The Marriage of "Polar" Forces: Religion and Politics
Politics is rigid and seeks power sometimes to the point of excess. Religion introduces passionate and at time irrational advocating for justice on behalf of the disadvantaged. They come into conflict, but also work in tandem to satiate the human desire to have a means of defense against a perceived enemy. These two forces each contribute to a necessary balance to the structure of society. Euripides Bacchae features an ambitious king named Pentheus who loses sight of his mortality and defies religion in his struggle for power. With the intent of establishing democracy, Dionysus overthrows Pentheus through the devotion of the Theban women. In a similar fashion, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, …show more content…
Pentheus refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Dionysus and the religion he introduces to the women of Thebes. “I’ll catch them all in iron cages! I’ll put a stop, right now, to this dirty business, this Bacchism” (Bacchae 231-232); Pentheus finds the foreign religion to be in bad taste, but more importantly, it endangers his conventional wishes for the city. Even if it means working against the wishes of the Theban women, the wishes of Pentheus' own mother even, the young soldier wants them back in their 'rightful', subordinate position in society. Pentheus tries to draw upon his heightened status as a member of the royal family and his access to an army in order to prevent the bacchantes from engaging in their shameful religion. In Metamorphoses, Tereus' own plans to defend himself after raping Philomela draw upon a similar access to armed forces; " … to tempt the girl himself, though that might cost his kingdom; or else to ravish her, and then defend his rape by waging unrelenting war" (Metamorphoses 195). For both men, their political status serves as a tool to take advantage of those beneath them, and grant their own …show more content…
In Bacchae, the god of wine wants to establish an authority over the society that allows room for passion. His influence empowers the women of Thebes and allows them to remove themselves from the traditional housewife setting and unite with nature. Religion here truly allows them to revolt against a greater political power that previously kept them in a social level comparable to that of slaves. Under that bacchic frenzy, they possess immense physical power and are able to repel all of the soldiers Pentheus sends after them, and even rip Pentheus apart when he tries to infiltrate their ranks. Agave murders her own son with her bare hands and brings his head to her father to commemorate her successful hunt; "Father, no one can brag about his daughters more than you … I gave up weaving, left my shuttles beside the loom … It's the hero-trophy I captured, so you could hang it in your house" (Bacchae 1233-1240). It is also during a bacchic festival that Procne is able to free her sister in Metamorphoses. Procne and her sister exhibit a frenetic strength and cruelty (just like the maenads) while killing Itys and afterwards when they tell Tereus about the act. These two women however, are not under an actual bacchic influence, but are actually thinking completely rationally in their quest for retribution. Procne more so than her sister, planned ahead
Politics is rigid and seeks power sometimes to the point of excess. Religion introduces passionate and at time irrational advocating for justice on behalf of the disadvantaged. They come into conflict, but also work in tandem to satiate the human desire to have a means of defense against a perceived enemy. These two forces each contribute to a necessary balance to the structure of society. Euripides Bacchae features an ambitious king named Pentheus who loses sight of his mortality and defies religion in his struggle for power. With the intent of establishing democracy, Dionysus overthrows Pentheus through the devotion of the Theban women. In a similar fashion, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, …show more content…
Pentheus refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Dionysus and the religion he introduces to the women of Thebes. “I’ll catch them all in iron cages! I’ll put a stop, right now, to this dirty business, this Bacchism” (Bacchae 231-232); Pentheus finds the foreign religion to be in bad taste, but more importantly, it endangers his conventional wishes for the city. Even if it means working against the wishes of the Theban women, the wishes of Pentheus' own mother even, the young soldier wants them back in their 'rightful', subordinate position in society. Pentheus tries to draw upon his heightened status as a member of the royal family and his access to an army in order to prevent the bacchantes from engaging in their shameful religion. In Metamorphoses, Tereus' own plans to defend himself after raping Philomela draw upon a similar access to armed forces; " … to tempt the girl himself, though that might cost his kingdom; or else to ravish her, and then defend his rape by waging unrelenting war" (Metamorphoses 195). For both men, their political status serves as a tool to take advantage of those beneath them, and grant their own …show more content…
In Bacchae, the god of wine wants to establish an authority over the society that allows room for passion. His influence empowers the women of Thebes and allows them to remove themselves from the traditional housewife setting and unite with nature. Religion here truly allows them to revolt against a greater political power that previously kept them in a social level comparable to that of slaves. Under that bacchic frenzy, they possess immense physical power and are able to repel all of the soldiers Pentheus sends after them, and even rip Pentheus apart when he tries to infiltrate their ranks. Agave murders her own son with her bare hands and brings his head to her father to commemorate her successful hunt; "Father, no one can brag about his daughters more than you … I gave up weaving, left my shuttles beside the loom … It's the hero-trophy I captured, so you could hang it in your house" (Bacchae 1233-1240). It is also during a bacchic festival that Procne is able to free her sister in Metamorphoses. Procne and her sister exhibit a frenetic strength and cruelty (just like the maenads) while killing Itys and afterwards when they tell Tereus about the act. These two women however, are not under an actual bacchic influence, but are actually thinking completely rationally in their quest for retribution. Procne more so than her sister, planned ahead