Jean Toomer 's composite novel Cane, mirrors the Greek play The Bacchae by Euripides. This is accomplished through the use of specific symbolism and references to the vagrant preacher and Greek God, Dionysos. Toomer retells this play through his short story Esther. He does so by telling the story of a character who, after leaving the south and then returning, comes back entirely transformed. In addition, the perspective of a woman is given.…
Within Euripides Iphigenia at Aulis, and Seneca’s Medea, a variety of atrocious acts take place, sparing no violence and certainly no mercy. Although Seneca and Euripides hail from much different time periods, many parallels can be drawn between the atrocious acts depicted within their works. While the scenarios that lead up to the atrocious acts that take place within Medea and Iphigenia at Aulis differ, many similarities can be found between both antagonists. In addition to the similarities, there is strong suggestion of Seneca’s ability to deeper develop and adapt the works of Euripides, as evidenced through his decision to let human nature supersede divine control. Medea and Iphigenia at Aulis both represent products of their time and location.…
When Dionysus asks Pentheus whether he would like to watch the Bacchae, unrestrained and dancing, Dionysus is appealing to and drawing out the hidden part of Pentheus he had seen previously. By dangling this natural inclination of Pentheus in front of him, Dionysus tempts Pentheus. We are not privy to Pentheus’s internal thoughts, but in the end, he threw away his propriety to instead follow his desire. Thereinafter, he is submissive to Dionysus and protests only once against him. Even then, Pentheus objects only briefly to Dionysus’s idea to disguise Pentheus as a woman, which suggests that it was not a serious protest but merely one last pretend attempt at holding onto his front of masculinity as dictated by his position in Theban society.…
The Destruction of Pentheus In Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” Dionysus, disguised as a man, goes out to Thebes to assert his rights and gain respect from those who do not acknowledge him as a god. He encounters Pentheus, king of Thebes, still in an adolescent stage and fearful of femininity, something that Dionysus’ worship revolves around. In The Menace of Dionysus: Sex Roles and Reversals in Euripides’ Bacchae, Charles Segal explains why men were so fearful of the out of control woman and how that affected Pentheus, his growth and ultimate destruction: the destruction not only of Pentheus but the whole society. Segal claims that Dionysus is a threat to Pentheus because he affects Pentheus’ masculinity and ability to transition into adulthood;…
Onse Zeus found out about hades kidnapping he was infuriated,for this was his daughter. Zeus sent on million soldiers to rescue her but they failed. Zeus gathered all of the other gods where they then created a plan. In the underworld Hades tried on all the masks except for one.…
The best husband of the tragedies studied can be interpreted as the most effective foil character to their female counterpart. A foil character’s purpose is to provide a contrast to the protagonist or main character in order to highlight particular character traits in the protagonist or main character. Being an effective foil character makes for a good husband because in some of the plays studied, the protagonist is a wife with important character qualities for the audience realize. The contrast between the husband and the wife highlights the protagonist’s characterization, presentation, and the internal and external audiences’ perception of the protagonist. In particular, Euripides’ Medea and Helen offer similarly characterized effective foil character husbands.…
In both plays, the god/goddess had killed part of the family that had disrespected their honor. In Bacchae, Dionysus mad Semele's sisters go into madness and kill Pentheus, the son of Agave (Bacchae 1100-1129). Pentheus did not believe in the power of Dionysus either. Pentheus thought that Dionysus was a fake god that a seer had manifested to bring disorder to Thebes and seeks out the priest who is responsible (Bacchae 349-350). In my opinion, this was all part of Dionysus' plan to lure Pentheus into his trap.…
The Darkness within a Person The author of the ancient Greek tragedy Medea is called Euripides. This author is considered “one of the most gifted Athenian playwrights of the fifth century BCE… was also well known for his poetry and only 19 plays of work have survived until today” (Emmons and Tschen). Euripides was such an influential writer during his time because of his approach on Literature was different amongst other playwrights. His plays conveyed a “darker side of existence, with plot elements of suffering, revenge and insanity” (Biography Editors).…
Ancient Greece is known for many things; their philosophies, legends and most importantly, theater. Greek theater is one of the major features of Greek culture, as it displayed various aspects of how the Greeks led their lives. Antigone is a tragedy written by the playwright Sophocles, and is the third of his three Theban plays. Each of these plays have common elements and themes which Sophocles displays using his characters. An example of this is shown in the way Sophocles highlights the detrimental effects of gender inequalities found in early Greek culture through the character Ismene, portraying her as a stereotypical female character who believes she is not strong enough to stand up to man, unable to make decisions for herself and how…
Much in the same way that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, madness and its ever-changing definition––due both to perspective and to one’s own personal beliefs––is determined by each individual on a case-by-case basis. Society caters to this fluidity by manipulating conceptions of what is acceptable and correct. In many cases, madness is simply the over-stigmatization of opposing ideas from those already set by societal norms and traditions. Depending on your environment, different practices are viewed as irrational, illegal in some extremes. In the Bacchae, Euripides exploits the duality of madness and its ability to destroy societal constraints, namely through his presentation of ambiguous gender roles and gender identity.…
In Hippolytus, free will is best defined as the power to choose your own course of action. Euripides explores a portion of human autonomy where we “know what’s good and recognize it”(Euripides 2001: 380) yet struggle to “accomplish it”(Euripides 2001: 381). That is to say, a struggle between different courses of action takes place and leads to a conflicted free will. Therefore, Euripides’ quotes can help shape the argument that free will, while strained by the actions of a god, is still functional. This paper will focus on how the motifs of arrogance and internal conflict establish an explanation for where responsibility for an action lies.…
Medea and the patriarchy In Ancient Greece, most of the literature and writing were composed by elite, wealthy, and well-educated men. The play Medea, written by Euripides is no different than most of the plays of the time except for its subject matter. Medea is about Medea, a strong mother from a foreign land, who is cheated by her husband Jason. What is different about this play is that Medea does not act as a woman should according to the traditional customs of the time. Instead, Medea tries to break down the walls of injustice and point out the patriarchal society present, and the consequential oppression of women.…
Three famous Greek tragedy writers are Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. Aeschylus wrote the play The Oresteia, of these plays was Antigone. It was written about 441 B.C. and was about a girl named Antigone who defies the king’s orders and buries her brother, who was killed while leading a rebellion. In this play, many of the Greek values were expressed, which also is the purpose of most of the western civilization plays in today world (to express certain values). Also, the ideas of comedies and tragedies are used in western civilization except they are expanded and twisted around a little.…
In “Medea”, Euripides uses character to develop the theme of marriage. Set in Corinth, the city-state of Athens, Greece, the reader is given a depiction of how a lopsided marriage proved to have disastrous consequences. Medea, a woman of higher class, has “her heart on fire with passionate love for Jason” (1). She is too eager and impulsive that she willingly sacrifices everything, including her family and homeland, in order to be with him. Medea’s marriage with Jason would become secure when she aids him in the retrieval of the Golden Fleece.…
The city of Athens played a key role in ancient Greece. They were known for being one of the first city-states in Greece and their democracy. Even though they fought in many wars and had many different rulers, they eventually became successful. We have discussed the growth, evolution, and emergence of ancient Greece as a major power in the Mediterranean world. We have analyzed at least two interpretations of ancient Greece.…