"No blood was drawn by their pointed spears, whether they used bronze or iron, but the Bacchants, hurling their wands from their hands, inflicted wounds and made those villagers turn and run - women routing men - surely the work of some god."
- The Bacchae, Page 147
Is it really so outrageous to believe a woman would fight a man? Apparently so. The Bacchants are insane, wild and 'free', and they fight and chase the villagers in their madness. They injure without piercing the skin and turn the tide of the heirarchy. No longer are men above women, they now cower. Is this what Dionysus planned? For a complete role reversal? It would appear that way as he also dresses Pentheus as a women. He is changing the entire system around.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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It certainly seems that way. Of course you know that Euripides wanted to emphasize the fact that only a god would be capable of pulling off such a scheme that's as dauntingly impossible as that. What I don't seem to understand is why Dionysus simply didn't just ask his father for a lightning storm or something similarly catastrophic to get the point across much faster.
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