Date Posted:15:59:03 02/13/08 Wed Author: Janelle Subject: Re: The Bacchae's original act of violence In reply to:
Betsy Peters
's message, "The Bacchae's original act of violence" on 05:44:44 02/12/08 Tue
I noticed that line in the play too, Betsy, and I was not sure what to make of it either. I think, though, there are at least a couple of ways to look at this. First, I think this could be a form of setting the story back further. It is an act of violence that has occurred before Pentheus' murder, but I think that perhaps this has been mythologized. Perhaps Actaeon was attacked in the same way as Pentheus, but because of the horror of this reality the story was mythologized to say that he was killed by dogs. It is still brutal but not as brutal as hearing that he was ripped apart by humans.
Another approach we can take is just relating this incident to the death of Pentheus by showing how the distinctions between man and beast were blurred. The bacchae were as vicious and brutal as those dogs and ripped Pentheus apart without weapons.
