Higher Power In Euripides The Bacchae

As a young child in a Catholic family, I did not doubt the belief system I was given because I did not know better. I was told to believe in a God that I had no physical proof of and I did not share spiritual experience with many of the people I looked up to, but I “believed” anyways. Now as an emerging adult, I am conflicted between following my own internal thoughts and feelings and listening to the “knowledge” of this external “being” I have been taught to believe in. The Greek tragedy, The Bacchae, written by the playwright, Euripides, over 2,500 years ago addresses this conflict which, I believe, is a conflict belonging to many in today’s society. The notion of a “higher power” is a concept that we struggle with on a day to day basis. In The Bacchae, the Greek myth of Dionysus is expanded through the tale of his struggle. His quest to claim his identity and make his cousin Pentheus understand and worship him is the center of the play. Pentheus is made king of the city-state of Thebes by his grandfather, Cadmus, who is also the grandfather of …show more content…
Under Dionysus’ spell, Pentheus says Dionysus is “trying to spoil” him when Dionysus suggests he will be brought back to Thebes in his mother’s arms. Not only is Pentheus threatened by the fact that the bacchants are worshipping Dionysus, he is threatened by the newfound freedom and wildness of them. Pentheus’ jealousy feeds into subconscious feelings of nervousness that he will lose the worship of the Theban people to his cousin. His obsession with sex, money, women, and power all stem from the need to keep his power. The hierarchy that he is apart of has contributed to overwhelming patriarchal need that he has. The bacchants and their mountaintop orgies and raw meat-eating threaten this patriarchy that he finds comfort in. But, he continues to deny the divinity of