Mystery Cults, Theatre and Athenian Politics : A Reading of Euripides' Bacchae and Aristophanes' Frogs

This new comparative reading of Euripides' __Bacchae__ and Aristophanes' __Frogs__ sets the two plays squarely in their contemporary social and political context and explores their impact on the audiences of the time. Both were composed during a crucial period of Athenian political life following the oligarchic seizure of power in 411 BC and the restoration of democracy in 410 BC, and were in all likelihood produced nearly simultaneously a few months before the rise of the Thirty Tyrants and the ensuing civil war. They also demonstrate significant similarities that are particularly notable among extant Attic theatre productions, including the role of the god Dionysos as protagonist and architect of religious and political action, and the presence of Demetrian and Dionysiac mystic choruses as proponents of the appeasement of civil discord as the cure for Athens' ills. Focusing on the mystic, civic and political content of both __Bacchae__ and __Frogs__, this volume offers not only a new reading of the plays, but also an interdisciplinary perspective on the special characteristics of mystery cults in Athens in their political context and the nature of theatrical audiences and their reaction to mystic themes. Its illumination of the function of each play at a pivotal moment in fifth-century Athenian politics will be of value to scholars and students of ancient Greek drama, religion and history. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Dedication 6 Epigraph 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 11 Map 12 Preface 13 Definitions 14 Part One Summary and Context 16 1 The Plays, the Eleusinian and Great Dionysia Festival 18 1.1 The plays 18 1.2 The Attic cult of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis 21 1.3 The Great Dionysia 25 2 Mysteries and Mystery Initiation in Athens 28 2.1 Mystical initiation in a world context 29 2.3 Plutarch’s initiation experience 38 2.4 Mysteries, ethics and the afterlife in Plato 40 2.5 The imagery of the mysteries 42 2.6 Modern visions of the afterlife 46 3 Initiates and Theatre Audiences in Athens 50 3.1 Initiates in Athens 50 3.2 Theatre audiences in Athens 55 3.3 Women in theatre audiences 59 4 Mystery Rituals and Theatre Performances 64 4.1 Theatre and poetic inspiration 65 4.2 Music and divinity 68 4.3 Catharsis and theatre reception 72 4.4 Ecstasy and the aulos 74 4.5 Dance, chorus and audience 77 5 The Polis, Mystery Cults and Civic Ideology 82 5.1 Political implications of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter 82 5.2 Mystical/political values in Aeschylus’ Oresteia 88 6 Historical Context and Episodes 96 6.1 Stasis 97 6.2 Epimenides, the Initiation of the Polis and Solon 100 6.3 Demeter, Miltiades and Telines 104 6.4 The Herms’ and Eleusinian mysteries’ scandal 107 6.5 Aeschylus, Diagoras and Asebeia 112 6.6 Religion, the demos and the Arginusae trial 114 6.7 The overthrow of the Thirty and civic reconciliation 120 Part Two The Plays 130 7 Audiences, Similarities and Scholars’ Misapprehension of Pentheus 132 7.1 Bacchae and its audience 132 7.2 Similarities between the Bacchae and Frogs 134 7.3 Politics and scholarship 136 7.4 The ‘paradox’ of Bacchae 139 8 Politics in the Plays 144 8.1 The polis and stasis 146 8.2 The polis and tyranny 154 8.3 Euripides and tyranny 157 8.4 Pentheus the tyrant 160 8.5 The adversaries of the chorus in Frogs 164 8.6 The polis and money 166 9 Mystery Cults and the Choruses 168 9.1 Dionysus and Demeter, mystery deities 168 9.2 Mystery cults’ spaces 176 9.3 Lights in the night, fire and torches 178 9.4 The choruses/ thiasoi 180 9.5 Religious, moral and political values 184 9.6 Interpreting Bacchae ’s stasima 196 10 Political Implications 202 10.1 Equality in Bacchae and Frogs 203 10.2 The plays’ political goal 207 Conclusions 212 Notes 214 References 250 Index 266 "This new comparative reading of Euripides' Bacchae and Aristophanes' Frogs sets the two plays squarely in their contemporary social and political context and explores their impact on the audiences of the time. Both were composed during a crucial period of Athenian political life following the oligarchic seizure of power in 411 BC and the restoration of democracy in 410 BC, and were in all likelihood produced nearly simultaneously a few months before the rise of the Thirty Tyrants and the ensuing civil war. They also demonstrate significant similarities that are particularly notable among extant Attic theatre productions, including the role of the god Dionysos as protagonist and architect of religious and political action, and the presence of Demetrian and Dionysiac mystic choruses as proponents of the appeasement of civil discord as the cure for Athens' ills. Focusing on the mystic, civic and political content of both Bacchae and Frogs, this volume offers not only a new reading of the plays, but also an interdisciplinary perspective on the special characteristics of mystery cults in Athens in their political context and the nature of theatrical audiences and their reaction to mystic themes. Its illumination of the function of each play at a pivotal moment in fifth-century Athenian politics will be of value to scholars and students of ancient Greek drama, religion and history"-- Provided by publisher