preview

Euripides The Hymn To Dionysus

Decent Essays
Open Document

The Hymn to Dionysus gives readers a general idea of who Dionysus is and what he is capable of, but a further dimension is added to his character after reading the Bacchae. The Bacchae shows readers that Dionysus is a force of nature and determined to establish himself. Euripides only adds to the intensity of Dionysus and the play in general by making him completely unrepentant for what he’s done and giving the mortals particularly harsh punishments for committing relatively insignificant acts. In the Hymn to Dionysus, he is kidnapped by pirates and uses his capture to reveal his divinity to the pirates, who are mortals. Dionysus appears in human form but he still maintains a godlike appearance which causes the pirates to believe he is “the son of a Zeus-cherished king,” or a prince. The fact that he was able to deceive an entire ship full of men demonstrates his powerful ability to shape shift, which he does often. The helmsman of the ship only realizes that Dionysus is a god after “the shackles could not hold him” so he begins to guess the …show more content…

The pirates watch in “mute wonder” as a fragrant stream of wine forms on the ship and vines grow on the sail and mast, complete with flowers and berries, demonstrating the power Dionysus has over vegetation (37). Dionysus also proves he is able to control wild beasts when he transforms himself into “fearsome, loud-roaring lion” and causes a “shaggy bear” to appear on the boat (44,46). The pirates are frightened and jump into the sea, so Dionysus transforms them into dolphins, also showing the god’s ability to shape shift. Dionysus announces that he is the child of Semele, which reveals that he is part mortal, but this does not appear to lessen his status as a god. Dionysus has just proved that he is a god by publicly employing his powers in front of a group of mortals, confirming that he is a force to be reckoned

Get Access