The Bacchae Plot

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The plot to The Bacchae is very interesting and different from that of the Iliad. Where the Iliad seemed to focus on loyalty and obedience to the gods, The Bacchae seemed to focus of what happens when you don’t obey the gods. I would sum up the plot to The Bacchae as Dionysus’ revenge on Pentheus and his family. This shows the readers how vengeful the gods are to the mortals if they do not chose to worship them. In class we discussed that the Greeks don’t worship the gods because they are necessarily great but because the mortals fear the gods’ power and wrath. Dionysus is one of those vengeful gods and Pentheus is the unfortunate receiver of that power and wrath. Pentheus deserves this wrath from Dionysus because it was he who decided that the people would not worship Dionysus. It was Pentheus’ fault for what happened to him because he deserved it. The gods don’t like it when you don’t worship them. That was enough reason for Dionysus to look for revenge against Pentheus but that was not the only reason that I believe Dionysus was out to kill. Dionysus was also upset and wanted …show more content…
I thought it was weird how he was able to kind of possess the women into worshiping him. I think that this was weird because he was using his powers to make someone worship him. That is unlike any of the other readings that we have read in the class. Usually the gods don’t make the mortals worship them. The mortals only worship the gods because they are afraid of them and what they might do if you don’t worship them. I think Dionysus had used his powers the wrong way. He was acting too much like a mortal that his emotions got the better of him. He was able to make people lose their sanity and turn into like crazy animals. This is how Agaue was able to kill her own son Pentheus. No other god in the Iliad done anything like this from what I can remember. He used his godly powers to bring revenge on Pentheus and his
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