Pentheus

/ ˈpɛnθɪəs /

noun

Greek myth the grandson of Cadmus and his successor as king of Thebes, who resisted the introduction of the cult of Dionysus. In revenge the god drove him mad and he was torn to pieces by a group of bacchantes, one of whom was his mother

Hence Pentheus, in addressing the Thebans, calls them Anguigenæ, serpent or snake-descended.

The stranger appears to tell how Pentheus was made mad by Dionysus in the act of imprisoning him.

Rushing to the tree, the woman tore it up by the roots and then rent Pentheus piecemeal, Agave herself leading them on.

Dionysus' character is admirably drawn, while the infatuation of Pentheus is a fitting prelude to his ruin.

He shows how King Pentheus was torn to pieces in mistake by his own mother for his hostility to the bacchic rites.

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