Pentheus - Wikipedia

Greek mythological king of Thebes

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Pentheus
King of Thebes
Abode	Thebes
Genealogy
Parents	Echion and Agave
Siblings	Epeiros
Children	Menoeceus

In Greek mythology, Pentheus (/ˈpɛnθjuːs/; Ancient Greek: Πενθεύς, romanized: Pentheús) was a king of Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and grandson of the goddess Harmonia. His sister was Epeiros and his son was Menoeceus.

Much of what is known about the character comes from the interpretation of the myth in Euripides' tragic play, The Bacchae.

Mythological biography

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The story of Pentheus' resistance to Dionysus and his subsequent punishment is presented by Euripides as follows. Cadmus, the king of Thebes, abdicated due to his old age in favour of his grandson Pentheus. Pentheus soon banned the worship of the god Dionysus, who was the son of his aunt Semele, and forbade the women of Cadmeia to partake in his rites. An angered Dionysus caused Pentheus' mother Agave and his aunts Ino and Autonoë, along with all the other women of Thebes, to rush to Mount Cithaeron in a Bacchic frenzy. Accordingly, Pentheus imprisoned Dionysus, thinking the man simply a follower, but his chains fell off and the jail doors opened for him.

Dionysus lured Pentheus, disguised as a woman, out to spy on the Bacchic rites, where Pentheus expected to see sexual activities. The daughters of Cadmus saw him in a tree and thought him to be a wild animal. They pulled Pentheus down and tore him limb from limb (as part of a ritual known as the sparagmos). When his true identity was later discovered, officials exiled the women from Thebes. Some say that his own mother was the first to attack him, tearing his arm off and then tearing off his head. She placed the head on a stick and took it back to Thebes, but only realized whose head it was after meeting her father Cadmus.

The name "Pentheus", as Dionysus and Tiresias both point out, means "Man of Sorrows" and derives from πένθος, pénthos, sorrow or grief, especially the grief caused by the death of a loved one. His name appeared to mark him for tragedy. Pentheus was succeeded by his uncle Polydorus.

Before or possibly after Pentheus was killed, his wife gave birth to a son named Menoeceus, who became the father of Creon and Jocasta. He became the grandfather of Oedipus.

The story of Pentheus is also discussed by Ovid in Book III of his Metamorphoses.[1] Ovid's version diverges from Euripides' work in several areas. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, King Pentheus is warned by the blind seer Tiresias to welcome Bacchus or else "Your blood [shall be] poured out and defile the woods and your mother and her sisters..." Pentheus dismisses Tiresias and ignores his warnings. As Thebes succumbs to the "dementia and the delirium of the new god", Pentheus laments the fall of his kingdom and demands the arrest of Bacchus. His guards instead arrest Acoetes of Maeonia, a sailor who confirms the divinity of Bacchus and tells how the crew of his ship ended up being turned into dolphins after trying to kidnap the young god.

Pentheus, convinced that Acoetes is lying, tries to throw him in jail, but when the guards try to shackle Acoetes, the chains fall off. In a rage, Pentheus ran to deal with Bacchus himself. He charged through the woods straight into a Bacchanalia. Driven to a frenzy the participants thought Pentheus was a boar and attacked him. His mother was the first one to spear him and then the group tore his flesh apart with their bare hands.

In Oppian's version, Dionysus's female followers ask the god to transform them into leopards, and he grants their request, while simultaneously changing Pentheus into a bull. The leopards then attack and tear apart the bull, killing Pentheus, as Oppian presents the metaphors and illusions from The Bacchae as literal.[2]

In classical history

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According to a biography written by the ancient historian Plutarch, after his defeat and death at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, the head of Roman general and statesman Marcus Licinius Crassus was sent to the Parthian emperor Orodes II and used "as a prop, standing in for the head of"[3] Pentheus in a production of Euripides' The Bacchae.

In modern popular culture

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King Pentheus appears in Bacchae, a classical Meitei language play based on the ancient Greek tragedy of the same title. In the play, as distinct from the original tragedy, King Pentheus is portrayed as a small community, whose chances of survival are highly unpredictable and doubtful, affected by the massive globalization results of the developed countries (depicted by the god Dionysus).[4]

Family tree of Theban Royal House

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Royal house of Thebes family tree

v t e Solid lines indicate descendants. Dashed lines indicate marriages. Dotted lines indicate extra-marital relationships or adoptions. Kings of Thebes are numbered with bold names and a light purple background. Joint rules are indicated by a number and lowercase letter, for example, 5a. Amphion shared the throne with 5b. Zethus. Regents of Thebes are alphanumbered (format AN) with bold names and a light red background. The number N refers to the regency preceding the reign of the Nth king. Generally this means the regent served the Nth king but not always, as Creon (A9) was serving as regent to Laodamas (the 10th King) when he was slain by Lycus II (the usurping 9th king). The letter A refers to the regency sequence. "A" is the first regent, "B" is the second, etc. Deities have a yellow background color. Harmonia 1.Cadmus Polyxo A4.Nycteus (Regent) Dirce B4 & A6.Lycus (Regent) Zeus Zeus Ino Agave Echion 3.Polydorus Nycteis Antiope Semele Autonoë Dionysus 2.Pentheus Epeiros 4.Labdacus 5a.Amphion 5b.Zethus Menoeceus Eurydice A7, A8 & A9.Creon (Regent) Jocasta 6.Laius Merope Polybus Hipponome Alcaeus Zeus Alcmene Amphitryon Perimede 7.Oedipus Megara Heracles Iphicles Anaxo Henioche Megareus Haemon Antigone 8b.Eteocles Argea 8a.Polynices Pyrrha Lycomedes Ismene 9.Lycus II A12.Peneleos (Regent) 10.Laodamas Demonassa 11.Thersander Opheltes 12.Tisamenus 14.Damasichthon 13.Autesion 15.Ptolemy Theras Argeia Aristodemus 16.Xanthos Eurysthenes Procles

References

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1. ^ Kline, A.S. (2000). "Ovid: The Metamorphoses (Book III)". Poetry in Translation. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
2. ^ Forbes Irving, Paul M. C. (1990). Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Oxford, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press. p. 221. ISBN 0-19-814730-9.
3. ^ Beard, Mary (2016). SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. London: Profile Books. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-84668-381-7.
4. ^ "Discover the richness of northeast at NSD". Hindustan Times. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-24.

• Euripides, The Tragedies of Euripides translated by T. A. Buckley. Bacchae. London. Henry G. Bohn. 1850. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Euripides, Euripidis Fabulae. vol. 3. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Ovid. Cadmus.
• Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

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• Media related to Pentheus at Wikimedia Commons

Regnal titles
Preceded byCadmus	Mythical King of Thebes	Succeeded byPolydorus

v t e Kings of Thebes
Kings	Calydnus Ogyges Cadmus Pentheus Polydorus Nycteus (regent for Labdacus) and Lycus I (regent for Labdacus) Labdacus Lycus I (regent for Laius) Laius Amphion and Zethus Laius (second rule) Creon Oedipus Creon (second rule) (regent for Eteocles and Polynices) Polynices and Eteocles Creon (third rule) (regent for Laodamas) Lycus II (usurper) Laodamas Thersander Peneleos (regent for Tisamenus) Tisamenus Autesion Damasichthon Ptolemy Xanthos
In literature	Antigone (Sophocles) Antigone (Euripides play) The Bacchae Herakles Iliad Oedipus Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus Rex The Phoenician Women Seven Against Thebes La Thébaïde
Related articles	Thebes Necklace of Harmonia
Category:Theban kings Portal:Ancient Greece

v t e Metamorphoses in Greek mythology
Animals	Avian Acanthis Acanthus Aëdon Aegolius Aegypius Aëtos Aesacus Agrius and Oreius Agron Alcander Alcyone Alcyone and Ceyx Alcyonides Alectryon Anthus Antigone Argus Arne Sithonis Artemiche Ascalaphus Asteria Autonous Botres Bulis Byssa Caeneus Celeus Cerberus Chelidon Cinyras Clinis Combe Corone Ctesylla Cycnus I Cycnus II Cycnus III Cycnus IV Daedalion Diomedes' companions Abas Acmon Idas Lycus Nycteus Rhexenor Erinoma Erodius Eumelus Gerana Harmothoë Harpalyce Harpasus Harpe Hierax Hippodamia Hyperippe Hyria Ictinus Ino Itys Iynx Laius Lelante Lycius Megaletor Meleagrids Memnonides Meropis Merops Minyades Munichus Neophron Nisus Nyctaea Nyctimene Oenoe Oenotropae Ortygius Pandareus Pelia Perdix Periphas Peristera Picus Pierides Phene Philaeus Philomela Pleiades Polyphonte Polytechnus Procne Schoeneus Scylla Tereus Timandra Non-avian Abas Actaeon Arachne Arcas Arge Aristaeus Ascalabus Atalanta Cadmus Calchus Callisto Cephissus Cerambus Cercopes Chelone Circe Curetes Cynosura Galanthis Gale Harmonia Hecuba Helice Hippomenes Io Lycaon Lycian peasants Lyncus Megisto Melanippe Melian nymphs Melissa Minyades Myia Myrmex Naïs Nerites Ocyrhoe Odysseus Pentheus Phalanx Phineus Phoenice Pompilus Taygete Themisto Theophane Tiresias Titanis Tithonus Tyrrhenian pirates Aethalides Alcimedon Dictys Epopeus Melas Medon Opheltes
Base appearance	Achilles Antigone Charybdis Lamia Medusa Midas Mulberry fruit Phaon Scylla Sirens White raven
Humanoids	Arne Calliste Cymodoce Cephalus' wife Galatea Leleges Myrmidons Nephele Spartoi Weasel
Inanimate objects	Aconteus Aglaurus Alcmene Anaxarete Ariadne Arsinoë Aspalis Battus Britomartis Calydon Cercopes Cragaleus Daphnis Gorgo Iodame Laelaps Lethaea Lyco and Orphe Olenus Pallas Pandareus Phineus Polydectes Proetus Propoetides Pyrrhus Teumessian fox Wolf
Landforms	Achelous Acheron Acis Aea Alope Alpheus Arethusa I Arethusa II Asteria Atlas Aura Byblis Calliste Chione Cleite Comaetho Cyane Dirce Haemus Lichas Lilaeus Manto Marsyas Menippe and Metioche Niobe Perimele Pirene Pyramus and Thisbe Rhodope Rhodopis Sangas Selemnus Sybaris
Opposite sex	Caeneus Hermaphroditus Iphis Leucippus Salmacis Siproites Sithon Tiresias
Plants	Adonis Agdistis Ajax Amaracus Ambrosia Ampelus Anethus Attis Baucis and Philemon Calamus Carpus Carya Cissus Clytie Crocus Cyparissus Daphne Diopatra Dryope Elaea Elate Eteocleides Heliades Aegle Dioxippe Lampetia Merope Phaethusa Phoebe Hesperides Aegle Erytheia Hyacinthus Leuce Leucothoe Libanus Lotis Lycurgus Mecon Melos Messapians Milk Minthe Myrice Myrina Myrsine Narcissus Oechalides Philyra Phyllis Picolous Pitys Platanus Psalacantha Saliva Side Smilax Smyrna Spear Syceus Syrinx
Voluntary	Kobalos Mestra Periclymenus
Other	Cumaean Sibyl Echo Hyades Hylas Milk of Hera Pleiades
False myths	Acantha Amethyste Orchis Rhodanthe
Metamorphoses

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