Justice for Pentheus He was stripped of his authority. He wasn’t in his right mind. He watched his palace go up in flames. He was ripped apart by his own mother. Poor Pentheus was toyed and tinkered with until his very last breath by none other than his own cousin, Dionysus. His choice, as king of Thebes, to repress the all-powerful god not only lost him his kingdom, but ultimately his life. The Bacchae of Euripides is a true battle between the strength of a king and the power of a god. Dionysus showed no mercy, and his power destroyed a family. He sought revenge, and revenge he got. Dionysus announced to Thebes, “Your lives will wear away like sand” (83). Cruelty and suffering came shooting at Pentheus and his family faster than a bullet. …show more content…
As the ruler of a city, Pentheus was only fulfilling his duties and trying to protect his people from danger. He did not want the life-style for the people of Thebes to shift or modify regarding this stranger who wreaked havoc on the women of the city. Dionysus not only came many years later to pursue his revenge, but he came in disguise. What would convince Pentheus and the people of Thebes that he is a true God? Dionysus, the product of an illicit affair, is immature, fragile, and so power hungry that he lacks any wisdom a typical God would have. He is foolish and angry about his true nature and where he comes from. He lashes out on Pentheus to subdue his embarrassment. Dionysus drives all the women of Thebes mad and running to the mountainside, seemingly unaware that these are his mother, Semele’s, sisters. Who is his reprisal really meant for? I convey the impression that this hate is directed at his own mother, and yet Pentheus and his family are targeted with all of his anger. Pentheus was wise to not trust Dionysus. He messed with him over and over, tormenting a man who couldn’t see his near fate. Dionysus left Pentheus weak, confused, and gullible. He had him under his spell and in a daze, making it very easy to mislead and distract him. He is hallucinating, hardly remembering what he stands for. Ironically, Dionysus and Pentheus are two men confronting a similar character flaw. They are both separate to be the strongest and will not accept anything that doesn’t go their way. However, Dionysus is a God and is aware of how much power he has over mere mortals, making his out lash almost childish. He only used his power to benefit himself and boost his ego. He is so determined to prove his worth and establish his power to Thebes but appears to forget that an entire city will never unite in the worshiping of a God. There will always be somebody who is unholy, and unwilling to
Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and journalist, once wrote “All I know is, the violence rose from the fear like smoke from a fire.” What Coates meant in this quote is that the more afraid somebody becomes the more they turn to violent behavior as they think that solving problems rationally would cause them greater pain than simple violence. As the protagonist in Homer’s epic The Odyssey Odysseus lives many years away from home, naturally growing more and more afraid of the world so his first response to danger becomes pure violence, sometimes necessary and at times unnecessary. Through Odysseus’s actions in The Odyssey the Greek ideal image of how a man should be is shown as he himself suffered little harm, ending up with his wife, son, and all
Dionysus was the greek god of wine, theatre, fertility and celebrations. His father was Zeus, god of the sky and all olympians, and his mother was the princess of Theban, Semele. She was a mortal, making Dionysus the only god born of a mortal parent. Before he was born Semele was tricked by Zeus jealous ex wife, Hera, to have Zeus swear on the river styx to make a promise to Semele. Semele asked to see Zeus in his true form, though Zeus already knew what she would ask of him.
Pentheus’ mother, in her state of “intoxication” caused by Dionysus did not even realize that she was dismembering her own son. This definition of intoxication, the inability to perceive one’s surroundings as what they truly are, clearly helps promote the theme of the power of the gods in the play. Dionysius was able to corrupt the mind of Pentheus’ Mother and her peers to the extent that they were able to murder another human being without
Teiresias’s prophecy tells that the king is damned, yet he can still reverse his actions; for the only true crime is pride. By then , it is too late. Everything falls abruptly. He loses his only son left, and his wife. Charagos says, “But here is the king himself:
But, after angering Poseidon by blinding his one eyed cyclops son, Odysseus must go through brutal situations to get home thanks to the fuming god. The theme, the search for justice, is very prevalent in this text because of the fight between Odysseus and the suitors, the reunion of Odysseus and his wife Penelope and when Odysseus visits his father Laertes and Athena must restore peace because of the fight that breaks out there. To begin, the theme searching for justice is shown clearly when Odysseus returns home and kills the suitors. The text states, “Odysseus took aim and hit him with an arrow in the throat.
“But I was planning so that things would come out the best way/trying to find some release from death”(IX.420-432) Odysseus blames everyone but him, placing himself as an innocent hero whose misfortune was caused by
Disrespecting the gods spells disaster for the mortals held accountable. Menelaus, the king of Sparta, is one who infringed upon the rule that the gods must be respected. When Telemachus visits Sparta in search of information about his missing father, which prompts Menelaus to recall a run in that he had with the Old Man of the Sea. Menelaus was tasked with finding the Old Man, Proteus, to find his way home when stranded in Egypt. Proteus was described as a seer who served Poseidon, so his prophetic power was useful in helping one find their way home.
Throughout The Odyssey justice was particularly harsh; the gods punished the people on Earth whichever way they pleased. For instance, when Poseidon reprimanded the Phaeacians for sending Odysseus home he said, “They will learn at last to cease and desist from escorting every man alive – I’ll pile a huge mountain round about their port!”(13, 171-173). Although the Phaeacians were being kind and generous to Odysseus by directing him home to Ithaca, the Phaeacians went against the god’s outlook, specifically Poseidon’s, on how Odysseus should be treated. That resulted in them being punished in a cruel way, even though they were only striving to help Odysseus. Poseidon had a strong resentment towards Odysseus for blinding his son, Polyphemus, and it was likely that this was why the Phaeacians’ punishment was uncalled
Oedipus Rex essay Final draft Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way .
For example, after Odysseus pokes out the eye of Polyphemus he is filled with much pride. As he is sailing away, he shouts to Polyphemus saying, “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your son: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca!” (9. 548-552). By revealing his name to Polyphemus, he will have to death with the wrath of Poseidon, Polyphemus’ father. This could have all been prevented, if Odysseus would have just kept his mouth shut.
For example, Odysseus taunted Polyphemus and incited the wrath of Polyphemus and Poseidon, which led to the deaths of all his crewmembers. That was incredibly unwise, and not worthy of a leader who is responsible for the protection protect of his men. However, Odysseus learns his lesson, and realizes that he needed to grow through his horrifying experience of the earlier deaths. By the time Odysseus finally returns to his home, he not only has a burning desire to avenge his family by killing the suitors, but he also attained a greater understanding for the suffering of others. Even after Odysseus had satisfied his desire for revenge by killing the suitors, he refuses to gloat, and made sure
While Odysseus’ actions taken to punish the suitors may appear immoral in modern society, by considering the ways in which modern society differs from Homeric society, Odysseus’ actions are just in the context of the poem. As violence has an extremely negative connotation in modern society, the use of the death penalty is morally ambiguous, and is a highly debated topic; however, violence is far more legitimized in the society of the Odyssey, and therefore, death is a far more acceptable form of punishment. This idea is exemplified by the way in which violence is discussed between characters within the Odyssey. In particular, this general acceptance of violence is demonstrated through the fact that many of the characters within the Odyssey share an almost unanimous belief that the suitors should be put to death to pay for their crimes.
Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors was an act of justice and revenge. The act was revenge because slaughtering 108 men for courting your wife and eating your food is insane. If someone did that present-day, society would frown upon the person who committed such an act. It would be considered mass-homicide and the person would be jailed for life. On the other hand, the act is a form of justice because of the setting of the story.
Odysseus blinds and taunts the Cyclops Polyphemus, which leads to Polyphemus praying to his father, Poseidon, to curse Odysseus. The curse bestowed upon Odysseus by Poseidon is mentioned in book 9 lines 445-451 of The
On the contrary, Dionysus, the god of wine, carnival, and ritualistic madness, viewed the world as disorganized, enthusiastic, and free from limits. The Dionysian perspective looks at humanity as a unified, energetic, formless whole into which the self is ingested. For Nietzsche, the Dionysian point of view was the more invigorating and imperative way to deal with life; he argued that the Apollonian, more "rationalized" view of tragedy extinguished some of life's mystery and romanticism. This has heavily influenced my thought process; life is an unrelenting chaotic process, to find order and analytical answers seems irrational. He provides a solid indictment of modernity while castigating popular culture.