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**What Apollonian aspects does Pentheus demonstrate?
**What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in The Bacchae
**Dionysus appears as a vengeful, angry god in The Bacchae, why would his cult have been attractive to the ancient Greeks?
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**What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in The Bacchae?
There are clear Apollonian and Dionysian conflicts in Euripedes' Bacchae. First, you have the city of Thebes - which has a certain structure and order (Apollonian). Dionysus brings chaos to the city. He becomes angry when his family makes him an outcast and denies that he is the son of Zeus.
Secondly, Dionysus, who represents chaos among many things in Greek mythology, chooses to go to Thebes for vengeance. This concept of vengeance is Dionysian, while it would seem that Apollonian rule would look to resolve these kinds of matters with the law (although, as stated in class, no paternity tests, no proof).
Lastly, The Maenads, aka his groupies, neglect their Apollonian duties in their domestic roles as wives and mothers and instead pursue violence, gambling, drinking, and sex. These activities are indeed Dionysian because they are apparently what these ladies want to do - they don't necessarily want to walk their children to philosophy camp or clean their husbands' togas.
The entire play is a back and forth Dionysian and Apollonian conflict - between what MUST do to maintain order and structure, and what one really wants to do.
(I posted this under the wrong post :P)
**Dionysus appears as a vengeful, angry god in The Bacchae, why would his cult have been attractive to the ancient Greeks?
The ancient Greeks would have been interested in worshipping Dionysus because he makes it very clear what is needed to please him. If he is easy to please, or at least, if the people know what they need to do to please him, then it becomes less difficult to decipher why he is angry. If the city runs out of water, milk, and wine, then perhaps the people are not worshipping Dionysus enough. If the young king's mother suggests feeding on his head, then maybe someone did not believe in Dionysus’s divinity.
Not only are his requirements straightforward, the rituals that Dionysus demands of his followers are pretty simple as well. It does not require much to allow all the women to flee to the mountains to engage in frantic dancing and the dismemberment of animal sacrifices. Nor is it very difficult to simply accept that Dionysus is a son of Zeus. What’s more, Dionysus’ followers appeared to have been granted supernatural strength and invulnerability. Though the ancient Greeks probably did not believe they would become invincible in battle, it would not have done much harm to give Dionysus his due before going to war (and of course after performing the necessary rituals for Ares).
The best part of worshipping Dionysus is that he is god that provides not only water and milk, but wine as well. Just as Tiresias suggests, wine allows people to forget the pain and troubles in their lives that make them feel sorry for themselves. Therefore, if Dionysus introduced wine to humans and wine helps people feel happier, then perhaps believing in Dionysus can lead to a happier life. There is virtually no downside to worshipping Dionysus, unless of course the ancient Greeks were worried about getting blood under their fingernails from the whole dismemberment thing. Even so, having wine to use for their weekend activities would have certainly been worth it.
What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in The Bacchae?
The Apollonian and Dionysian man complete each other because they create our society. The Apollonian man was given its name from Apollo, the sun god. He represents light and clarity. Dionysian was given his name from the Greek god Dionysus. He was the wine-god, he represents drunkenness and ecstasy. The Dionysian was the primal aspect of reality, as well as raw nature, life and death, pleasure and pain, desire, passion, sex, and aggression.
Dionysus as we know brings a lot of chaos to thebes but dionysus reprents chaos and he chooses to go to thebes for vengeance .
What Apollonian aspects does Pentheus demonstrate?
One Apollonian aspect that Pentheus displays is ego. This characteristic of Pentheus led to his blasphemy towards Dionysus. Though ego is Apollonian, Pentheus showed a Dionysian aspect in that because his ego was excessive. His hubris blinded him to the miracles of the stranger, who was really Dionysus, that he is a god. He was so compulsive in his hunt for the followers of Dionysus, that he made an impulsive decision to allow Dionysus to dress him up as a woman to spy on the Maenads. This led to his downfall. I think that if Pentheus would have used the Apollonian aspects of reason, thinking, and restraint he would have not died. If he would have had restrained his curiosity to see the rituals he would have never be dressed as a woman and would have not be in the tree alone to be spotted and killed. If he would had used reason and thinking he could have thought about the stranger was offering him and why would the stranger do this. Earlier in the play the stranger refused to reveal the rituals to Pentheus during questioning, to me it is obvious there is a motive for now wanting to reveal the rituals to an outsider. Throughout the play Pentheus demonstrated aspects of a Apollonian and Dionysian nature. I think the combination of the two resulting in his excessive compulsiveness led to his downfall.
What Apollonian aspects does Pentheus demonstrate?
The order that Pentheus represents is not just the legal order, but the proper order of all of life, including the supposedly proper control of women. Pentheus was young and powerful and wanted to establish control over Thebes. He went for what he desired. But even though he is obsessed with law and order, Pentheus is also shown to be vain, obstinate, suspicious, and arrogant.
What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in the Bacchae?
Man versus woman is the most obvious one, followed by the order of the city and the unknown/chaos in the mountains. Pentheus likes things to be a certain way in Thebes and doesn't like the frivolity and sexual freedom that he believes exists outside of Thebes' walls.
**Dionysus appears as a vengeful, angry god in The Bacchae, why would his cult have been attractive to the ancient Greeks?
Even though Dionysus is a vengeful and angry god but he is a good god to worship because the provides the people Greeks with water, milk, and WINE! He introduced wine to the people and the wine makes them happier, and forget about their troubles. Dionysus is also easy to worship in the sense that it is clear how to please him.
The Greeks continued to like Dionysus even though he was an angry god. He appealed to so many of the basic instincts. Also, it's always fun to push the boundries. Whats the fun in anything if there is not a little bit of danger in it? Dionysus could pleasure your or distroy you. He is like playing with fire.
"Satisifed in Jonesboro?" lol
Pentheus demonstrates many Apollonian characteristics. The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that he is the King of Thebes, and loves structure, order and routine. His ego also makes him severely Apollonian in the fact that he advocates whatever he believes to be right or true, and does not accept things any other way. Although he is very much realted to Apollo, he also has characteristics that are Dionysian. For example, his curiosity gets the best of him near the end when he agrees to go see the women who worship Dionysus in the mountains. That curiousity is what emminently gets him killed by his own mother.
What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in The Bacchae?
There are many instances where we see appolonian and dionysian conflicts in the bacchae. I see the affair Dionysus mom had with Zeus as a conflict in itself. The affair, representing a rebellious break of the norm(Zues' rltnshp with Hera) represents Dionysian principles overtaking the Appolonian structure and order.
The city of Thebes, which is normally under order and chaos-free(appolonian) is changed and turned into a chaotic mess when dionysus comes into town. The women, who used to be scheduled and predictable, now run wild and free in the woods. The fact that they also indulge in wine that sprouts from the ground is also a characteristic of dionysus. Another major contrast is when dionysus convinces pentheus to dress up like a woman and go see what the women are doing in the woods. Where as appolonian forces would've convinced pentheus to refuse this offer and stay in his true form(know thyself), dionysian forces took over and convinced him to change his appearance and fulfill his curiosity (lose thyself).
**Dionysus appears as a vengeful, angry god in The Bacchae, why would his cult have been attractive to the ancient Greeks?
I would suggest that the Greeks were attracted to Dionysus for several reasons. The Greeks lived by standards such as, "Nothing in excess". Dionysus, in a sense, offers liberation to the individual. Also, it is just natural for humans to be attracted to a god/idea that offers freedom from society's structure and order.
Light versus darkness. Followed by the structure and chaos. Pentheus wanted things a specific way and didn't want any Dionysian traits to come through Thebes. Throughout the entire play there is much unresolved conflict between both.
What are the Apollonian/Dionysian conflicts in the Bacchae?
The conflict of man/women is a main conflict in the Bacchae. Another conflict would the order and lawful aspects that Pentheus shows in the city to the wild and primative aspects that Dionysus, as well as the women, bring about in the forest.
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