Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion (Part V-3)

(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part I)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part II)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part III)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part IV)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-1)
(Greek Mythology: Culture and Religion Part V-2)

Lastly, in Euripides’ Bacchae, he explores cruelty of the gods, more specifically Dionysus. It demonstrates the consequences for a lack of piety which is a similar moral to Hippolytus and the ever-shifting personalities of the gods.

Because Dionysus’ aunts did not believe his birth story and origins, he forces the women of Thebes into a state of madness and makes them perform his rituals. This already highlights the importance of actively worshipping the gods and warns against disrespecting the gods, a message Greek writers were careful to convey. Furthermore, when Pentheus, the king of Thebes and Dionysus’ cousin, rejects the worship of Dionysus, he is tricked into interfering with the sacred rites. It ends with Pentheus’ head being ripped off by his mother and aunts, a brutal and savage way to die. When his mother and aunts come to their senses, they are horrified by their actions and are thus exiled. There are many morals that could be learnt from this story, the most obvious is to always be pious and never fall victim to your own pride, lest you meet such an ending.

However, it could be said that when worshipping the gods, you give into desire and madness and so let the ritualistic madness drive you. Again, to a modern audience, this seems to be a contradictory message as piety is not typically associated with madness or the like. But, this juxtaposition is seen with the Theban women as they tore apart animals and plundered villages when participating in the rites. Moreover, drinking and behaving wildly can be seen to be normal with the celebration of Dionysian rites. This is particularly evident with the Dionysian Mysteries which was a ritual that removed all social constraints to allow them to truly connect with the god. It seems to have evolved from a cult to a mystery religion which used wine and other techniques to enter a trance of ecstasy and celebrate rites based on a death-rebirth theme. This also evolved into a more domesticated celebration in Athens due to its supposed threat to civilised society. This underscores how to celebrate Dionysus, you need to pay respect to all his aspects such as wine and madness. It could be said that religion and piety were one major aspect of life but desire was also crucial to human existence.

In addition, the cruelty that he shows could be because of his more human aspects, we therefore see negative and positive qualities. Because of the refusal to worship him, Dionysus avenges this in a particularly horrible manner. Yet, his trickery of Pentheus shows his more playful manner which emphasises his contradictory personality. It is through this portrayal that the audience fully views the darker aspects to Dionysus as a god and perhaps the gods at large. The gods are powerful and will use this power to their advantage if their subjects displease them, both similar and dissimilar to modern religion. In this way, there is an underlying moral that the gods are to be respected, no matter what.

Also, Dionysus represents the duality of men, in that there is a more primal aspect and a more pleasant aspect. His actions are bloodthirsty and brutal, easily giving in to petty acts of revenge while there is also a more playful side which gives into the pleasure of Dionysian affairs. In a sense, the Greeks participated in the latter as they were watching plays performed at the City Dionysia. In this way, gods are used to examine the nature of man.

With all of his plays, he carefully plays around with myths involving gods to explore the nature of humanity, at the same time as consciously showing the gods proper respect. Euripides uses myths and story-telling as a medium to explore moral and ethical subjects while offering catharsis at the end of each of his plays, challenging his audience at the same time as offering entertainment. Overall, Euripides is a skilled playwright who utilises mythological tradition to his advantage to create engaging tales.