Bacchae (Hackett Classics)

When I read this play it was very helpful to read the forward to assist in my understanding of the ancient time in which it was written. Though I knew that Athens was a prominent country at that particular time it was not part of my general knowledge. It appears that this play was written with the crucifixion of Christ in mind. The author took great steps to ensure that the reader understood the mores of the time and introduced the actors very well. I thought the play read very well in English translation and was very pleased with the storyline, though we knew the outcome of the play. The one thing I did not like about this review is the choice to place a picture of Elvis Presley on the cover of the book. This was not necessary. On a final note, it is very interesting that the region depicted in this play has the same terrible issues going on in one's life in the current time. Even though Athens, Greece and the Middle East have been written about for thousands of years, violence against neighbors continues to thrive even today. Evidently, it matters not to anyone in that region of the world. It is true that we have the same issues here in our country, though not on such a scale. Athens gave us the underpinnings of a democracy and no country has gotten it right yet.

"The Bacchae," along with Sophocles' "Oedipus at Colonus," marks the end of the great age of Greek tragedy. The conventional wisdom about this play--at least since Friedrich Nietzsche--is that here Euripides repented his earlier rationalist debunking of the Olympian pantheon and returned to the simple faith of his ancestors. I have my doubts. "The Bacchae" resembles nothing so much as a cautionary tale of the 1960s counterculture. While Pentheus, with his mental rigidity and fear of change, bears a striking resemblance to the hero of Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," Dionysus brings to mind such charismatic--and deadly--cult leaders as Charles Manson, David Koresh, and Jim Jones. Interestingly Dionysus' entourage, like the Manson family, is almost exclusively female. The disgusting savagery of Dionysian ritual illustrates the dangers of abandoning reason, logic, and human decency to follow our dark primitive instincts. A modern treatment of the same theme is Thomas Tryon's "Harvest Home." Paul Woodruff provided the highly informative introduction (although I disagree thoroughly with his conclusions) and his translation into vigorous, straightforward contemporary English gives us a glimpse of what a shattering impact "The Bacchae" must have had on its first audience. "The Bacchae" may well be one of the most disturbing creations in the western literary canon.

Was what was ordered just took a long time to arrive.

i mean, if you want the bacchae that's definitely what this is. still confused about what elvis has to do with anything though

Even though the circumstances aren't current - citizens running off to the countryside to worship Bacchae - and the drama is not what moderns expect - most of the action takes place offstage, there is something in this play that is moving and still speaks to the human experience - at least it did to me. Perhaps it's simply that the characters are thoroughly invested in what they believe to be right and true - and they are also deluded - and pay heavily, the heaviest possible price. Impossible not to be moved by that fundamental human experience even if circumstances are completely different now.I am not competent to judge the translation, other than it was easy to read. The notes were comprehensive, the opening introduction was very helpful.