Bacchae

Bacchae is Euripides' tragedy in which Dionysus returns to Thebes to establish recognition of his divinity. King Pentheus attempts to suppress the new worship, while women of the city have left their homes for the mountains. The god draws Pentheus into an encounter whose consequences destroy both royal authority and family bonds. Choral celebration and scenes of terror remain closely connected, giving the play a disturbing contrast between the promise of release and the loss of restraint. Its conflict resists a simple division between reasonable government and irrational religion, since pride and destructive power appear on more than one side.