I think the idea of man respecting the Gods, but the Gods not respecting man is a very unusual interesting topic that surfaces within this play. The fact that Zues, the almighty, can practically do whatever he pleases and let others suffer for his actions just shows how bad of a relationship the Gods have with humans. This can be paralleled with a real life situation with people who have wealth and power.  Although this is just an ancient Greek play, I believe it has a lot of themes that people can relate to today. The theme of power and how people are controlled plays a huge role in the play and in today’s society. 

Almost identical to as in The Bacchae as we have today, the balance between control and freedom in a healthy society or mind is very essential to the nature of theater

In the Bacchea, it says ” If there’s a man who disrespects the gods, let him think about hot this man [Pentheus] perishes then he should develop faith in them.” This play carry’s out multiple functions, such as, explaining the mythology of Dionysus, and reinforcing faith in the gods. On one hand we see the power of Dionysus and what he can do for those that revere him, and also the vengeful side of him which drives the plot.

In the play Bacchae, it shows tragic ending that Agave kills her son Pentheus herself because she is driven mad by God, Dionysus, for his revenge. Like Bacchae, many of plays in ancient Greek personified and described Gods that they abuse their power. Why did people in ancient Greek prefer to write about tragic plays and God’s wrong behaviors in plays? 

What was it about ancient Greek culture or tradition that had inspired most of the playwrights to write such detailed and imaginative stories like The Bacchae or Oedipus? What was is it about democracy or other political factors that was so common in many ancient Greeks tragedies?

I find it interesting to read about how performances played such a big part in spreading the news about religion. It shows how theater was actually crucial to many religions on spreading the word. Without these performances, I wonder how different would we view different cultures and religions. Would theater be what it is today?

With the Bacchae in mind, I wonder today – who are our new gods that we revere and imitate? Are modern examples like Peter Pan the new deities we worship through theatre? Or are they simply odd transmutations of older beings?

I enjoyed reading this play it has a extreme twist to it that kept it interesting . My question is exactly what does this play teach us about religious devotion, about the relationship between humans and the divine?

Was this play aiming more to paint Dionysus in a bad light or to get people to revere him? I think it is the former for three reasons: 1) the play seemed to emphasize that Bacchic traditions were an outside (non-Greek) influence, and its introduction into Greek society brought chaos, namely mindless debauchery; 2) Dionysus engages in trickery in order to humiliate Pentheus; and 3) Dionysus is unforgiving even to Cadmus, who from the start of the play converted to worshiping the god. At the same time, though, Dionysus was a major Greek god, so I find it hard to believe the playwright’s purpose would be to ridicule the god than to revere him.

One of the reasons the people of Greece enjoyed the performances was to please there Gods and the stories that are told are to spread there message. I have noticed most religions try not to imitate there God or Gods because they feel it is disrespectful. I find it interesting how each culture has its own point of views.