Monday, March 3, 2014


So now that I've had a ton of other beings working on my blog for me while I was *ahem* preoccupied, I have to return to make this one last post summarizing all the cool stuff they said. *ahem* Here I go...
So I heard rumors of bad stuff going down in Thebes, people were insulting my mother's honor! They said that she never really made love to Zeus and that the whole reason she was struck down by lightning was because she lied about it. Now I can't let my dear mother's name be tarnished along with my own, because of these rumors they didn't consider me a real god at all and Pentheus forbid the people of Thebes from praising me as a god. Psh what a buttface amirite? So I went to Thebes and called for people to come to Mt. Cithaeron, and many maenads showed up (including my aunts Agaue, Autonoe, and Ino  ). Now Pentheus, returning to his palace, found Tiresias and Cadmus there, dressed in Bacchic robes of fawnskin and crowns of ivy, they were planning on going to Mr. Cithaeron to praise me. Pentheus was angry, he didn't believe in divine madness the idiot, he thought my maenads were just using me as an excuse to get drunk, be reckless, and sleep around, not that there's anything wrong with that at all but try tellin' Pentheus that... Anyways I was leading the maenads in a mortal guise and so Pentheus heard I was the leader and was encouraging Bacchic worship. He had me captured (I actually just let myself be captured) and locked up. So then he brought out the torture, this dude is a freak, but as I'm a god I evaded it every time. He tried to tie me, ended up tying a bull, he tried to stab me, he stabs a shadow, etc etc. So I'm sick and tired of this and make an earthquake and a fire. Pentheus is really freaked out and left weak and helpless. I try to convince him to just let people worship me, I mean Dionysus (human guise remember?) but he's stubborn as ever. Thank goodness at that moment a cowherd appeared and he told us that my maenads ripped apart his whole herd in their madness. Pentheus is (weirdly) excited by the story, and noticing this I offer to let him see the maenads up close. You know he was thinking of just sending soldiers but his overwhelming curiosity got the better of him, he took up my offer. So I dressed Pentheus in a wig and women's clothing (he looked like a fool with his beard) but he thought he looked nice, vain one isn't he? So anyways I placed him on a bent tree and let it up straight. As soon as it was up my maenads saw him, I turned back into my divine form and ordered them to kill Pentheus (nothing personal it's just business y'know?) So they started pulling all his limbs, including his mom LMAO. They ended up ripping his limbs and head off haha and I tricked Agaue, his mother, into thinking his head was the head of a lion, she returned to the castle boasting of her brave kill. Cadmus saw what the head really was and brought Agaue's mind back to reality. She was devastated and started crying and shiz. So I appear in my true form, I banish Agaue and say that Cadmus and his wife will turn into snakes and invade Greek lands with a horde of vikings. Aaaaand now I'm praised in Thebes THE END.
The Resolution is at the end of the story when Agaue returns to the castle with the head of Pentheus because it's proof that he's dead and so the conflict is over. It also give Dionysus a reason to banish Pentheus's family and any of his followers, therefore returning Dionysus to God status and bringing honor back to his mother Semele's name.


Hey I'm back! Talking about the climax of the story! I'd say it's when Dionysus finally overpowers Pentheus and he's killed by the maenads. It's like the clash between the two, the wild mirthful god and the strict, harsh nonbeliever. It's drawing the story of these two opposing forces, these two opposing beings, to a grand closure. The death of Pentheus was inevitable though because of Dionysus's mighty power, which he uses to not only kill Pentheus but to ban his family therefore gaining praise in Thebes. That's the climax, good bye thanks for listening!

Hello! Melpomene here again to discuss the conflict in the Bacchae. I would say the main conflict is that praising Dionysus is forbidden in Thebes and Dionysus aims to change that. It's a Pentheus vs. Dionysus Grecian style showdown of wit and skill. While Pentheus fights to keep law in his city, more and more maenads leave everyday. Dionysus amasses an army of them and further encourages Pentheus to eradicate him and his followers. So the main conflict is one between a disbeliever and a god, classic.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Hey there, Melpomene the muse of Tragedy here to delve deeper into the story the Bacchae
That hair is a tragedy!! 
Aphrodite's probably right.. *sigh* but um anyways I'm here to talk about the characters in the Bacchae. First off Dionysus, one of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus, he is joyous, wrathful, mad, and very powerful. That makes him sound a bit scary but he's really a fun guy. He's tall, androgynous, and has dark eyes and long unruly hair. Oh why speak of the devi-
 
Melpomeneeee are you talking about me???
Yes! I was actually describing you and your role in the Bacch-
I don't care okay bye.
Um alright... anyways the next character is Pentheus, the king of Thebes and Semele's brother. He's very strict and believes that Dionysus isn't a real god. He will not hesitate to resort to trickery, treachery, and torture to get his way. He is tall and noble looking with long dark hair and fair skin, he's very vain about his looks.
Moving on to Tiresias and Cadmus, they're both old men who believe in Dionysus and seek to honor him. Cadmus is Semele's father and Tiresias is his dear friend. Tiresias is a blind man, but persistent. Both men know it will be difficult but they insist on honoring Semele's child.
Those are the main characters involved and I hope you enjoyed it, good bye until next time.



Okay so I usually don't do these blogs myself but I was the only one who was actually there so here goes(I had to sober up for this so you better pay attention). I remember the hills.. they were a deep green color, and the grass swayed about in the wind, it smelled like grass too, sweet and loamy. The tree's quivered and shook their leaves about in the breeze. I remember my maenads were there, talking among themselves and feasting. Then the palace, it had lots of arches (idk why but I guess Pentheus had a thing for arches). It was mostly stone, really bright, and smelled like flowers... I'm not sure what kind though? It felt a little restrictive there were so many rules and it was so dusty, I really didn't like it. I think I much prefer the time we were in the woods to the palace.. so yeah that kinda sums it up I'm gonna go have a drink.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Hello! I'm Thalia! The muse of comedy!
And I'm Euterpe, muse of music.
We're here to talk about Dionysus's appearance and
influence in both ancient and modern culture!
One of my favorite is the song "Dionysus" inspired
 by the god himself, and composed by Jocelyn Pook
The chanting background reminds me of those Dionysian
 rites the maenads go through, don't you think so Thalia??
Erm... yes? I was going to talk about the many 
appearances of Dionysus in theater, movies and books.
He appeared in the Percy Jackson series as a camp counselor
played by Luke Camilleri in the Lightning Thief, and Stanley
Tucci in The Sea of Monsters. And some people even 
think that Willy Wonka may be a Dionysian character.
(Luke Camilleri)
(Stanley Tucci)
Really? That's fascinating!
Dionysus also inspired many great artists, such as Michelangelo,
Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci. Shown below is a work done by
Titian depicting Dionysus falling in love with his future wife, 
Ariadne, while accompanied by his band of satyrs and maenads.
File:Titian Bacchus and Ariadne.jpg
Truly gorgeous work I say.
I highly agree. 
So that about sums up this post...
            Bye everybody! We hope you enjoyed it!