 415)
What is it called when Dionysus comes to Thebes?
Nostos: Thebes is his birthplace, even though he seems foreign
How does Dionysus appear in Thebes?
As a human, who is a FOREIGNER
What are the 3 intentions of Dionysus when returning home to Thebes?
- Establish his cult in Greece (that he formed in East Asia)
- Demonstrate his divinity
- Punish the Theban royal family, who is resisting him (Pentheus)
What is Dionysus also known as in Thebes?
A stranger, the other, a foreigner
Who does Dionysus appear to an animal as?
To Pentheus - Pentheus begins to hallucinate and think that Dionysus is a wild cat or bull
Who does Dionysus appear in his divine form to?
The bacchants and satyrs (thiasos)
In the face of violence and threats, how does Dionysus appear?
Calm and smiling. He cannot be contained or confined. (ex. Pentheus tries to tie him up, but he just stands there appearing all serene)
How does Dionysus demonstrate his power?
Through miracles.
What kind of people does Dionysus appeal to?
Democratic people of middleclass - the common people (he is a democratic god), rather than Aristocrats of the ruling family, etc. He brings upon the downfall of ruling structures.
What are the 2 groups of Maenads in this play?
The Chorus, and the impious Theban women
Are the Theban women pious or impious? How about the chorus?
Theban women: impious
Chorus: pious
Who are the Chorus in the Bacchae?
The Pious ASIAN maenads of Dionysus. They provide information about cultic details. Their choral hymns are in honour of the god and his blessings. Display ecstasy.
Their rites are similar to those of the Great Phrygian Mother Goddess Cybele/Rhea
How do the Theban women act as maenads to Dionysus?
They are aristocratic, not democratic. Agave and her sisters (Ino, Autonoe): the daughters of Cadmus and Harmonia. They live in the wilderness and on mountains, away from the town of Thebes.
What does the name “Pentheus” mean?
Grief
Why is Pentheus such a young king?
Because he is the grandson of King Cadmus, and Cadmus only fathered daughters
What are the 3 obsessions of Pentheus?
- Firm boundaries
- Clear distinctions
- Stable social order
(Essentially everything Dionysus is against)
As part of an ordered system, how does Pentheus feel about gender roles?
He polices them to ensure that everyone is conforming to the “correct” sexuality and gender roles
How do Cadmus and Tyresius feel about Dionysus? What does Pentheus do about this?
When they worship him, they feel rejuvenated, and enthused by the new energy. Pentheus notices them worshiping the new god and scolds them.
How does Euripides’ Dionysus begin?
“I, Dionysus, am the son of Zeus, back in Thebes, born of Semele”. He identifies himself right off the bat.
Why is Cadmus interested in worshiping Dionysus?
Because he knows it will do his city, Thebes, some good.
Who is the stranger that Pentheus met?
Dionysus
What is the significance of the earthquake in Pentheus’ palace?
Dionysus is physically shaking the Pentheus - all of the prisoners can run free
What did the herdsman report to Dionysus? Who sent the herdsman?
That the sisters of his mother and Agave are all in the mountains, and not the way that he would likely expect. They are calm, serene.
He noticed them performing some miracles. They could tap the ground with their thyrsus, and make rejuvenating liquids appear. They were nourished by honey and milk from the ground. Women committing sparagmos. Unhurt by spears.
Dionysus sent the herdsman, after asking Pentheus to abandon his destructive path, and having Pentheus refuse.
After Pentheus receives news from the herdsman, what does he do?
Pentheus declares war: he wants to march against the Bacchae
What occurs after Pentheus declares war on the Bacchae?
Dionysus finally intervenes, dressed as a human, the “stranger”, and offers for Pentheus to see the orgys of the Bacchae
Who is with Cadmus when he is worshiping Dionysus?
Tyresius (he is a warning sign)
What are the 3 main things that Pentheus relies on?
- Military actions
- Prison (cannot imprison Dionysus)
- Hunting (will become the hunted)
When Dionysus meets Pentheus, what does he lead him to?
To enter the castle and dress in soft and feminine clothing if he wants to see the Thiasos. Otherwise they will kill him. He is reluctant at first, but eventually completely embraces it, and wants everyone to see him that way.
What does Pentheus do when he arrives at the mountain that Agave and his aunts are living in ecstasy?
He climbs a tree so he can get a better view of them (spy)
What can the pine tree that Pentheus climbs up upon be compared to?
A phallace, similar to the phallophoria (tragic parody)
Who suggests that the Maenads shake the pine tree that Pentheus is in to bring him down?
Agave (his mother)
What two things occurs at once when Pentheus is shaken down from the tree?
Anagnorisis and peripeteia
Falling and finally understands his doom
What is anagnorisis?
When someone spontaneously makes the critical discovery that he has gone to kill his mother and now his mother will kill him.
What is peripeteia?
When circumstances randomly flip completely
What occurs at the moment when Pentheus finally understands his identity?
He is torn limb from limb by sparagmos
What does Agave do with Pentheus’ head when he is finally destroyed by sparagmos?
She puts it atop her thrysus, thinking that it’s a lions head, and marches into the city of Thebes. She is entirely possessed by Dionysus.
What is the term that refers to complete possession by Dionysus?
Enthusiasmos - empowered by supernatural energy, possession by a god, ex. Agave and Thiasos are in the grip of Dionysus
Why is Agave punished by being driven by Dionysus to kill her own child?
Because she committed blasphemy against Dionysus, accusing Semele of making up the birth story of Dionysus
How are the gender barriers of Agave dissolved by Dionysus?
She thinks of herself as a might warrior and hunter. She is proud of herself for killing her son Pentheus. She thinks his head (on top of her thrysus) is a lions head.
How does Agave finally realize the horrible reality of what she’s done?
Cadmus gently brings her to the truth. He tells her to look at the sky, and then look down again. She finally recognizes that it is the head of her son.
What is tragic about the fact that Pentheus was torn into tiny pieces and dispersed across the forest?
Agave cannot even give her own son a proper burial
After Agave kills Pentheus, does she stay in Thebes?
No. She is exiled for miasma (ritual pollution - kills her son and cannot bury him)
What does Cadmus do about the death of his grandson, Pentheus? What happens to Cadmus?
He reassembles Pentheus’ body and is then exiled from Thebes, the city that he founded.
What occurs in the first exchange between Dionysus and Pentheus?
Pentheus thinks he has successfully captured Dionysus, but Dionysus is just playing with him. He is truly standing there, quite calmly, while Pentheus has actually mistaken Dionysus for a bull, and captured that instead.
Then, Pentheus tries to stab Dionysus, but stabs his shadow instead.
Finally, an earthquake shakes the castle.
When does Dionysus finally appear in his true form?
At the end of the play, when Pentheus is dead.
What happens to Cadmus at the end of the Bacchae?
He is banished from Thebes (the city he founded), and transformed into a serpent/snake due to miasma. His entire royal house is destroyed.
