The Bacchae of Euripides

Authoritatively translated by scholar and academic Gilbert Murray, this edition of Bacchae by Euripides is of high quality, allowing the reader ease of interpretation. Famously premiered at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 B.C., this play is concerned with displaying two sides of human nature. One side is embodied by Pentheus - the King of Thebes - who employs reason, logic and forethought in his behaviour. The impulsive and rash side to man, operating on hunches and instinct, finds its embodiment in Dionysus. With this as his basis, Euripides offers us a tragic plotline which explores the connections between man and beast in highlighting that completely ignoring Dionysus' approach is perilous, for its denies the soul a kind of spiritualism which all living beings experience and live among.