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Online Texts for Craig White's Literature Courses
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Euripides The Bacchae trans. Ian Johnston |
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Videos & websites for Bacchae
(use one or more for each presentation, or find another web source beyond this list)
1997 Bacchae
(d. Brad Mays, LA)
Dramatis Personae
DIONYSUS:
divine son of Zeus and Semele, also called Bacchus or Bromius.
TIRESIAS:
an old blind prophet
CADMUS:
grandfather of both Dionysus and Pentheus, an old man (legendary founder of
Greek city of Thebes, where Oedipus Cycle of tragedies begins)
PENTHEUS:
young king of Thebes, grandson of Cadmus, cousin of Dionysus
AGAVE:
mother of Pentheus, daughter of Cadmus, sister of Semele
FIRST MESSENGER: a cattle
herder
SECOND MESSENGER:
an attendant on Pentheus
CHORUS
OF BACCHAE:
worshippers of Dionysus who have followed him from Asia, also called
Maenads or
Bacchants.
SOLDIERS and
ATTENDANTS around Pentheus
Supplementary List of Characters and Places (Following names are frequently mentioned but are not speaking characters in the play.)
Characters / Mythical references
Actaeon:
hunter destroyed by his own dogs as punishment for boasting he was a better
hunter than goddess Artemis, son of Autonoe (one of Cadmus's daughters).
Aphrodite:
goddess of erotic love and sexuality.
Autonoe:
sister of Agave, Ino, and Semele, daughter of Cadmus, mother of Actaeon
Ino:
daughter of Cadmus, sister of Agave and Semele
Semele:
human daughter of Cadmus, mother of Dionysus, killed by Zeus's lightning bolt.
Cithaeron:
mountain near
Thebes
Tmolus: sacred
mountain in
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thyrsus
(pl.
thyrsoi) = hollow plant stalk, usu. decorated with ivy & pine cone, carried as symbol of Dionysus in dancing celebrations (where it can acquire magical powers). |
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Begin Presentation One (1-72): instructor
The Bacchae
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[Scene: The Greek city of Dionysus, appearing as young man, is alone, with the palace behind him, its main doors facing the audience.
Dionysus speaks directly to the audience]
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DIONYSUS: I've
arrived here in the
I, Dionysus, son of Zeus, born to him
from Semele, Cadmus's daughter, delivered
[Cadmus: ancient founding king of Thebes, now retired]
by a fiery midwife—Zeus's lightning flash.
Yes, I've changed my form from god to human,
appearing here at these streams of Dirce,
[Dirce:
spring named for devotee of Dionysus]
the waters of Ismarus. I see my mother's tomb—
[tomb of Semele, King Cadmus's daughter impregnated by Zeus;
Ismarus: defender of Seven
Against Thebes]
for she
[Semele] was wiped out by that lightning bolt.
It's there, by the palace, with that rubble,
the remnants of her house, still smoldering
10
from Zeus's living
fire—Hera's undying outrage
against my mother. But I praise Cadmus.
He's made his daughter's shrine a sacred place.
I have myself completely covered it
with leafy shoots of grape-bearing vines.
I've left the fabulously wealthy East,
[worship of Dionysus began in Asia]
lands of Lydians and
I've moved across the bleak lands of the Medes,
[Medes:
ancient Iranian people]]
through rich
along the salt-sea coast, through those towns
with their beautifully constructed towers,
full of barbarians and Greeks all intermingled.
Now I've come to Thebes, city of Greeks,
only after I've set those
eastern lands
dancing in the
mysteries I established,
making
known to men my own divinity.
where
I've roused people to shout out my cries,
with this deerskin draped around my body,
30
this ivy spear, a thyrsus,
in my hand.
For my mother's
sisters have acted badly,
something they, of all people, should avoid.
They boasted aloud that I, Dionysus,
was no child of Zeus, claiming Semele,
once she was pregnant by some mortal man,
attributed her bad luck in bed to Zeus,
a story made up (they said) to trick Cadmus.
Those sisters state that's why Zeus killed her,
because she lied about the man she'd slept with.
40
So I've driven those women from
their homes
in a frenzy—they now
live in the mountains,
out of
their minds. I've made them put on costumes,
outfits appropriate for my mysteries.
[mysteries: ceremonies, rites, rituals]
All Theban offspring—or, at least, all women—
I've driven in a crazed fit from their homes.
Now they sit out there among the
rocks,
underneath green pine
trees, no roof overhead,
Cadmus's daughters in their company as well.
For this city has to learn, though against its will,
50
that it has yet to be
initiated
into my Dionysian
rites.
Here I plead
the cause of
my own mother, Semele,
appearing as a god to mortal men,
the one she bore to Zeus. Now Cadmus,
the old king, has just transferred his power,
his royal authority, to Pentheus,
[Pentheus: new king of Thebes]
his daughter's son, who, in my case at least,
fights against the gods, prohibiting me
all sacrificial offerings. When he prays,
60
he chooses to ignore me.
For this
neglect
I'll demonstrate to him,
to all in
that I was born a god. Once these things here
have been made right, I'll move on somewhere else,
to some other land, revealing who I am.
But if Thebans in this city, in their anger,
try to make those Bacchic
women leave,
[those Bacchic women: the women accompanying Dionysus from
Asia]
to drive them from
the mountains forcibly,
then I,
commander of these Maenads,
[Maenads = ecstatic worshippers of Dionysus]
will
fight them. That's why I've transformed myself,
assumed a mortal shape,
altered my looks,
so I resemble
any human being.
End Presentation One (1-72): instructor
Begin Presentation Two (73-332): instructor
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[Enter the Chorus of Bacchae, dressed in ritual deerskin, carrying small drums like tambourines] |
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DIONYSUS (continuing): But you there, you women who've left Timolus,
[<mountain in Lydia (in present-day Turkey in Asia Minor)]
backbone of Lydia, my band of worshippers,
whom I've led here from barbarian lands,
[Barbarian lands: Asia]
my comrades on the road and when we rest,
take up your drums, those instruments of yours
from Phrygian cities, first invented
[Phrygia = kingdom in present-day Turkey in Asia Minor]
by mother Rhea and myself. Move round here,
beat those drums by Pentheus's
palace,
80
let Cadmus's city see you, while I go,
[you
= Asian women followers of Dionysus]
in person, to the clefts of Mount Cithaeron,
to my Bacchae, to join their dancing.
[Exit Dionysus]
CHORUS
[singing and
dancing]
FIRST VOICE:
From Asia, from sacred Tmolus
I've come to dance,
to move
swiftly in my dance—
for
Bromius—
[Bromius = Dionysus, Bacchus]
sweet and easy task,
to cry out in celebration,
hailing great god Bacchus.
90
SECOND VOICE:
Who's in the street? Who's there? Who?
Let him stay inside
out of our way.
Let every mouth be pure,
completely holy,
speak no profanities.
In my hymn I celebrate
our old eternal custom,
hailing Dionysus.
THIRD VOICE:
O, blessed is the man,
100
the fortunate man who knows
the rituals of the gods,
who leads a pious life,
whose spirit merges
with these Bacchic celebrations,
[compare Nietzsche on Dionysian oneness w/ nature]
frenzied dancing in the mountains,
our purifying rites—
one who reveres these mysteries
from Cybele, our great mother,
[Cybele
= maternal goddess of Phrygia, in Anatolia / modern Turkey; sometimes an "earth
mother" goddess]
who, waving the thyrsus,
[see
definition & illustration below]
110
forehead crowned with ivy,
serves Dionysus.
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thyrsus
(pl.
thyrsoi) =
hollow plant stalk, |
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FOURTH VOICE:
On Bacchae! Bacchae, move!
[Bacchae
= female worshippers of Dionysus or Bacchus]
Bring
home Bromius, our god,
son of
god, great Dionysus,
from
Phrygian mountains
[Phrygia = region or
state in modern-day Balkans or eastern Europe]
to spacious
roads of
Hail Bromius!
FIFTH VOICE:
His mother dropped him early,
[His mother = Semele,
Dionysus's mother]
as
her womb, in forceful birth pangs,
120
was struck by Zeus's flying
lightning bolt,
a blast which took her life.
Then Zeus, son of Cronos,
[Cronos,
leader of the Titans, whom Zeus overthrew]
at once hid him away
in a secret birthing chamber,
buried in his thigh,
shut in with golden clasps,
concealed from Hera.
SIXTH VOICE:
Fates made him perfect.
Then
Zeus gave birth to him,
130
the god with ox's horns,
[god = Dionysus, often depicted with horns]
crowned with wreaths of snakes—
that's why the Maenads
[Maenads: women worshippers of Dionysus]
twist in their hair
wild snakes they capture.
SEVENTH VOICE:
O Thebes, nursemaid of Semele,
put on your ivy crown,
flaunt
your green yew,
flaunt its sweet
fruit!
Consecrate yourselves to
Bacchus,
140
with stems of oak or fir,
Dress yourselves in spotted
fawn skins,
trimmed with white
sheep's wool.
As you wave your
thyrsus,
revere the violence it
contains.
[revere = respect]
All the earth will
dance at once.
Whoever leads our
dancing—
that one is Bromius!
[merger of identities
b/w mortal and divine, associated by Nietzsche with Dionysian + tragic actor
as suffering God]
To the mountain, to the mountain,
where the pack of women waits,
150
all stung to frenzied
madness
to leave their weaving
shuttles,
[women leave their
traditional labors; cf. Lysistrata]
goaded on by Dionysus.
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["Eighth voice" below refers to Curetes, Corybantes, or Korybantes = armed and crested dancers who worshipped Cybele, maternal goddess of Phrygia in Anatolia in Modern Turkey] |
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EIGHTH VOICE:
O you dark chambers of the Curetes,
you sacred caves in
birthplace of Zeus,
where the Corybantes in their caves,
[Corybantes / Korybantes = armed dancers worshipping Cybele, goddess of
Anatolia]
men with triple helmets, made for me
this circle of stretched hide.
In their wild ecstatic dancing,
[i.e.
"Dionysiac"]
160
they mixed this drum beat
with the sweet seductive tones
of flutes from
then gave it to mother Rhea
to beat time for the Bacchae,
when they sang in ecstasy.
Nearby, orgiastic
satyrs*,
[*satyrs: see below]
in ritual worship of the mother
goddess,
took that drum, then
brought it
into their biennial
dance,
170
bringing joy to Dionysus.
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*satyrs = male companions to Pan and Dionysus with goat-like hair, beards, and sexual inclinations |
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NINTH VOICE:
He's welcome in the mountains,
[He = Bromius,
Dionysus]
when he sinks down to the ground,
after the running dance,
wrapped in holy deerskin,
hunting the goat's blood,
blood of the slain beast,
devouring its raw flesh with joy,
rushing off into the mountains,
in Phrygia, in Lydia,
180
leading the dance—
Bromius—Evoë!
ALL:
The land flows with milk,
the
land flows with wine,
the land
flows with honey from the bees.
He holds the torch high,
our
leader, the Bacchic One,
blazing
flame of pine,
sweet smoke like
Syrian incense,
trailing from
his thyrsus.
190
As he dances, he runs,
here and there,
rousing the stragglers,
stirring them with his cries,
thick hair rippling in the breeze.
Among the Maenads' shouts
his voice reverberates:
"On Bacchants, on!
[Bacchants: devotees of Bacchus or Dionysus]
With the glitter of Tmolus,
which flows with gold,
200
chant songs to Dionysus,
to the loud beat of our drums.
Celebrate the god of joy
with your own joy,
with Phrygian cries and shouts!
When sweet sacred pipes
play out their rhythmic holy song,
in time to the dancing wanderers,
then to the mountains,
on, on to the mountains."
210
Then the bacchanalian woman
is filled with total joy—
like a foal in pasture
right beside her mother—
her swift feet skip in playful dance.
[Enter Tiresias, a very old blind man, dressed in clothing appropriate for the
Dionysian ritual. He goes up to the palace door and knocks very aggressively]
[
TIRESIAS:
[shouting]
Where's the servant on the door? You in there,
tell Cadmus to get himself out of the house,
[Cadmus = old retired king of Thebes]
Agenor's lad, who came here from
then put up the towers of this Theban town.
Go tell him Tiresias is waiting for him.
220
He knows well enough why
I've come for him.
I'm an old
man, and he's even older,
but
we've agreed make ourselves a thyrsus,
to put on fawn skins and crown our heads
with garlands of these ivy branches.
[Enter Cadmus from the palace, a very old man, also dressed in clothing
appropriate for the Dionysian ritual]
According
to legend Cadmus slew a dragon, then sewed the dragon's teeth into the earth, from
which grew warriors and workers who helped build and defend Thebes.
Normally a
dignified figure, the behavior of Cadmus with Tiresias to The Bacchae adds an element of
humor or
comedy.]
CADMUS: My
dearest friend,
[friend = Tiresias]
I was inside the
house. I heard your voice.
I
recognized it—the voice of a man truly wise.
So I've come equipped with all this god stuff.
[Euripides's plays are often irreverent]
We must sing his praise, as much as we
can,
for this Dionysus, well,
he's my daughter's child.
[my
daughter = Semele, Dionysus's mother, Cadmus's daughter]
230
Now he's revealed himself a god to men.
Where must I go and dance? Where do I get
to move my feet and shake my old gray head?
[humor; cf. rowdy old men in
Lysistrata]
You must guide me, Tiresias, one old man
leading another, for you're the expert here.
Oh, I'll never tire of waving this thyrsus,
day and night, striking the ground. What rapture!
Now we can forget that we're old men.
TIRESIAS:
You feel the same way I do, then.
For I'm young and going to try the dancing.
240
CADMUS:
Shall we go up the mountain in a chariot?
TIRESIAS:
The god would not then get complete respect.
CADMUS:
So I'll be your nursemaid—one old man
will take charge of another one?
TIRESIAS:
The god himself
will get us to the place without our efforts.
CADMUS:
Of all the city are we the only ones
who'll dance to honor Bacchus?
TIRESIAS:
Yes, indeed,
for we're the
only
ones whose minds are clear.
[potential
comedy?]
As
for the others, well, their thinking's wrong.
CADMUS:
There'll be a long wait. Take my hand.
250
TIRESIAS: [holding out his
hand]
Here. Take it—make a pair of it and yours.
CADMUS:
I'm a mortal, so I don't mock the gods.
TIRESIAS:
To the gods we mortals are all ignorant.
Those old traditions from our ancestors,
the ones we've had as long as time itself,
no argument will ever overthrow,*
in spite of subtleties sharp minds invent.
Will someone say I disrespect old age,
if I intend to dance with ivy on my head?
Not so, for the god makes no distinctions—
260
whether the dancing is for
young or old.
He wants to gather
honors from us all,
to be
praised communally, without division.
CADMUS:
Since you're blind to daylight, Tiresias,
[Tiresias the
prophet is
blind]
I'll be your seer, tell you what's going on—
Pentheus, that child of Echion, the one
[Echion, father of Pentheus, Cadmus's son-in-law who was heir apparent]
to whom I handed over power in this land,
he's coming here, to the house. He's in a rush.
He looks so flustered. What news will he bring?
[Enter Pentheus, with some armed attendants. At first he does not notice Cadmus
and Tiresias, not until he calls attention to them]
PENTHEUS:
It so happens I've been away from Thebes,
270
but I hear about disgusting
things going on,
here in the
city—women leaving home
to go to
silly Bacchic rituals,
[Pentheus
disrespects gods and people]
cavorting
there in mountain shadows,
with
dances honoring some upstart god,
this Dionysus, whoever he may be. Mixing bowls
in the middle of their meetings are filled with wine.
They creep off one by one to lonely spots
to have sex with men, claiming they're Maenads
busy worshipping. But they rank Aphrodite,
280
goddess of sexual desire,
ahead of Bacchus.
[Pentheus prudishly
assumes it's all about sex]
All the ones
I've caught, my servants guard
in our public prison, their hands chained up.
All those who're still away, I'll chase down,
hunt them from the mountains—that includes
Agave, who bore me to Echion, Ino,
[Echion, father of
Pentheus, Cadmus's son-in-law who was heir apparent]
and Autonoe, Actaeon's mother.
[Agave, Ino, Autonoe (and Semele, who bore Dionysus) were daughters of Cadmus]
Once I've clamped them all in iron fetters,
I'll quickly end this perverse nastiness,
this Bacchic celebration.
People say
290
some stranger has arrived, some wizard,
a conjurer from the land of Lydia—
with sweet-smelling hair in golden ringlets
and Aphrodite's charms in wine-dark eyes.
[Pentheus's language betrays attraction]
He hangs around the young girls day and night,
dangling in front of them his joyful mysteries.
[sexual innuendo]
If I catch him in this city, I'll stop him.
He'll make no more clatter with his thyrsus,
or wave his hair around. I'll chop off his head,
slice it right from his body. This man claims
300
that Dionysus is a god,
alleging
that once upon a time
he was sewn up,
stitched inside
Zeus's thigh—but Dionysus
was
burned to death, along with Semele,
in that lightning strike, because she'd lied.
She maintained that she'd had sex with Zeus.
[Pentheus disrespects
aunt]
All this surely merits harsh punishment,
death by hanging. Whoever this stranger is,
his insolence is an insult to me.
[Noticing Cadmus and Tiresias for the first time]
Well, here's something totally astounding!
310
I see Tiresias, our
soothsayer, all dressed up
[soothsayer = prophet, wise man, fortune teller]
in
dappled fawn skins—my mother's father, too!
This is ridiculous. To take a
thyrsus
and jump around like
this. [To
Cadmus] You sir,
I don't like to see such arrant foolishness
from your old age. Why not throw out that ivy?
[Pentheus disrespects
elders, incl. grandfather]
And, grandfather, why not let that thyrsus go?
[Turning to address Tiresias]
Tiresias, you're the one who's put him up to this.
You want to bring in some new god for men,
so you'll be able to inspect more birds,
[inspecting entrails of birds = technique for telling gods' will]
320
and from his sacrifices
make more money.
If your gray
old age did not protect you,
you'd sit in chains with all the Bacchae
for such a ceremonial perversion.
Whenever women at some banquet
start to take pleasure in the gleaming wine,
I say there's nothing healthy in their worshipping.
CHORUS LEADER:
That's impiety! O stranger,
have
you no reverence for the gods, for Cadmus,
who sowed that crop of men born from the earth?
330
You're a child of Echion—do
you wish
[Echion, father of
Pentheus, Cadmus's son-in-law who was heir apparent]
to
bring your own
family into disrepute?
End Presentation Two (73-332): instructor
Begin Presentation Three (lines 333-539): Faron Samford (16 February) (presentation assignment)
TIRESIAS (addressing Pentheus):
When a man of wisdom has good occasion
to speak out, and takes the opportunity,
it's not that hard to give an excellent speech.
You've got a quick tongue and seem intelligent,
but your words don't make any sense at all.
A fluent orator whose power comes
from self-assurance and from
nothing else
makes a bad
citizen, for he lacks sense.
340
This man, this new god,
whom you ridicule—
it's
impossible for me to tell you
just how great he'll be in all of
Young man, among human beings two things
stand out preeminent, of highest rank.
Goddess Demeter is one—she's the earth
[Demeter: goddess of grains, earth's fertility]
(though you can call her any name you wish),
and she feeds mortal people cereal grains.
The other one came later, born of Semele—
["other one": i.e., Dionysus]
he brought with him liquor from the grape,
350
something to match the bread
from Demeter.
[coincidentally, bread
& wine as Christian Eucharist]
He introduced it
among mortal men.
When they can
drink up what streams off the vine,
unhappy mortals are released from pain.
It grants them sleep, allows them to forget
their daily troubles. Apart from wine,
there is no cure for human hardship.
He, being a god, is poured out to the gods,
so human beings receive fine benefits
as gifts from him. And yet you mock him. Why? [him
= Dionysus]
360
Because he was sewn into Zeus's thigh?
Well, I'll show you how this all makes sense.
When Zeus grabbed him from the lightning flame,
he brought him to
But Hera wished to
throw him out of heaven.
So
Zeus, in a manner worthy of a god,
came up with a cunning counter plan.
From the sky which flows around the earth,
Zeus broke off a piece, shaped it like Dionysus,
then gave that to Hera, as a hostage.
370
The real child he sent to
nymphs to raise,
thus saving him
from Hera's jealousy.
Over time
people mixed up "sky" and "thigh,"
saying he'd come from Zeus's thigh, changing words,
because he, a god, had once been hostage
to goddess Hera. So they made up the tale.
This god's a prophet, too, for in his rites—
the Bacchic celebrations and the madness—
a huge prophetic power is unleashed.
When the god fully enters human bodies,
380
he makes those possessed by
frenzy prophets.
They speak of
what will come in future days
He
also shares the work of war god Ares.
[cf. Roman god of war,
Mars]
For there are times an army all drawn up,
its weapons ready, can shake with terror,
before any man has set hand to his spear.
Such madness comes from Dionysus.
Some day you'll see him on those rocks at Delphi,
leaping with torches on the higher slopes,
way up there between two mountain peaks,
390
waving and shaking his
Bacchic wand,
a great power in
Greece.
Trust me, Pentheus.
Don't be too confident a sovereign's force
controls men. If something seems right to you,
but your mind's diseased, don't think that's wisdom.
[learning theme of tragedy]
So welcome this god into your country.
Pour libations to him, then celebrate
these Bacchic rites with garlands on your head.
On women, where Aphrodite is concerned,
Dionysus will not enforce restraint—
400
such modesty you must seek
in nature,
where it already
dwells. For any woman
whose
character is chaste won't be defiled
by Bacchic revelry. Don't you see that?
When there are many people at your gates,
you're happy. The city shouts your praise.
It celebrates the name of Pentheus.
The god, too, I think, derives great pleasure
from being honored. And so Cadmus,
whom you mock, and I will crown our heads
410
with ivy and will join the
ritual,
an old gray team, but
still we have to dance.
Your
words will not turn me against the god,
for you are mad—under a cruel delusion.
No drug can heal that ailment—in fact,
some drug has caused it.
CHORUS LEADER:
Old man,
you've not disgraced Apollo with your words,
and by honoring this Dionysus,
a great god, you show your moderation.
CADMUS:
My child, Tiresias has given you
420
some good advice. You should live among us,
not outside traditions. At this point,
you're flying around—thinking, but not clearly.
For if, as you claim, this man is not a god,
why not call him one? Why not tell a lie,
a really good one? Then it will seem
that some god has been born to Semele.
We—and all our family—will win honor.
Remember the dismal fate of Actaeon—
torn to pieces in some mountain forest
[foreshadowing
of Pentheus's fate w/ Maenads]
430
by blood-thirsty dogs he'd raised himself.
He'd boasted he was better in the hunt
than Artemis. Don't suffer the same fate.
Come here. Let me crown your head with ivy.
Join us in giving honor to this god.
PENTHEUS:
Keep your hands off me! Be off with you—
go to these Bacchic rituals of yours.
But don't infect me with your madness.
[infection or disease theme common to Oedipus the
King and Hamlet]
As for the one who in this foolishness
[the one = Dionysus]
has been your teacher, I'll bring him to justice.
440
[To
his attendants]
One of you, go quickly to where this man,
Tiresias, has that seat of his, the place
where he inspects his birds. Take some levers,
[cf. lines 1168, 1372; also compare scenes of Tiresias with birds in
Antigone]
knock it down. Demolish it completely.
Turn the whole place upside down—all of it.
Let his holy ribbons fly off in the winds.
That way I'll really do him damage.
You others—go to the city, scour it
to capture this effeminate stranger,
[effeminate stranger = Dionysus]
who corrupts our women with a new disease,
450
and thus infects our beds. If you get him,
[infection or disease
theme common to Oedipus the King and
Hamlet]
tie him up and bring him here for judgment,
a death by stoning. That way he'll see
his rites in
[Exit Pentheus into the palace]
TIRESIAS:
You unhappy man, you've no idea
just what it is you're saying. You've gone mad!
Even before now you weren't in your right mind.
Let's be off, Cadmus. We'll pray to the god
on Pentheus's behalf, though he's a
savage,
and for the city, too,
so he won't harm it.
460
Come with me—bring the
ivy-covered staff.
[thyrsus]
See if you
can help support my body.
I'll
do the same for you. It would be shameful
if two old men collapsed. No matter—
for we must serve Bacchus, son of Zeus.
But you, Cadmus, you should be more careful,
or Pentheus will bring trouble in your home.
I'm not saying this as a prophecy,
but on the basis of what's going on.
A man who's mad tends to utter madness.
470
[Exit Tiresias and Cadmus together on their way to the mountains]
CHORUS:
Holiness, queen of the gods,
Holiness, sweeping over earth
on
wings of gold,
do you hear what
Pentheus says?
Do you hear the
profanities he utters,
the
insults against Bromius,
[Bromius = Dionysus]
child
of Semele, chief god
among all
blessed gods,
for those who wear
their lovely garlands
in a
spirit of harmonious joy?
480
This is his special office,
to lead men together in the dance,
to make them laugh as the flute plays,
to bring all sorrows to an end,
at the god's sacrificial feast,
when the gleaming liquid grapes arrive,
when the wine bowl casts its sleep
on ivy-covered feasting men.
Unbridled tongues and lawless folly
come to an end only in disaster.
490
A peaceful life of wisdom
maintains tranquillity.
It keeps the home united.
Though gods live in the sky,
from far away in heaven
they gaze upon the deeds of men.
But being clever isn't wisdom.
And thinking deeply about things
isn't suitable for mortal men.
Our life is brief—that's why
500
the man who chases
greatness
fails to grasp what's
near at hand.
[potential
application to tragic flaw of
Pentheus]
That's what madmen
do,
men who've lost their wits.
That's what I believe.
Would I might go to
where the Erotes,
[Erotes = winged gods of love & sex, later cupids]
bewitching goddesses of love,
soothe the hearts of humankind,
510
or to Paphos, rich and
fertile,
[city in Cyprus]
not with rain, but with
the waters
of a hundred flowing
mouths
of a strange and foreign
river.
Oh Bromius, Bromius,
[Bromius = Dionysus]
inspired god who leads the Bacchae,
lead me away to lovely Peira,
[Piraeus? port near Athens?]
where Muses dwell,
or to
where Graces live,
Desire, too,
520
where it's lawful and
appropriate
to celebrate our
rites with Bacchus.
This god, son of Zeus,
rejoices in our banquets.
He adores the goddess Peace,
and she brings riches with her
and nourishes the young.
The god gives his wine equally,
sharing with rich and poor alike.
It takes away all sorrow.
530
But he hates the man who doesn't care
to live his life in happiness,
[tragic flaw as inhuman or
mechanistic rigidity or righteousness?]
by day and through the friendly nights.
From those who deny such common things
he removes intelligence,
their knowledge of true wisdom.
So I take this as my rule—
follow what common people think—
do what most men do.
End Presentation Three (lines 333-539): Faron Samford (16 February)
Begin Presentation Four (540-814): instructor presentation assignment
[Enter a group of soldiers, bringing Dionysus with his arms tied up. Pentheus
enters from the palace]
SOLDIER:
Pentheus, we're here because we've caught the prey
540
you sent us out to catch.
Yes, our attempts
have proved
successful. The beast you see here
[beast = Dionysus]
was tame with us. He didn't try to run.
No, he surrendered willingly enough,
without turning pale or changing colour
on those wine dark cheeks. He even laughed at us,
inviting us to tie him up and lead him off.
[cf. passive resistance in Antigone}
He stood still, making it easier for me
to take him in. It was awkward, so I said,
"Stranger, I don't want to lead you off,
550
but I'm under orders here from Pentheus,
who sent me." And there's something else—
those Bacchic women you locked up, the ones
you took in chains into the public prison—
they've all escaped. They're gone—playing around
[spectacular action but unseen,
offstage]
in some meadow, calling out to Bromius,
[Bromius = Bacchus / Dionysus]
summoning their god. Chains fell off their feet,
just dropping on their own. Keys opened doors
not turned by human hands. This man here
has come to
But now the rest of this
affair is up to you.
[Soldier hands chained Dionysus over to Pentheus]
PENTHEUS:
[Moving up close to Dionysus, inspecting him carefully]
Untie his hands. I've got him in my nets.
[net metaphor for fate; cf. Agamemnon l. 1236]
He's not fast enough to get away from me.
[Soldiers remove the chains from Dionysus's hands. Pentheus moves in closer]
Well, stranger, I see this body of yours
is not unsuitable for women's pleasure—
[!]
that's why you've come to
it's long, which suggests that you're no wrestler.
It flows across your cheeks
That's
most seductive.
You've a white
skin, too. You've looked after it,
avoiding the sun's rays by staying in the shade,
570
while with your beauty you
chase Aphrodite.
But first
tell
me something of your family.
DIONYSUS:
That's easy enough, though I'm not boasting.
You've heard of Tmolus, where flowers grow.
PENTHEUS:
I know it. It's around the town of
DIONYSUS:
I'm from there. My home land is
PENTHEUS:
Why do you bring these rituals to
DIONYSUS:
Dionysus sent me—the son of Zeus.
PENTHEUS:
Is there some Zeus there who creates new gods?
DIONYSUS:
No. It's the same Zeus who wed Semele right here. [Semele
= mortal mother of Dionysus]
580
PENTHEUS:
Did this Zeus overpower you at night,
in your dreams? Or were your eyes wide open?
DIONYSUS:
I saw him—he saw me. He
gave me
[He = Zeus]
the sacred rituals.
PENTHEUS:
Tell me what they're like,
those
rituals of yours.
DIONYSUS:
That information
cannot be
passed on to men like you,
those
uninitiated in the rites of Bacchus.
PENTHEUS:
Do they benefit those who sacrifice?
DIONYSUS:
They're worth knowing, but you're not allowed to hear.
PENTHEUS:
You've avoided that question skillfully,
590
making me want to hear an
answer.
DIONYSUS:
The rituals are no friend of any man
who's hostile to the gods.
PENTHEUS:
This god of yours,
since you saw him clearly, what's he like?
DIONYSUS:
He was what he wished to be, not made to order.
PENTHEUS:
Again you fluently evade my question,
saying nothing whatsoever.
DIONYSUS:
Yes, but then
a man can seem
totally ignorant
when speaking
to a fool.
PENTHEUS:
Is
the first place you've come to with your god?
600
DIONYSUS:
All the barbarians are dancing in these rites.
PENTHEUS:
I'm not surprised. They're stupider than Greeks.
DIONYSUS:
In this they are much wiser. But their laws
are very different, too.
PENTHEUS:
When you dance these rites,
is it at night or during daylight?
DIONYSUS:
Mainly at night. Shadows confer solemnity.
PENTHEUS:
And deceive the women. It's all corrupt!
DIONYSUS:
One can do shameful things in daylight, too.
PENTHEUS:
You must be punished for these evil games.
DIONYSUS:
You, too—for foolishness, impiety
610
towards the god.
PENTHEUS:
How brash this Bacchant is!
[Bacchant = male
devotee of Bacchus]
How
well prepared in using language!
DIONYSUS:
What punishment am I to suffer?
What harsh penalties will you inflict?
PENTHEUS:
First, I'll cut off this delicate hair of yours.
DIONYSUS:
My hair is sacred. I grow it for the god.
|
PENTHEUS:
And give me that thyrsus in your hand.
DIONYSUS:
This wand I carry is the god's, not mine. |
|
PENTHEUS:
We'll lock your body up inside, in prison.
620
DIONYSUS:
The god will personally set me free,
whenever I so choose.
PENTHEUS:
That only works
if you call him while among the Bacchae.
DIONYSUS:
He sees my suffering now—and from nearby.
PENTHEUS:
Where is he then? My eyes don't see him.
DIONYSUS:
He's where I am. You can't see him,
because you don't believe.
PENTHEUS: [To his attendants]
Seize
him.
He's insulting
DIONYSUS:
I warn you—you shouldn't tie me up.
I've got my wits about me. You've lost yours.
630
PENTHEUS:
But I'm more powerful than you,
so I'll have you put in chains.
DIONYSUS:
You're quite ignorant
of why you
live, what you do, and who you are.
PENTHEUS:
I am Pentheus, son of Agave and Echion.
DIONYSUS:
A suitable name. It suggests misfortune.
PENTHEUS: [to his soldiers]
Go now.
Lock him up—in the
adjoining stables.
That way
he'll see nothing but the darkness.
There you can dance. As for all those women,
[women = maenads serving as chorus]
those partners in crime you brought along with you,
we'll sell them off or keep them here as slaves,
640
working our looms, once
we've stopped their hands
beating those drum skins, making all that noise.
[Exit Pentheus into the palace, leaving Dionysus with the soldiers]
DIONYSUS:
I'll go, then. For I won't have to suffer
what won't occur. But you can be sure of this—
Dionysus, whom you claim does not exist,
will go after you for retribution
after all your insolence. He's the one
you put in chains when you treat me unjustly.
[The soldiers lead Dionysus away to an area beside the palace]
CHORUS [of Bacchantes]:
O Sacred Dirce, blessed maiden,
[Dirce, name of river
+ woman killed
by her twin children who was a devotee of Dionysus]
daughter of Achelous,
650
your streams once received
[Dionysus caused a
spring to flow from the place where Dirce died]
the new-born child of Zeus,
when his father snatched him
[his father = Dionysus's father, Zeus]
from those immortal fires,
then hid him in his thigh,
crying out these words,
"Go, Dithyrambus,
[cf.
dithyramb]
enter my male womb.
I'll make you known as Bacchus
to all those in
who'll invoke you with that
name."
But you, o sacred Dirce,
why do you resist me,
my garland-bearing company,
along your river banks?
Why push me away?
Why seek to flee from me?
I tell you, you'll find joy
in grape-filled vines from Dionysus.
They'll make you love him.
670
What rage, what rage
shows up in that earth-bound race
of Pentheus, born to Echion,
[Echion, Pentheus's father: one of original men of Thebes born from dragon's teeth]
an earth-bound mortal.
He's descended from a snake,
[alluding to dragon Cadmus slew to establish Thebes]
that Pentheus, a savage beast,
not a normal mortal man,
but some bloody monster
who fights against the gods.
He'll soon bind me in chains,
680
as a worshipper of
Bacchus.
Already he holds in
his house
my fellow Bacchic
revelers,
hidden there in some
dark cell.
Do you see, Dionysus,
child of Zeus, your followers
fighting their oppression?
Come down, my lord,
down from
wave your golden thyrsus,
690
to cut short the profanities
of this blood-thirsty man.
Where on
which nourishes wild beasts,
where on the Corcyrean heights,
[Corcyrean = of Corfu, island in Ionian Sea]
where do you wave your thyrsus
over your worshippers,
oh Dionysus?
Perhaps in those thick woods
of
where Orpheus once played
his lyre,
[Orpheus, legendary Gk poet who charmed animals w/ song]
brought trees together
with his songs,
collecting wild
beasts round him.
Oh blessed
Peiria,
[Peiria = region in Greek Macedonia]
whom Dionysus loves—
he'll come to set you dancing
in the Bacchic celebrations.
He'll cross the foaming Axius,
[Axios or Vardar River in Greece & Macedonia]
lead his whirling Maenads on,
leaving behind the river Lydias
710
which enriches mortal men,
and which, they say, acts as a father,
nourishing with many lovely streams
a land where horses flourish.
[The soldiers move in to round up the chorus of Bacchae. As they do so, the
ground begins to shake, thunder sounds, lightning flashes, and the entire palace
starts to break apart]
DIONYSUS: [shouting from
within the palace]
Io! Hear me, hear me as I call you.
Io! Bacchae! Io Bacchae!
CHORUS: [a confusion of
different voices in the following speeches]
Who's that? Who is it? It's Dionysus's voice!
It's calling me. But from what direction?
DIONYSUS: [From inside the
palace]
Io! Io! I'm calling out again—
the son of Semele, a child of Zeus!
720
CHORUS:
Io! Io! Lord and master!
Come
join our company,
Bromius, oh
Bromius!
DIONYSUS: [From inside]
Sacred lord of earthquakes, shake this ground.
[The earthquake tremors resume]
CHORUS VOICE 1:
Ai! Soon Pentheus's palace
will
be shaken into rubble.
CHORUS VOICE 2:
Dionysus is in the house—revere him.
CHORUS VOICE 3:
We revere him, we revere him.
CHORUS VOICE 4:
You see those stone lintels on the pillars—
[lintel = horizontal
stone]
they're splitting up. It's Bromius calling,
730
shouting to us from inside
the walls.
DIONYSUS: [from inside the
palace]
Let fiery lightning strike right now—
burn Pentheus's palace—consume it all!
CHORUS VOICE 5:
Look! Don't you see the fire—
[probably pointing
offstage]
there by the sacred tomb of Semele!
The flame left by that thunderbolt from Zeus,
when the lightning flash destroyed her,
all that time ago. Oh Maenads—
throw your bodies on the ground, down, down,
for our master, Zeus's son, moves now
740
against the palace—to
demolish it.
[Enter Dionysus, bursting through the palace front doors, free of all chains,
smiling and supremely confident.]
DIONYSUS:
Ah, my barbarian Asian women,
Do you lie there on the ground prostrate with fear?
It seems you feel Dionysus's power,
as he rattles Pentheus's palace.
Get up now. Be brave. And stop your trembling.
CHORUS LEADER:
How happy I am to see you—
Our
greatest light in all the joyful dancing.
We felt alone and totally abandoned.
DIONYSUS:
Did you feel despair when I was sent away,
750
cast down in Pentheus's gloomy dungeon?
CHORUS LEADER:
How could I not? Who'll protect me
if you run into trouble? But tell me,
how did you escape that ungodly man?
DIONYSUS:
No trouble. I saved myself with ease.
CHORUS LEADER:
But didn't he bind up your hands up in chains?
DIONYSUS:
In this business I was playing with him—
[him = Pentheus]
he thought he was tying me up, the fool!
He didn't even touch or handle me,
he was so busy feeding his desires.
760
In that stable where he went
to tie me up,
he found a bull.
He threw the iron fetters
around
its knees and hooves. As he did so,
he kept panting in his rage, dripping sweat
from his whole body—his teeth gnawed
his lip.
I watched him, sitting
quietly nearby.
After a while,
Bacchus came and shook the place,
[again a confusion of
identity b/w speaker & god]
setting his mother Semele's tomb on fire.
Seeing that, Pentheus thought his palace
was burning down. He ran round, here and there,
770
yelling to his slaves to bring more water.
His servants set to work—and all for nothing!
Once I'd escaped, he ended all that work.
Seizing a dark sword, he rushed inside the house.
Then, it seems to me, but I'm guessing now,
Bromius set up out there in the courtyard
some phantom image. Pentheus charged
it,
slashing away at nothing but
bright air,
thinking he was
butchering me. There's more—
Bacchus kept hurting him in still more ways.
780
He knocked his house down,
right to the ground,
all
shattered, so Pentheus has witnessed
a bitter end to my imprisonment.
He's dropped his sword, worn out, exhausted,
a mere mortal daring to fight a god.
So now I've strolled out calmly to you,
leaving the house, ignoring Pentheus.
Wait! It seems to me I hear marching feet—
no doubt he'll come out front here soon enough.
What will he say, I wonder, after
this?
790
Well, I'll deal with him
quite gently,
even if he comes
out breathing up a storm.
After
all, a wise man ought to keep his temper.
[Pentheus comes hurriedly out of the palace, accompanied by armed soldiers]
PENTHEUS:
What's happening to me—total disaster!
The stranger's escaped, and we'd just chained him up.
[Seeing Dionysus]
Ah ha! Here is the man—right here.
What's going on? How did you get out?
How come you're here, outside my palace?
DIONYSUS:
Hold on. Calm down. Don't be so angry.
PENTHEUS:
How did you escape your chains and get here?
800
DIONYSUS:
Didn't I say someone would release me—
or did you miss that part?
PENTHEUS:
Who was it?
You're always explaining things in riddles.
DIONYSUS:
It was the one who cultivates for men
["the one" =
Dionysus]
the richly clustering vine.
PENTHEUS:
Ah, this Dionysus.
Your words are a lovely insult to your god.
DIONYSUS:
He came to
PENTHEUS: [To soldiers]
Seal off all the towers on my orders—
all of them around the city.
DIONYSUS:
What for?
Surely a god can make it over
any wall?
810
PENTHEUS:
You're so wise, except in all those things
in which you should be wise.
DIONYSUS:
I
was born wise,
especially in
matters where I need to be.
End Presentation Four (540-814): instructor
Begin Presentation Five (814-1126): Calyssa Rosene presentation assignment
[Enter the Messenger, a cattle herder from the hills]
DIONYSUS:
But first you'd better listen to this man,
hear what he has to say, for he's come here
from the mountains to report to you.
I'll still be here for you. I won't run off.
MESSENGER:
Pentheus, ruler of this
I've just left
where the sparkling snow never
melts away.
820
PENTHEUS:
What's this important news you've come with?
MESSENGER:
I saw those women in their Bacchic revels,
those sacred screamers, all driven crazy*,
the ones who run barefoot from their homes.
I came, my lord, to tell you and the city
the dreadful things they're doing, their actions
are beyond all wonder. But, my lord,
first I wish to know if I should tell you,
openly report what's going on up there,
or whether I should hold my
tongue.
830
Your mood changes so fast I
get afraid—
your sharp spirit,
your all-too-royal temper.
PENTHEUS:
Speak on. Whatever you have to report,
you'll get no punishment at all from me.
It's not right to vent one's anger on the just.
The more terrible the things you tell me
about those Bacchic women, the worse
I'll move against the one who taught them
[the one = Dionysus]
all their devious tricks.
MESSENGER:
The grazing cattle
were just moving into upland
pastures,
840
at the hour the sun sends
out its beams
to warm the earth.
Right then I saw them—
three
groups of dancing women. One of them
Autonoe led. Your mother, Agave,
[Autonoe, Agave = royal sisters of Semele, mother of Dionysus]
led the second group, and Ino led the third.
[Ino = another royal
sister of Semele; Autonoe & Ino are Pentheus's aunts, Agave his mother]
They were all asleep, bodies quite relaxed,
some leaning back on leafy boughs of pine,
others cradling heads on oak-leaf pillows,
resting on the ground—in all modesty.
They weren't as you
described—all drunk on wine
850
or on the music of their
flutes, hunting
for Aphrodite in
the woods alone.
Once she heard
my horned cattle lowing,
your
mother stood up amid those Bacchae,
then called them to stir their limbs from sleep.
They rubbed refreshing sleep out of their eyes,
and stood up straight there—a marvelous sight,
to see such an orderly arrangement,
women young and old and still unmarried girls.
First, they let their hair loose down
their shoulders,
860
tied up the fawn skins (some
had untied the knots
to loosen
up the chords). Then around those skins
they looped some snakes, who licked the women's cheeks.
Some held young gazelles or wild wolf cubs
and fed them on their own white milk, the ones
[Bacchic women may resemble Bacchic satyrs; i.e. "women of nature"]
who'd left behind at home a new-born
child
whose breasts were still
swollen full of milk.
They
draped themselves with garlands from oak trees,
ivy and flowering yew.
Then one of them,
[following lines sound
like spectacle, but all off-stage]
taking a thyrsus, struck a rock
with it, [thyrsus:
see illustration at end of speech] 870
and water gushed out, fresh
as dew. Another,
[cf. Moses in Bible,
Numbers 20.11]
using her
thyrsus, scraped the ground. At once,
the god sent fountains of wine up from the spot.
All those who craved white milk to drink
just scratched the earth with their fingertips—
it came out in streams. From their ivy wands
[wand = thyrsus]
thick sweet honey dripped.
Oh, if
you'd been there,
if you'd seen
this, you'd come with reverence
to that god whom you criticize so much.
Well, we cattle herders and shepherds met
880
to discuss and argue with
each other
about the astonishing
things we'd seen.
And then
a man
who'd been in town a bit
and had
a way with words said to us all,
"You men who live in the holy regions
of these mountains, how'd you like to hunt down
Pentheus's mother, Agave—take her
away from these Bacchic celebrations,
do the king a favour?" To all of us
he seemed to make good sense. So
we
set up
890
an ambush, hiding in the
bushes,
lying down there.
At the
appointed time,
the women
started their Bacchic ritual,
brandishing the thyrsus and calling out
to the god they cry to, Bromius, Zeus’s son.
[Bromius = Bacchus / Dionysus]
The entire mountain and its wild animals
were, like them, in one Bacchic ecstasy.
As these women moved, they made all things dance.
[cf. Nietzsche, Birth of Tragedy on Dionysiac unity with nature]
Agave, by chance, was dancing close to me. [Agave
= Pentheus's mother]
Leaving the ambush where I'd been
concealed,
900
I jumped out, hoping to grab
hold of her.
But she screamed
out, "Oh, my quick hounds,
men
are hunting us. Come, follow me.
Come on, armed with that thyrsus in your hand."
We ran off, and so escaped being torn apart.
[We = cattle herders & shepherds]
But then those Bacchic women, all unarmed,
went at the heifers browsing on the turf,
[heifers
= young cattle; browsing = grazing]
using their bare hands. You should have seen one
ripping a fat, young, lowing calf apart—
others tearing cows in pieces with their hands.
910
You could've seen ribs and
cloven hooves
tossed
everywhere—some hung up in branches
dripping blood and gore. And bulls, proud beasts till
then,
with angry horns,
collapsed there on the ground,
dragged down by the hands of a thousand girls.
[gender / feminist
analysis might make much of girls vs. bulls]
Hides covering their bodies were stripped off
faster than you could wink your royal eye.
Then, like birds carried up by their own speed,
they rushed along the lower level ground,
beside Asopus's streams, that fertile land [Asopus:
river on Mt. Cithaeron]
920
which yields its crops to
they raided Hysiae and Erythrae,
[cities in region]
below rocky
everything, snatching
children from their homes.
Whatever they carried their shoulders,
even bronze or iron, never tumbled off
onto the dark earth, though nothing was tied down.
They carried fire in their hair, but those flames
never singed them.
Some of the villagers,
enraged at being plundered by the Bacchae,
930
seized weapons. The sight of
what happened next,
my lord, was
dreadful. For their pointed spears
did not draw blood. But when those women
threw the thyrsoi in their hands, they wounded them
[thyrsoi: see illustration below]
and drove them back in flight. The women did this
to men, but not without some god's assistance.
Then they went back to where they'd started from,
those fountains which the god had made for them.
They washed off the blood. Snakes licked their cheeks,
cleansing their skin of every drop. My lord,
940
you must welcome this god
into our city,
whoever he is.
He's a mighty god
in many other
ways. The people say,
so I've
heard, he gives to mortal human beings
that vine which puts an end to human grief.
[cf. lines 349-357, 481-86]
Without wine, there's no more Aphrodite—
or any other pleasure left for men.
|
thyrsus
(pl.
thyrsoi) =
hollow plant stalk, |
|
CHORUS LEADER:
I'm afraid to talk freely before the king,
but nonetheless I'll speak—this Dionysus
is not inferior to any god.
950
PENTHEUS:
This Dionysian arrogance, like fire,
keeps flaring up close by—a great insult
to all the Greeks. We must not hesitate.
[To
one of his armed attendants]
Go to the Electra Gates. Call out the troops,
the heavy infantry, all fast cavalry.
Tell them to muster, along with all those
who carry shields—all the archers, too,
the men who pull the bowstring back by hand.
We'll march out against these Bacchae.
In this whole business we will lose control,
960
if we have to put up with what we've suffered
from these women.
DIONYSUS:
You've heard what I had to say,
Pentheus, but still you’re not convinced.
Though I'm suffering badly at your hands,
I say you shouldn't go to war against a god.
You should stay calm. Bromius will not let you
move his Bacchae from their mountains.
PENTHEUS:
Don't preach to me! You've got out of prison—
enjoy that fact. Or shall I punish you some more?
DIONYSUS:
I'd sooner make an offering to that god
970
than in some angry fit kick
at his whip—
a mortal going to
battle with a god.
PENTHEUS:
I'll sacrifice all right—with a slaughter
of those women, just as they deserve—
in the forests on
DIONYSUS:
You'll all run.
What a disgrace! To turn your bronze shields round,
fleeing the thyrsoi of those Bacchic women!
PENTHEUS: [turning to one
of his armed attendants, as if to go]
It's useless trying to argue with this stranger—
whatever he does or suffers, he won't shut up.
DIONYSUS [calling Pentheus
back]
My lord! There's still a chance to end this calmly.
980
PENTHEUS:
By doing what? Should I become a slave
to my own slaves?
DIONYSUS:
I'll bring the women here—
without the use of any weapons.
PENTHEUS:
I don't think so.
You're setting
me up for your tricks again.
DIONYSUS:
What sort of trick, if I want to save you
in my own way?
PENTHEUS:
You've made some arrangement,
you and your god, so you can always dance
your Bacchanalian orgies.
DIONYSUS:
Yes, that's true.
I have made
some arrangement with the god.
PENTHEUS: [to one of his
armed servants]
You
there, bring me my weapons.
[to Dionysus]
And you,
990
No more talk! Keep quiet!
DIONYSUS:
Just a minute!
[moving up to Pentheus]
How'd you like to gaze upon those women out there,
sitting together in the mountains?
PENTHEUS:
I'd like that.
Yes, for that I'd
pay in gold—and pay a lot.
DIONYSUS:
Why is that? Why do you desire it so much?
PENTHEUS:
I'd be sorry to see the women drunk.
DIONYSUS:
Would you derive pleasure from looking on,
viewing something you find painful?
PENTHEUS:
Yes, I would—
if I were sitting
in the trees in silence.
DIONYSUS:
But even if you go there secretly,
1000
they'll track you down.
PENTHEUS:
You're right.
I'll go there
openly.
DIONYSUS:
So you're prepared,
are you, to
make the trip? Shall I lead you there?
PENTHEUS:
Let's go, and with all speed. I've got time.
DIONYSUS:
In that case, you must clothe your body
in a dress—one made of eastern linen.
PENTHEUS:
What! I'm not going up there as a man?
I've got to change myself into a woman?
DIONYSUS:
If they see you as a man, they'll kill you.
PENTHEUS:
Right again. You always have the answer.
1010
DIONYSUS:
Dionysus taught me all these things.
PENTHEUS:
How can I best follow your suggestion?
DIONYSUS:
I'll go inside your house and dress you up.
PENTHEUS:
What? Dress up in a female outfit?
I can't do that—I'd be ashamed to.
DIONYSUS:
You're still keen to see the Maenads, aren't you?
PENTHEUS:
What sort of clothing do you recommend?
How should I cover up my body?
DIONYSUS:
I'll fix up a long hair piece for your head.
PENTHEUS:
All right. What's the next piece of my outfit?
1020
DIONYSUS:
A dress down to your feet—then a headband,
to fit just here, around your forehead.
PENTHEUS:
What else? What other things will you provide?
DIONYSUS:
A thyrsus to hold and a dappled fawn skin.
PENTHEUS:
No. I can't dress up in women's clothes!
DIONYSUS:
But if you go fighting with these Bacchae,
you'll cause bloodshed.
PENTHEUS:
Yes, that's true.
So first, we
must go up and spy on them.
DIONYSUS:
Hunt down evil by committing evil—
that sounds like a wise way to proceed.
[irony]
1030
PENTHEUS:
But how will I make it through the city
without the Thebans noticing me?
DIONYSUS:
We go by deserted streets. I'll take you.
PENTHEUS:
Well, anything's easier to accept
than being made a fool by Bacchic women.
Let's go into the house. I'll think about what's best.
DIONYSUS:
As you wish. Whatever you do, I'm ready.
PENTHEUS:
I think I'll go in now. It's a choice
of going with weapons or taking your advice.
[Exit Pentheus into the palace. Dionysus turns to face the chorus]
DIONYSUS:
My women! that man's now entangled in our net.
[net
as frequent Greek symbol for fate]
1040
He'll go to those Bacchae,
and there he'll die.
That will
be his punishment. Dionysus,
you're not far away. Now it's up to you.
Punish him. First, make sure he goes insane
with some crazed fantasy. If his mind
is strong,
he'll not agree to
put on women's clothes.
But
he'll do it, if you make him mad.
[mad = insane]
I want him made the laughing stock of
while I lead him through the city, mincing
as he moves along in women's clothing,
1050
after he made himself so
terrifying
with all those
earlier threats. Now
I'll be off,
to fit Pentheus
into the costume
he'll wear when
he goes down to Hades,
once he's
butchered by his mother's hands.
[explicit
foreshadowing of conclusive action]
He'll come to acknowledge Dionysus,
son of Zeus, born in full divinity,
most fearful and yet most kind to men.
[Exit Dionysus]
CHORUS:
Oh, when will I be dancing,
[chorus =
Bacchic women from Asia]
leaping barefoot through the night,
1060
flinging back my head in
ecstasy,
in the clear, cold,
dew-fresh air—
like a playful
fawn
celebrating its green joy
across the meadows—
joy that it's escaped the fearful hunt—
as she runs beyond the hunters,
leaping past their woven nets—
they call out to their hounds
to chase her with still more speed,
1070
but she strains every limb,
racing like a wind storm,
rejoicing by the river plain,
in places where no hunters lurk,
in the green living world
beneath the shady branches,
the foliage of the trees.
What is wisdom? What is finer
than the rights men get from gods—
to hold their powerful hands
1080
over the heads of their
enemies?
Ah yes, what's good is
always loved.
The power of the gods
is difficult to stir—
but it's a power we can count on.
It punishes all mortal men
who honor their own ruthless wills,
who, in their fits of madness,
fail to reverence the gods.
Gods track down every man
1090
who scorns their worship,
using their cunning to conceal
the enduring steady pace of time.
For there's no righteousness
in those who recognize or practice
what's beyond our customary laws.
The truth is easy to acknowledge:
whatever is divine is mighty,
whatever has been long-established law
is an eternal natural truth.
1100
What is wisdom? What is finer
than the rights men get from gods—
to hold their powerful hands
over the heads of their enemies?
Ah yes, what's good is always loved.
Whoever has escaped a storm at sea
is a happy man in harbour,
whoever overcomes great hardship
is likewise another happy man.
Various men out-do each other
1110
in wealth, in power,
in all sorts of ways.
The hopes of countless men
are infinite in number.
Some make men rich;
some come to nothing.
So I consider that man blessed
who lives a happy life
existing day by day.
[Enter Dionysus from the palace. He calls back through the open doors]
DIONYSUS:
You who are so desperately eager
1120
to see those things you
should not look upon,
so keen to
chase what you should not pursue—
I mean you, Pentheus, come out here now,
outside the palace, where I can see you
dressed up as a raving Bacchic female,
to spy upon your mother's company.
[Enter Pentheus dressed in women's clothing. He moves in a deliberately
over-stated female way, enjoying the role]
End Presentation Five (814-1126):
Begin Presentation Six (1126-1431): Kim Bronson presentation assignment
DIONYSUS: [admiringly, as he
escorts Pentheus from the doors]
You
look just like one of Cadmus's daughters.
PENTHEUS:
Fancy that! I seem to see two suns,
two images of seven-gated
And you look like a bull leading me out here, [cf.
bull(s) in lines 762, 913]
1130
with those horns growing
from your head.
Were you once
upon a time a beast?
It's
certain now you've changed into a bull.
DIONYSUS:
The god walks here. He's made a pact with us.
[cf. Nietzsche
on confusion of actor / hero & Dionysus as god]
Before his attitude was not so kind.
Now you're seeing just what you ought to see.
PENTHEUS:
How do I look? Am I holding myself
just like Ino or my mother, Agave?
DIONYSUS:
When I look at you, I think I see them.
But here, this strand of hair is out of place.
1140
It's not under the headband
where I fixed it.
PENTHEUS: [demonstrating
his dancing steps]
I must have worked it loose inside the house,
shaking my head when I moved here and there,
practising my Bacchanalian dance.
DIONYSUS:
I'll rearrange it for you. It's only right
that I should serve you. Straighten up your head.
[Dionysus begins adjusting Pentheus's hair and clothing]
PENTHEUS:
All right then. You can be my dresser,
now that I've transformed myself for you.
DIONYSUS:
Your girdle's loose. And these pleats in your dress
are crooked, too, down at your ankle here.
1150
PENTHEUS: [examining the
back of his legs]
Yes, that seems to be true for my right leg,
but on this side the dress hangs perfectly,
down the full length of my limb.
DIONYSUS:
Once you see
those Bacchic women
acting modestly,
[confusion whether
Bacchic women are "girls gone wild" or consciousness-raising]
once you
confront something you don't expect,
you'll consider me your dearest friend.
PENTHEUS:
This thyrsus—should I hold it in my right hand,
or in my left? Which is more suitable
in Bacchic celebrations?
|
thyrsus
(pl.
thyrsoi) =
hollow plant stalk, |
|
DIONYSUS:
In your right.
You must lift
your right foot in time with it.
1160
[Dionysus observes Pentheus trying out the dance step]
DIONYSUS:
Your mind has changed. I applaud you for it.
PENTHEUS:
Will I be powerful enough to carry
the forests of
along with all
those Bacchic females?
DIONYSUS:
If you have desire, you'll have the power.
Before this your mind was not well adjusted.
But now it's working in you as it should.
PENTHEUS:
Are we going to take some levers with us?
[cf.
line 443 above, where Pentheus orders his men to use levers to break up Tiresias's place of augury]
Or shall I rip the forests up by hand,
putting arm and shoulder under mountain peaks?
1170
DIONYSUS:
As long as you don't do away with
those places where the nymphs all congregate,
where Pan plays his music on his pipes.
PENTHEUS:
You mention a good point. I'll use no force
to get the better of these women.
I'll conceal myself there in the pine
trees.
DIONYSUS:
You'll find just the sort of hiding place
a spy should find who wants to hide himself,
so he can gaze upon the Maenads.
PENTHEUS:
That's good. I can picture them right now,
1180
in the woods, going at it
like rutting birds,
clutching
each other as they make sweet love.
DIONYSUS:
Perhaps. That's why you're going—as a guard
to stop all that. Maybe you'll capture them,
unless you're captured first.
PENTHEUS:
Lead on—
through the centre of our
I'm the only man in all the city
who dares to undertake this enterprise.
DIONYSUS:
You bear the city's burden by yourself,
all by yourself. So your work is waiting there,
1190
the tasks that have been
specially set for you.
Follow
me. I'm the guide who'll rescue you.
When you return someone else will bring you back.
PENTHEUS:
That will be my mother.
DIONYSUS:
For everyone
you'll have become
someone to celebrate.
PENTHEUS:
That's why I'm going.
DIONYSUS:
You'll be carried back . . .
PENTHEUS: [interrupting]
You're pampering me!
DIONYSUS: [continuing].
. . in your mother's arms.
PENTHEUS:
You've really made up your mind to spoil me.
DIONYSUS:
To spoil you? That's true, but in my own way.
PENTHEUS:
Then I'll be off to get what I deserve. [tragedy
as consequences] 1200
[Exit Pentheus]
DIONYSUS: [speaking in the
direction Pentheus has gone, but not speaking to him]
You fearful, terrifying man—on your way
to horrific suffering. Well, you'll win
a towering fame, as high as heaven.
Hold out your hand to him, Agave,
[Agave = Pentheus's mother, among Bacchic women Pentheus will spy on]
you, too, her sisters, Cadmus's daughters.
I'm leading this young man in your direction,
for the great confrontation, where I'll triumph—
I and Bromius. What else will happen
[Bromius = alternative identity for Dionysus; but is "I" Dionysus or person
enacting Dionysus?]
events will show, as they occur.
[Exit Dionysus]
CHORUS 1:
Up now, you hounds of madness, [hounds
of madness = maenads as furies?]
1210
go up now into the
mountains,
go where Cadmus's
daughters
[Pentheus's
mother and aunts]
keep their company of
worshippers,
goad them into
furious revenge
against that
man, that raving spy,
all
dressed up in his women's clothes,
[cross-dressing]
so keen to glimpse the Maenads.
[voyeurism or peeping-tom]
His mother will see him first,
as he spies on them in secret
from some level rock or crag.
1220
She'll scream out to her
Maenads,
"Who's the man who's
come here,
to the mountains, to
these mountains,
tracking
Cadmean mountain dancers?
Oh my
Bacchae, who has come?
[Bacchae = women
followers of Bacchus]
From whom
was this man born?
[irony:
prediction that Pentheus's mother will say this]
He's not born
of woman's blood—
he must be
some lioness's whelp
[whelp = cub,
pup]
or spawned
from Libyan gorgons."
CHORUS:
Let justice manifest itself—
1230
let justice march, sword in
hand,
to stab him in the throat,
that godless, lawless man,
unjust earthborn seed of Echion.
CHORUS 2:
Any man intent on wickedness,
turning his unlawful rage
against your rites, O Bacchus,
against the worship of your mother,
a man who sets out with an insane mind,
his courage founded on a falsehood,
1240
who seeks to overcome by
force
what simply can't be
overcome—
let death set his
intentions straight.
For a life
devoid of grief is one
which
receives without complaint
whatever comes down from the gods—
that's how mortals ought to live.
Wisdom is something I don't envy.
My joy comes hunting other things
lofty and plain to everyone.
1250
They lead man's life to
good
in purity and reverence,
honoring gods day and night,
eradicating from our lives
customs lying beyond what's right.
CHORUS:
Let justice manifest itself—
Let
justice march, sword in hand,
to
stab him in the throat,
that
godless, lawless man,
unjust
earthborn seed of Echion.
1260
CHORUS 3:
Appear now to our sight, O Bacchus—
come as a bull or many-headed serpent
or else some fire-breathing lion.
Go now, Bacchus, with your smiling face
cast your deadly noose upon
that hunter of the Bacchae,
[hunter = Pentheus]
as the group of Maenads brings him down.
[Enter Second Messenger, one of Pentheus's attendants]
SECOND MESSENGER:
How I grieve for this house, in earlier days
[this house =
House of Cadmus, Thebes]
so happy throughout Greece, home of that old man,
Cadmus from Sidon, who sowed the fields
1270
to harvest the earth-born crop produced
from serpent Ophis.* How I now lament—
I know I'm just a slave, but nonetheless . . .
CHORUS [They sing or chant
their responses to the Messenger]
Do you bring us news?
Has something happened,
something about the Bacchae?
SECOND MESSENGER:
Pentheus, child of Echion, is dead.
CHORUS:
O my lord Bromius,
Now your
divine greatness
is here made
manifest!
1280
SECOND MESSENGER:
What are you saying? Why that song?
Women, how can you now rejoice like this
for the death of one who was my master?
CHORUS LEADER:
We're strangers here in
so we sing out our joy
in chants from foreign lands.
No longer need we cower here
in fear of prisoner's chains.
SECOND MESSENGER:
Do you think
to take care of your punishment?
1290
CHORUS:
Dionysus, oh Dionysus,
he's the
one with power over me—
not
SECOND MESSENGER:
That you may be forgiven, but to cry
aloud with joy when such disasters come,
women, that's not something you should so.
CHORUS:
Speak to me, tell all—
How did
death strike him down,
that
unrighteous man,
that man
who
acted so unjustly?
1300
SECOND MESSENGER:
Once we'd left the settlements of
we went across the river Asopus,
then started the climb up
Pentheus and myself, I following the king.
The stranger was our guide, scouting the way.
[The
stranger = Dionysus]
First, we sat down in a grassy meadow,
keeping our feet and tongues quite silent,
so we could see without being noticed.
There was a valley there shut in by
cliffs.
Through it refreshing waters flowed, with pines
1310
providing shade. The
Maenads sat there,
their hands
all busy with delightful work—
some of them with ivy strands repairing
damaged thyrsoi, while others sang,
[thyrsoi: plural of thyrsus, devotional wand of Dionysian worshippers]
chanting Bacchic songs to one another,
carefree as fillies freed from harness.
Then Pentheus, that unhappy man,
not seeing the crowd of women, spoke up,
"Stranger, I can't see from where we're standing.
My eyes can't glimpse those crafty Maenads.
1320
But up there, on that hill, a pine tree stands.
If I climbed that, I might see those women,
and witness the disgraceful things they do."
[again Pentheus displays voyeurism and repressed lewdness]
Then I saw that stranger work a marvel.
[that
stranger = Dionysus]
He seized that pine tree's topmost branch—
it stretched up to heaven—and brought it down,
pulling it to the dark earth, bending it
as if it were a bow or some curved wheel
forced into a circle while staked out with pegs—
that's how the stranger made that tree bend down,
1330
forcing the mountain pine
to earth by hand,
something no
mortal man could ever do.
He set
Pentheus in that pine tree's branches.
Then his hands released the tree, but slowly,
so it stood up straight, being very careful
not to shake Pentheus loose. So that pine
towered straight up to heaven, with my king
[my
king = Pentheus]
perched on its back. Maenads could see him there
[is
this description potentially comical? The king up a tree? i.e.,
incongruity]
more easily than he could spy on them.
As he was just becoming visible—
1340
the stranger had completely
disappeared—
[the stranger =
Dionysus]
some voice—I guess
it was Dionysus—
cried out from
the sky, "Young women,
I've
brought you the man who laughed at you,
who ridiculed my rites. Now punish him!"
As he shouted this, a dreadful fire arose,
blazing between the earth and heaven.
[sounds like spectacle, but only reported, not seen]
The air was still. In the wooded valley
no sound came from the leaves, and all the beasts
were silent, too. The women stood up at once.
1350
They'd heard the voice, but
not distinctly.
They gazed
around them. Then again the voice
shouted his commands. When Cadmus's daughters
[Autonoe, Ino, & Agave, Pentheus's mother]
clearly heard what Dionysus ordered,
they rushed out, running as fast as doves,
moving their feet at an amazing speed.
His mother Agave with both her sisters
and all the Bacchae charged straight through
the valley, the torrents, the mountain cliffs,
pushed to a god-inspired frenzy.
1360
They saw the king there
sitting in that pine.
First,
they scaled a cliff face looming up
opposite the tree and started throwing rocks,
trying to hurt him. Others threw branches,
or hurled their thyrsoi through the air at him,
sad, miserable Pentheus, their target.
But they didn't hit him. The poor man
sat high beyond their frenzied cruelty,
trapped up there, no way to save his skin.
Then, like lightning, they struck oak branches down,
1370
trying them as levers to
uproot the tree.
[levers: cf. 443,
1168]
When these
attempts all failed, Agave said,
[Agave = Pentheus's mother]
"Come now, make a circle round the tree.
Then, Maenads, each of you must seize a branch,
so we can catch the climbing beast up there,
stop him making our god's secret dances known."
[dances as "mysteries" forbidden to
non-initiates]
Thousands of hands grabbed the tree
and pulled.
They yanked it from
the ground. Pentheus fell,
crashing to earth down from his lofty perch,
screaming in distress. He knew well enough
1380
something dreadful was about to happen.
His priestess mother first began the slaughter.
[his priestess mother = Agave, Pentheus's mother]
She hurled herself at him. Pentheus tore off
his headband, untying it from his head,
so wretched Agave would recognize him,
so she wouldn't kill him. Touching her cheek,
he cried out, "It's me, mother, Pentheus,
your child. You gave birth to me at home,
in Echion's house. Pity me, mother—
don't kill your child because I've
made mistakes."
1390
But Agave was foaming at
the mouth,
eyes rolling in their
sockets, her mind not set
on
what she ought to think—she didn't listen—
she was possessed, in a Bacchic frenzy.
She seized his left arm, below the elbow,
pushed her foot against the poor man's ribs,
then tore his shoulder out. The strength she had—
it was not her own. The god put power
into those hands of hers. Meanwhile Ino,
her sister, went at the other side,
1400
ripping off chunks of
Pentheus's flesh,
[cf. earlier scene of
Bacchic women dismembering calf, line 909]
while Autonoe
and all the Bacchae,
the whole crowd of them,
attacked as well,
all of them
howling out together.
As long as
Pentheus was still alive,
he
kept on screaming. The women cried in triumph—
one brandished an arm, another held a foot—
complete with hunting boot—the women's nails
tore his ribs apart. Their hands grew bloody,
tossing bits of his flesh back and forth, for fun.
1410
His body parts lie
scattered everywhere—
some under
rough rocks, some in the forest,
deep in the trees. They're difficult to find.
As for the poor victim's head, his mother
stumbled on it. Her hands picked it
up,
then stuck it on a thyrsus,
at the tip.
Now she carries it
around
as though it were some wild lion's head.
She's left her sisters dancing with the Maenads.
She's coming here, inside these very walls,
1420
showing off with pride her
ill-fated prey,
calling out to
her fellow hunter, Bacchus,
her
companion in the chase, the winner,
the glorious victor. By serving him,
in her great triumph she wins only tears.
As for me, I'm leaving this disaster,
[another potentially-comic guard / messenger avoiding trouble]
before Agave gets back home again.
The best thing is to keep one's mind controlled,
and worship all that comes down
from the gods.
That, in my view,
is the wisest custom,
1430
for those who can conduct
their lives that way.
[Exit Messenger]
End Presentation Six (1126-1431): Kim Bronson
from a wall painting at Pompeii:
Pentheus being
torn by Maenads
Begin Presentation Seven (1431-1776): Clark Omo presentation assignment
|
CHORUS
[of Maenads from Asia]:
Let's dance to honor Bacchus, |
|
CHORUS LEADER:
Wait! I see Agave, Pentheus's mother,
on her way home, her eyes transfixed.
Let's now welcome her,
1450
the happy revels of our god
of joy!
[Enter Agave, cradling the head of Pentheus]
AGAVE:
Asian Bacchae . . .
CHORUS:
Why
do you appeal to me?
AGAVE: [displaying the head]
From the mountains I've brought home
this ivy tendril freshly cut.
[ivy tendril = strand of ivy adorning a thyrsus (see above)]
We've had a blessed hunt.
CHORUS:
I see it.
As your fellow dancer,
I'll accept it.
AGAVE:
I caught this young lion without a trap,
as you can see.
CHORUS:
What desert was he in?
AGAVE:
CHORUS:
On
AGAVE:
CHORUS:
Who
struck him down?
1460
AGAVE:
The honor of the first blow goes to me.
In the dancing I'm called
blessed Agave.
CHORUS:
Who else?
AGAVE:
Well, from Cadmus . . .
CHORUS:
From Cadmus what?
AGAVE:
His other children laid hands on the beast,
but after me—only after I did first.
We've had good hunting. So come, share our feast.
CHORUS:
What? You want me to eat that with you?
Oh you unhappy woman.
AGAVE:
This is a young bull. Look at this cheek
It's just growing downy under the crop
1470
of his soft hair.
CHORUS:
His hair makes him resemble
some wild beast.
AGAVE:
Bacchus is a clever huntsman—
he wisely set his Maenads on this beast.
CHORUS:
Yes, our master is indeed a hunter.
AGAVE:
Have you any praise for me?
CHORUS: I praise you.
AGAVE:
Soon all Cadmus's people. . .
CHORUS:
. . . and Pentheus, your son, as well.
AGAVE:
. . . will celebrate his mother, who caught the beast,
just like a lion.
CHORUS:
It's a strange trophy.
AGAVE:
And strangely captured, too.
CHORUS:
You're proud of what you've done?
AGAVE:
Yes, I'm delighted. Great things I've done—
1480
great things on this hunt,
clear for all to see.
CHORUS:
Well then, you most unfortunate woman,
show off your hunting prize, your sign of victory,
to all the citizens.
AGAVE: [addressing everyone]
All of you here,
all you living
in the land of Thebes,
in this
city with its splendid walls,
come see this wild beast we hunted down—
daughters of Cadmus—not with thonged spears,
Thessalian javelins, or by using nets,
but with our own white hands, our finger tips.
1490
After this, why should
huntsmen boast aloud,
when no one needs the
implements they use?
We caught
this beast by hand, tore it apart—
with our own hands. But where's my father?
He should come here. And where's Pentheus?
Where is my son? He should take a ladder,
set it against the house, fix this lion's head
way up there, high on the palace front.
I've captured it and brought it home with me.
[Enter Cadmus and attendants, carrying parts of Pentheus's body]
CADMUS:
Follow me, all those of you who carry
1500
some part of wretched
Pentheus. You slaves,
come here, right by the house.
[They
place the bits of Pentheus's body together in a chest front of the palace]
I'm worn out.
So many searches—but I picked up the body.
I came across it in the rocky clefts
on
no parts
lying together in one place.
It
was in the woods—difficult to search.
Someone told me what my daughter'd done,
those horrific acts, once I'd come back,
returning here with old Tiresias,
1510
inside the city walls, back
from the Bacchae.
So I climbed the mountains once
again.
Now I bring home this
child the Maenads killed.
I saw
Autonoe, who once bore
Actaeon
to Aristeius—and Ino,
she was
with her there, in the forest,
both still possessed, quite mad, poor creatures.
Someone said Agave was coming here,
still doing her Bacchic dance. He
spoke the truth,
for I see her
there—what a wretched sight!
1520
|
AGAVE:
Father, now you can be truly proud.
[offering him Pentheus' head]
Take
this, father
1530
|
|
CADMUS:
This grief's beyond measure, beyond endurance.
With these hands of yours you've murdered him.
You strike down this sacrificial victim,
this offering to the gods, then invite me,
and all of
Alas—first
for your sorrow, then my own.
1540
Lord god Bromius, born into
this family,
has destroyed us, acting out
his justice,
but too much so.
AGAVE:
Why such scowling eyes?
How
sorrowful and solemn old men become.
As for my son, I hope he's a fine hunter,
who copies his mother's hunting style,
when he rides out with young men of
chasing after creatures in the wild.
The only thing he seems capable of doing
[tragic flaw?]
is fighting with the gods. It's up to you,
1550
father, to reprimand him
for it.
Who'll call him here
into my sight,
so he can see my
good luck for himself?
CADMUS:
Alas! Alas! What dreadful pain you'll feel
when you recognize what you've just done.
If you stay forever in your present
state,
you'll be unfortunate,
but you won't feel
as if you're
suffering unhappiness.
AGAVE:
But what in all this is wrong or painful?
CADMUS:
First, raise your eyes. Look up into the sky.
1560
AGAVE:
All right. But why tell me to look up there?
CADMUS:
Does the sky still seem the same to you,
or has it changed?
AGAVE:
It seems, well, brighter . . .
more translucent than it was before.
CADMUS:
And your inner spirit—is it still shaking?
AGAVE:
I don't understand what it is you're asking.
But my mind is starting to clear somehow.
It's changing . . . it's not what it was before.
CADMUS:
Can you hear me? Can you answer clearly?
AGAVE:
Yes. But, father, what we discussed before,
1570
I've quite forgotten.
CADMUS:
Then tell me this—
to whose
house did you come when you got married?
AGAVE:
You gave me to Echion, who, men say,
was one of those who grew from seeds you cast.
CADMUS:
In that house you bore your husband a child.
What was his name?
AGAVE:
His name was Pentheus.
I
conceived him with his father.
CADMUS:
Well then,
this head your hands are holding—whose is it?
AGAVE:
It's a lion's. That's what the hunters said.
CADMUS:
Inspect it carefully. You can do that
1580
without much effort.
|
AGAVE: [inspecting the head]
What
is this?
CADMUS:
Look at it. You'll understand more clearly.
AGAVE:
What I see fills me with horrific pain . . .
CADMUS:
Does
it still seem to you
AGAVE:
No. It's appalling—
CADMUS:
Yes, that's right. I was lamenting his fate
AGAVE:
Who
killed him?
CADMUS:
Harsh truth—
1590
AGAVE:
Tell me. My heart is pounding in me |
|
CADMUS:
You killed him—
you and your
sisters.
AGAVE:
Where was he killed?
At home? In
what sort of place?
CADMUS:
He was killed
where dogs once
made a common meal of Actaeon.
AGAVE:
Why did this poor man go to
CADMUS:
He went there to ridicule the god
and you for celebrating Dionysus.
AGAVE:
But how did we happen to be up there?
CADMUS:
You were insane—the entire city
1600
was in a Bacchic madness.
AGAVE:
Now I see.
Dionysus has
destroyed us all.
CADMUS:
He took offense at being insulted.
You did not consider him a god.
AGAVE:
Father, where's the body of my dearest son?
CADMUS:
I had trouble tracking the body down.
I brought back what I found.
AGAVE:
Are all his limbs laid out
just
as they should be? And Pentheus,
what part did he play in my madness?
CADMUS:
Like you, he was irreverent to the god.
1610
That's why the god linked you and him together
in the same disaster—thus destroying
the house and me, for I've no children left,
now I see this offspring of your womb,
you unhappy woman, cruelly butchered
in the most shameful way. He was the one
who brought new vision to our family.
[Addressing the remains of Pentheus]
My child, you upheld the honor of our house,
my daughter's son. You were feared in
No one who saw you ever would insult me,
1620
though I was old, for you
would then inflict
fit
punishment. Now the mighty Cadmus,
the man who sowed and later harvested
the most splendid crop—the Theban people—
will be an exile, banished from his home,
a dishonored man. Dearest of men,
even though, my child, you're alive no more,
I count you among those closest to me.
You won't be touching my cheek any more,
holding me in your arms, and calling me
1630
"grandfather," as you ask
me, "Old man,
who's injuring or
dishonoring you?
Who upsets
your heart with any pain?
Tell
me, father, so I can punish him—
anyone who treats you in an unjust way."
Now you're in this horrifying state,
I'm in misery, your mother's pitiful,
and all your relatives are in despair.
If there's a man who disrespects the gods,
let him think about how this man perished—
[learning theme]
1640
then he should develop
faith in them.
CHORUS LEADER:
I'm sorry for you Cadmus—you're in pain.
But your grandson deserved his punishment.
AGAVE:
Father, you see how all has changed for me.
From being your royal and honored daughter,
the mother of a king, I'm now transformed—
an abomination, something to fill
all people's hearts with horror, with disgust—
the mother who slaughtered her only son,
who tore him apart, ripping out the heart
1650
from the child who filled
her own heart with joy—
all to
honor this god Dionysus.
But,
father, give me your permission now
to lay out here the body of my son,
prepare his corpse for proper burial.
CADMUS:
That's no easy task to undertake.
His body, all the parts I could collect,
lies here, in this chest, not a pretty sight.
My own eyes can hardly bear to see him.
But if you think you can endure the work,
1660
then, my child, begin the
appropriate rites.
AGAVE: [removing Pentheus's
limbs and placing them on the ground in front of her]
Alas, for my poor son, my only child,
destroyed by his mother's Bacchic madness.
How could these hands of mine, which loved him so,
have torn these limbs apart, ripped out his flesh.
Here's an arm which has held me all these years,
growing stronger as he grew into a man,
his feet . . . oh, how he used to run to me,
seeking assurance of his mother's love.
His face was handsome, on the verge of manhood.
1670
See the soft down still
resting on these lips,
which
have kissed me thousands of times or more.
All this, and all the rest, set here before us.
Oh Zeus and all you Olympian gods . . . .
[She cannot complete the ritual and collapses in grief]
It makes no sense—it's unendurable.
How could the god have wished such things on me?
CHORUS LEADER [helping Agave
get up]
Lady, you must bear what cannot be borne.
Your suffering is intense, but the god is just.
You insulted him in
you've brought the punishment upon yourself.
1680
CHORUS:
What is wisdom? What is finer
than the rights men get from gods—
to hold their powerful hands
over the heads of their enemies?
Ah yes, what's good is always loved.
So all praise Dionysus,
praise the dancing god,
god of our revelry,
god whose justice is divine,
whose justice now reveals itself.
1690
[Enter Dionysus]
DIONYSUS:
Yes, I am Dionysus, son of Zeus.
You see me now before you as a god.
You Thebans learned about my powers too late.
Dishonoring me, you earn the penalty.
You refused my rites. Now you must leave—
abandon your city for barbarian lands.
Agave, too, that polluted creature,
must go into perpetual banishment.
And Cadmus, you too must endure your lot.
Your form will change, so you become a dragon.
1700
Your wife, Harmonia,
Ares's daughter,
whom you,
though mortal, took in marriage,
will be transformed, changing to a snake.
As Zeus's oracle declares, you and she
will drive a chariot drawn by heifers.
You'll rule barbarians. With your armies,
too large to count, you'll raze many cities.
Once they despoil Apollo's oracle,
they'll have a painful journey back again.
But Ares will guard you and Harmonia.
1710
In lands of the blessed
he'll transform your lives.
That's what I proclaim—I, Dionysus,
born from no mortal father, but from Zeus.
If you had understood how to behave
as you should have when you were unwilling,
you'd now be fortunate, with Zeus's child
among your allies.
CADMUS:
O Dionysus,
we implore you—we've
not acted justly.
DIONYSUS:
You learn too late. You were ignorant
[learning theme]
when you should have known.
CADMUS:
Now we understand.
[learning
theme]
1720
Your actions against us
are too severe.
DIONYSUS:
I was born a god, and you insulted me.
CADMUS:
Angry gods should not act just like humans.
DIONYSUS:
My father Zeus willed all this long ago.
AGAVE:
Alas, old man, then this must be our fate,
a miserable exile.
DIONYSUS:
Why then delay?
Why postpone
what necessity requires?
CADMUS:
Child, we've stumbled into this disaster,
this terrible calamity—you and me,
both in agony—your sisters, too.
1730
So I'll go out to the
barbarians,
a foreign resident
in my old age.
And then for me
there's that oracle
which says
I'll lead a mixed barbarian force
back into
Harmonia, Ares's daughter, my wife.
I'll have the savage nature of a snake,
as I lead my soldiers to the altars,
to the tombs, in
there'll be no end to my wretched sorrows.
1740
I'll never sail the
downward plunging Acheron
and
reach some final peace.
AGAVE: [embracing Cadmus]
Father, I must be exiled without you.
CADMUS:
Why do you throw your arms about me,
my unhappy child, just like some young swan
protecting an old one—gray and helpless.
AGAVE:
Because I've no idea where to go,
once I'm banished from my father's land.
CADMUS:
Child, I don't know. Your father's not much help.
AGAVE:
Farewell, then, to my home.
1750
Farewell to my native city.
In my misfortune I abandon you,
an exile from spaces once my own.
CADMUS:
Go now to Aristeus's house, my child.
AGAVE:
How I grieve for you, my father.
CADMUS:
And I grieve for you, my child,
as I weep for your sisters.
AGAVE:
Lord Dionysus has inflicted
such
brutal terror on your house.
DIONYSUS:
Yes. For at your hands I suffered, too—
1760
and dreadfully. For here in
my
name received no recognition.
AGAVE:
Farewell, father.
CADMUS:
My most unhappy daughter,
may
you fare well. That will be hard for you.
AGAVE:
Lead on, friends, so I may take my sisters,
those pitiful women, into exile with me.
May I go somewhere where cursed
will never
see me, nor my eyes glimpse
that
dreadful mountain, a place far away
from any sacred thyrsus. Let others
1770
make Bacchic celebrations their concern.
[Exit Agave]
CHORUS:
The gods appear in many forms,
carrying with them unwelcome things.
What people thought would happen never did.
What they did not expect, the gods made happen.
That's what this story has revealed.
[Exeunt Chorus and Cadmus, leaving on stage the remains of Pentheus's body]
End Presentation Seven (1431-1776): Clark Omo
END
Pentheus torn apart by his mother Agave & Aunt Ino, Attic vase,
Louvre