J. Andrew McLaughlin
Ó 1996

The cult of Dionysus is based on animal. The entire focus of the Bacchic experience is a lack of society - a disregard of the laws and customs of man. The ancient Greeks in their wisdom saw the human animal as an entity composed of many features, including (but not restricted to) the "cultured" and "moral" aspects, and in this case the recognition that humans are also driven by more animal instincts. This realization led to the Dionysian celebration of these aspects just as the other Gods were worshiped for their representative qualities. Apollo for example is celebrated among other things as the patron of self- restraint and wisdom: "Nothing in excess" and "Know yourself'. In the worship of Bromius, this "untamed" side of man is embodied by the image of the wild beast. Sexual desire, unrestricted as like the animal by the moral judgements of society, is celebrated. The woman in particular is directed to assume this unusual role in a culture to which female fidelity was a very important recurring theme. The nature of this cult amidst the Greeks, who took pride in their civilization, presents the question, "Surely there were those who disapproved?". In Euripides' Bacchae we see the struggle between Pentheus the disbeliever and the god Dionysus, whose Maenads imitate and celebrate the animal. What is the importance of animals in the play? Throughout the work countless references are made to hunting. What significance does this metaphor represent?

Indeed, in the play almost every character is likened to an animal which matches an individual role in the hunt. One important point however is the pair of reversals which occur: the "hunter" becomes the "prey" in at least two separate instances. In all cases, this change occurs to the advantage of the Bacchae and their god. The god Dionysus is represented as the personification of the "man-beast" or "deity-beast". Known as "the bull-homed god" (p. 199) Dionysus begins his interaction with Pentheus in the role of the "hunted". Pentheus sends his men to look for the mysterious stranger and when they return successful they report "We captured the quarry you sent us to catch." (p. 211). Of course, the plot revolves around the reversal of this particular relationship. Although one could argue that in fact Pentheus is being "hunted" by Bromius throughout the work, these initial roles are more symbolic; they serve to portray Pentheus as a man who commits a sacrilege and in the words of the chorus "The gods ... hunt the unholy" (p. 234).

The second such reversal occurs when the herdsmen attempt to disrupt the activities of the Maenads on the Mountainside. Of course one should make note of the association of these men with sheep and cows. These are not animals which hunt, however after we see the "cowherds and shepherds ... wondering and arguing among ourselves at these fantastic things," (p. 226) they contemplate whether they might catch the Maenads, asking, "Shall we earn a little favor with King Pentheus by hunting his mother Agave out of the revels?" (p. 226). What follows is the predictable reversal of roles in which clearly, the Bacchae immediately become the hunters:

"Hounds who run with me, men are hunting us down! Follow, follow me ... Unarmed, they swooped down upon the herds of cattle" (p. 226).

In this case it is those who practice to the worship of Dionysus, therefore abandoning themselves to their animal tendencies through the god, who represent the hunters.

The Maenads themselves are the most obvious example of the "man-beast" in the play. In fact, they are associated with several different types of creature - both predatory and otherwise. For example after they attack the shepherds: "they flew like birds ... they swooped on Hysiae and on Erythrae" (p. 227). In another example the Maenads are described behaving as mothers to different types of animal: "new mothers who had left their babies behind at home nestled gazelles and young wolves in their arms, suckling them.' (p. 225). And yet in another situation, they are compared with cattle: "... trampled underfoot by the murderous herd of your Maenads" (p. 240) and then with animals who represent the prey "tossing my head for joy ... as a running fawn might frisk ... free from fear of the hunt" (p. 233). The women are used as a metaphor for all aspects of Bacchic worship. They represent all of the untamed nature that they celebrate, fulfilling many animal roles.

Ever the disbeliever, even Pentheus himself is consistently identified with the animals as "son of Echion, born of the breed of Earth, spawned by the dragon," (p. 218) This is significant also when we take into account that this particular dragon was slain by Cadmus in order to found Thebes; in this context, we see that now Pentheus must also be slain, but this time to save Thebes from the god's anger: "O Justice, stab the evil earth-born spawn of Echion!" (p. 239). Ironically, Agave who does not recognize her own son makes unknowing reference to herself when she asks, "What bore him, Bacchae? This man was born of no woman. Some lioness gave him birth,". Lastly, Cadmus. He is punished in the end by the god despite the fact that he along with Tiresias joined the Bacchic revels. Note the fact that Cadmus seems to miss the point completely, rationalizing his acceptance of the whole procedure with the words

"Even if this Dionysus is no god, as you assert, persuade yourself that he is. The fiction is a noble one, for Semele will seem to be the mother of a god, and this confers no small distinction on our family" (p. 208)

Cadmus never receives any comparison with animals. He is not one of the true revelers, however he does not scoff as Pentheus does and therefore plays no role in the hunt.

Near the end of the play, as Pentheus is about to meet his doom, we are treated to a multitude of references to Dionysus in the role of the hunter: As he prepares to lead the king to the mountain where the Maenads dance, he says "Women, our prey now thrashes in the net we threw" (p. 233) and begins his metamorphosis from human-like creature to animal in the eyes of Pentheus. Pentheus asks "And you - you are a bull who walks before me there. Horns have sprouted from your head. Have you always been a beast?" (p. 235-236). As Dionysus makes the transition from man (god) to beast, he also completes the transformation from hunted to hunter.

Hunting is the most prominent recurring theme throughout this work. As Pentheus is killed the chorus of women celebrate the final hunt which has occurred, singing "Bacchus the hunter lashed the Maenads against his prey." (p. 247) and after the Maenads return home from the mountain, twice Agave says "Happy was the hunting" (p. 246). Thus the whole play represents one hunt, where the "hunter" becomes "prey" to the hunter god Dionysus. The importance of the animal imagery in !he Bacchae is evident in that the whole idea of Bacchic worship is to celebrate the natural - the instinctive and untamed. Maybe in our own way we too believe in the Bacchic celebration as the Greeks did, "getting back to nature" and recognizing in man (and woman) the animal as well as the civilized. Indeed, one might suggest that we have modem-day equivalents in "Primal scream therapy" and therapeutic weekend retreats for shouting and running naked through the forest. In any event, the Dionysian religion used these animal symbols to represent the animal side of man, and Euripides utilizes this along with the metaphor of the hunt to argue effectively for the worship of Bromius, and more importantly for recognition of this aspect of our natures as human beings.

 

 

Bibliography

Euripides, "The Bacchae," Greek Tragedies, Volume 3 2nd Edition, Ed: David Greene and Richard Lattimore. Trans: William Arrowsmith (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960), pp 195-260.