Madness and Piety: A Discussion on The Bacchae Part II

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, we plunge into the second part of Euripides’ The Bacchae—a harrowing yet gripping Greek tragedy that leads us deeper into the mystery of Dionysian eros.

We’ll observe the tragic descent of King Pentheus, the Bacchae as a parasite upon society, and the haunting themes of eros, justice, and the question of piety under an evil god.

Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading SCHEDULE.

Check out our Patreon page for our 25 Q&A GUIDE to the Bacchae.

From the guide:

Why should you read The Bacchae?

The Bacchae challenges readers to explore religion, erotics, piety, cosmic order, and human nature in a controversial and unsettling landscape. Euripides’ intent is not clear; thus, the reader is left to interpret a drama that seems to test longstanding Greek concepts, like piety and the gods.

Dr. Grabowski acknowledges the play as an integral part of the “great conversation” in the Western canon, and Dcn. Garlick agrees by highlighting the play as an important antecedent to Plato’s Euthyphro and Symposium. Though the work includes disturbing imagery, it is within those images that Euripides is wrestling with erotics, piety, and the cosmos. Somewhat shockingly, the play presents several parallels to Jesus Christ and invites the reader into challenging comparisons. Overall, The Bacchae stands as an important—though controversial—work in exploring the nature of man and his relation to the divine.

How is Agave’s death indicative of the destructive eros of Dionysus?

The disordered eros of the Dionysian cult manifests as an anti-logos mania that is corrosive to the family and the natural political order. It brings societal instability. Dcn. Garlick explains that this Dionysian eros, unlike Plato’s ordered ascent through the ladder of love in the Symposium, is a “disordered erotics” that “spirals down to bestial releases.” It is notable that the first group affected by the Dionysian cult are women, and the first act of these crazed women is to abandon their husbands and children—and then run wild in the woods nursing animals and engaging in orgies. Euripides presents a scene of perversion, a perverted femininity and motherhood. The Bacchae also adopt masculine traits, like strength, a desire to hunt, and acts of violence—like tearing animals apart with their bare hands. Dr. Grabowski observes this all leads to the destruction of the polis, as “if you pervert women… there will be no children… no future generations, and… no polis.” The women’s rejection of domestic roles, driven by Dionysus’ “erotic mania,” fractures the social fabric, leading to a “complete and utter collapse… of a polis.”

The climax of this societal destruction is Agave’s horrific act of killing her son, Pentheus, which Dcn. Garlick describes as the “zenith of this Dionysian madness,” epitomizing the cult’s perversion of natural relationships. Under Dionysus’ influence, Agave, “foaming at the mouth and her crazed eyes rolling with frenzy,” dismembers Pentheus, unaware he is her son until Cadmus restores her sanity. Dr. Grabowski calls this “sadistic” and “hideously perverse,” arguing it ensures “no polis… can survive if the Dionysian cult wins.” The murder of Thebes’ king by his mother symbolizes the ultimate collapse of political authority and familial bonds. This disordered eros, which Dcn. Garlick notes “robs you of your true identity,” transforms Thebes into a chaotic, sterile society.

Check out more on the podcast and the guide!