If thebes must fall, oh might the fates afford a nobler doom from famine, fire, or sword. Pentheus bans anyone from worshipping bacchus and bacchus declares war. Pentheus and bacchus pentheus was a skeptical man who doubted tiresias prophecies, so when the blind man foretold that pentheus would disrespect the power of bacchus as a god and be ripped apart by the hands of his own mother and sisters for his faithlessness, pentheus didnt believe him. Pentheus and bacchus, acoetes and the lydian sailors, pentheus amd. By focusing on the theme of revenge, ovid invites comparisons with virgils aeneid, which portrays aeneass quest to establish a city, and junos resulting wrath. When people cross boundaries, the result is blindness, death by sex, death by dogs, or an equally horrible fate. Latin text with introduction, commentary, glossary of terms, vocabulary aid and study questions.
With the beginning of book 3, ovids literary universe takes on a darker. The aeneid has regularly been read as, demonstrating how and why rome will stride forward into history. We learn of cadmus battle with the serpent, of civil war, and the aftermath, the founding of the city of thebes. Open book publishers is a nonprofit independent initiative. All but five kill one another in battle, but those five, along with cadmus, found the city of thebes. This makes him a cousin to the god bacchus dionysos, but. Plot the third book of ovid s metamorphoses contains six myths that tell the tales of divine punishment. Pentheus tries to rally the citizens of thebes against bacchus and his. Book 3 of ovid s metamorphosis features the god bacchuss origin story as the twiceborn son of jupiter and semele, a daughter of cadmus, founder of thebes.
Her sisters were autonoe, ino and semele, and her brother was polydorus. The first protagonist of the book is the phoenician prince cadmus, whose appearance is a carryover from the concluding rapeabduction tale of the previous book. Metamorphoses book iii book iv summary and analysis. From cadmus founder of the city of thebes, the book progresses to his gandson actaeon, daughter semele turned into a stag, teiresias a seer of thebes, narcissus and echo, the turning of sailors into dolphins, and pentheus a king of thebes, who rejects the worship of bacchus, god of wine and ecstasy. Pentheus threatens to make acoetes into an example by killing him. Hardie illustrated that the theban narrative of ovid metamorphoses 3 and 4 was the first antiaeneid. Yet pentheus, bold despiser of the gods, son of echion, scoffed at all his praise, and, sole of man deriding the great seer, upbraided him his hapless loss of sight. Yet pentheus, bold despiser of the gods, son of echion, scoffed at all his praise, and, sole of man deriding the great seer, upbraided him his hapless loss. Here the patronymic identifies pentheus as son of echion, one of the surviving spartoi. Actaeon sees diana naked, is changed into a stag, and. In ovids metamorphoses, king pentheus is warned by the blind seer tiresias to welcome bacchus or else your blood will be poured out and defile the woods and your mother and her sisters. Shakespeares comedy midsummer nights dream, boccaccios decameron, chaucers canterbury tales, the thousand and one arabian nights, and ovid s metamorphoses are among the most famous collections of stories in which one story surrounds another. Riley contents introductory material from bell edition.
In salmacis and hermaphrodituss case, the rejected nymph asks the gods. This book of metamorphosesbegins the story of the descendants of agenor. Jan 06, 2019 plate 30 the death of pentheus pentheus a matre, sororibusq discerpitur, from ovid s metamorphoses met dp864259. Latin text with introduction, commentary, glossary of terms, vocabulary aid and study questions en ligne. Should pentheus and the rest of thebes be terrified of his arrival, when acrisius had courage enough to defy a false god, and shut the gates of argos at his. Dec 16, 2020 to get a purchase on the figure of pentheus in the metamorphoses, it is useful to set ovids characterization of the young theban king against his delineation in the bacchae. Ovid s version diverges from euripides work in several areas. It contains cadmus founding of thebes, acteons encounter with diana, the death of semele and birth of bacchus, the blinding of tiresias, the tragedy of narcissus and echo, and the death of pentheus at the hands of worshippers of bacchus. Ovid, metamorphoses 1 theoi classical texts library. Questions and answers last updated on may 6, 2015, by enotes editorial. Read the full text translated into english by samuel garth, john dryden and others. Ovid focuses on lesser known tales of thebes rather than on the more familiar story of oedipus and his children, depicted by aeschylus, sophocles, and euripides. He was son of echion, one of the spartoi, and king of thebes.
The metamorphoses of ovid books ivii translated by henry t. Pentheus tries to persuade his family and others not to worship bacchus. Find out what happens in our book 3 summary for the metamorphoses by ovid. Ovid s extraordinary story of thebes founding and bloody unravelling spans books 2 and 3 of his epic poem, the metamorphoses. Even when the narrative veers off as in the case of tiresias, echo and narcissus, and the daughters of minyas the minyeides thebes remains an important point of. With the beginning of book 3, ovid s literary universe takes on a darker complexion. While thebes is founded happily, its subsequent history quickly grows.
She married echion, one of the five spartoi, and was the mother of pentheus, a king of thebes. She was the queen of the maenads, followers of dionysus also known. Ovids extraordinary story of thebes founding and bloody unravelling spans books 2 and 3 of his epic poem, the metamorphoses. While nearly all thebans welcome the new cult, pentheus is obstinate in his scepticism. Should pentheus and the rest of thebes be terrified of his arrival, when acrisius had.
Their father was so distraught over his daughters kidnapping that he threatened cadmus with exile if he didnt find her. Youll get access to all of the the metamorphoses of ovid. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. And bacchus punishes pentheus for failing to worship him. In contrast to the benevolent fathers in book i and book ii, we now see agenors love for his daughtereuropalead to the cruel exile of his son cadmus, who roams the worldat his fathers commandlooking in vain for his lost sister. This extract from ovids metamorphoses recounts the confrontation of pentheus, king of thebes, with his divine cousin, bacchus, the god of wine. Hardie illustrated that the theban narrative of ovid metamorphoses 3 and 4 was the. Pentheus was a skeptical man who doubted tiresias prophecies, so when the blind man foretold that pentheus would disrespect the power of bacchus as a god and be ripped apart by the hands of his own mother and sisters for his faithlessness, pentheus didnt believe him the skeptical man was angry at the way the citizens of thebes rushed around in. Dec 22, 2020 here the patronymic identifies pentheus as son of echion, one of the surviving spartoi. In response, tiresias prophesies that pentheus will be killed for disrespecting the god bacchus. Download citation vergil and the death of pentheus in ovid, metamorphoses 3 in a pivotal article in 1990, p. Not even acoetes, a convert to the worship of bacchus, can change his mind.
Even when the narrative veers off as in the case of tiresias, echo and narcissus, and the daughters of minyas the minyeides thebes remains an important point of reference. Pentheus was a skeptical man who doubted tiresias prophecies, so when the blind man foretold that pentheus would disrespect the power of bacchus as a god and be ripped apart by the hands of his own mother and sisters for his faithlessness, pentheus didnt believe him. When first encountering him midway through book 3, we get the tale of. Ovid tells us that her unborn child is later extracted from her womb and implanted in jupiters thigh. Metamorphoses summary and analysis of book iii book iv. Book iii of ovids narrative poem metamorphoses, first published in 8 ce. The third book of ovid s metamorphoses contains six myths that tell the tales of divine punishment.
In ovid, by contrast, the captive identifies himself as acoetes 582, which name was evidently taken from pacuvius lost tragedy pentheus or. I, by ovid, translated by henry thomas riley, comprises public domain material in the united states. In books iv and v, ovid tells of perseuss victory over atlas, his rescue of and marriage to andromeda, and his battle with phineus. Metamorphoses study guide contains a biography of ovid, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Aug 04, 2018 tiresias was a mythological blind seer who plays a significant role in greek tragedy involving the house of thebes. Pentheus completes book 3s trio of distressing fates, but. This extract from ovid s metamorphoses recounts the confrontation of pentheus, king of thebes, with his divine cousin, bacchus, the god of wine. Ovid follows euripides in having pentheus issue orders for bacchus arrest, and in both texts his henchmen return with one of the gods followers instead bacch. The house of fathers continues with the house of agenor. Dec 16, 2020 with the beginning of book 3, ovids literary universe takes on a darker complexion.
At the opening of book 3, ovid gave the impression that all of cadmus companions were killed 3. The focus in this section is less on the gods exploits and more on the mortals who suffer at their hands. This book begins auspiciously, with the founding of thebes. Agave was the eldest daughter of cadmus, the king and founder of the city of thebes, greece, and of the goddess harmonia. Book 3 a new complete downloadable english translation with comprehensive index, and other poetry translations including baudelaire, chinese, european. Each act of revenge is accompanied by an ironic twist at the expense of the victim. Ovid, metamorphoses, book 3 english text johnstoniatexts. Pentheus and bacchus narcissus fate, when known throughout the land and cities of achaia, added fame deserved, to blind tiresias,mighty seer. In book iii, the narrator tells several stories connected to cadmuss founding of thebes. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 card. Book iii of ovid s narrative poem metamorphoses, first published in 8 ce. The main story ovid tells in book 3 concerns the founding of the greek city of thebes and the curses that befall it at the hands of three olympian gods. Ovid has evidently borrowed the motif of a follower of bacchus taken prisoner by pentheus from euripides bacchae, where the prisoner, who never gives his name, is the god himself in disguise.
When the time rolls around, thats where its born from. This chapter examines how king pentheus tries to address thebes social breakdown into bacchanalia with an absurd harangue, exhorting his frenzied subjects to forsake the new god in favour of another role modelthe monstrous serpent cadmus slew after it had killed his men nearly prevented the citys founding. The brother of europa, he built the city of cadmeia thebes, around a spot where he saw a cow lie down. Book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii introductory material from mckay edition. Pentheus dismisses tiresias and ignores his warnings. What was the result of pentheus death in the city of thebes. Notwithstanding the warnings of the seer tiresias and the cautionary tale of a character acoetes perhaps bacchus in disguise, who tells of how. Vergil and the death of pentheus in ovid, metamorphoses 3. Pentheus, the king of thebes, scorns tiresias and the gods, especially the new god, bacchus. This extract from ovid s theban history recounts the confrontation of pentheus, king of thebes, with his divine cousin, bacchus, the god of wine. He did not include discussion of the death of pentheus at the. Soon bacchus arrives in thebes and is greeted by his reveling worshippers. We may also add the old senes and young men iuvenes of thebes whom pentheus tries to rally against bacchus 3. Tiresias prophesizes that pentheus must honor bacchus or he will be ripped limb from limb.
In ovid s account, three divine figures damn the household of cadmus and the founding of thebes. Notwithstanding the warnings of the seer tiresias and the cautionary tale of a character acoetes perhaps bacchus in disguise, who tells of how the god once transformed a group of blasphemous sailors into dolphins, pentheus refuses to acknowledge. In some cases ovid plays with transforming or switching genders entirely, a highly imaginative form of transformation. Metamorphoses study guide contains a biography of ovid, literature essays.
Central panel of the pentheus mosaic depicting pentheus being killed by. The story of pentheus is also discussed by ovid in his metamorphoses 3. He writes about the death of actaeon and semele, the birth of bacchus, and pentheus s refusal to worship bacchus. Dec 15, 2020 the metamorphoses is perhaps ovid s most innovative work, an epic on a majestic scale that refuses to take epic seriously. Cadmus was sent out by his father, king of sidon, to find his sister, europa. This part of ovid s theban history recounts the confrontation of pentheus, king of thebes, with his divine cousin, bacchus, the god of wine. Sep 05, 2016 this extract from ovid s theban history recounts the confrontation of pentheus, king of thebes, with his divine cousin, bacchus, the god of wine. The reference to echion points back to the beginning of book 3, where ovid tells the story of the foundation of thebes. The only person who doesnt respect tiresias is pentheus, prince of thebes, who makes fun of him for being blind. In ovids account, three divine figures damn the household of cadmus and the founding of thebes. Comparing book 3 of ovid s metamorphoses to sophocles oedipus the. Cadmus, his companions, the dragon of mars, the spartoi 3. The tale of salmacis and hermaphroditus continues a trend in metamorphoses that began in book 3 with tiresias, who changed from a man to a woman and back. A summary of part x section3 in ovids metamorphoses.
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