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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Episode 1 of Euripides's play The Bacchae.
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Euripides's tragedy The Bacchae depicts the return of the god Dionysus to Thebes, where he intends to exact revenge on his mother's family.
His mortal mother Semele had been a lover of Zeus and he was the product of their liaison. His mother was spurned by her relatives following the affair and was ultimately killed by Zeus following a deception by his wife Hera.
Dionysus, now the god of revelry, music, and wine, draws the women of the city into his cult, where they dance frenetically and commune with wild animals in the forest.
His cousin Pentheus, the king, attempts to stop the conversion of his subjects to the new Dionysian religion. But he is ultimately tricked by the god and torn apart by his followers, including his own mother Agave, sister to Semele.
Prolific Ancient Greek playwright Euripides's The Bacchae was first performed c. 406 BCE. It reflects his critical mind and shows his concern with taking life to extremes rather than keeping it in balance. The tale is highly self-referential—Dionysus was also the god of theatre so the depiction of this version of his story would have had additional meaning to audiences in ancient Greece.
The Greek tragedy The Bacchae contains many important themes, including social order, as when social norms are flouted, the societal fabric unravels; religious beliefs, as opposing religious views cause strife over the “right beliefs”; and duality, as people’s dual natures contain rationality and primal instincts.
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