Previous
Echo
Pentheus is aman who scoffs at the gods and the people who worship them. He believes that the people who came from the dragon’s teeth that Cadmus sowed should be too brave to worship Bacchus with raucous, effeminate festivals. He captures Acoetes and interrogates him, then runs up the mountain to intercept the Bacchic festival. His mother Agave and her companions tear his body to pieces, fulfilling Teiresias’s prophecy of Pentheus’s fate.
Pentheus Quotes in Metamorphoses
The Metamorphoses quotes below are all either spoken by Pentheus or refer to Pentheus . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 3: Pentheus and Bacchus (1)
Quotes
Blood of the dragon’s teeth, you’re possessed! Are you so spellbound
by curling pipes of animal horn and clashing cymbals
to fall for this juggler’s tricks? You, who were never dismayed
by the threatening swords of the foe on the march or his blaring trumpets,
are now being worsted by screaming women, bibulous frenzy,
lewd and lecherous hordes and the futile banging of drums!
Elders, how can I respect you?
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Metamorphoses LitChart as a printable PDF.
Pentheus Quotes in Metamorphoses
The Metamorphoses quotes below are all either spoken by Pentheus or refer to Pentheus . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 3: Pentheus and Bacchus (1)
Quotes
Blood of the dragon’s teeth, you’re possessed! Are you so spellbound
by curling pipes of animal horn and clashing cymbals
to fall for this juggler’s tricks? You, who were never dismayed
by the threatening swords of the foe on the march or his blaring trumpets,
are now being worsted by screaming women, bibulous frenzy,
lewd and lecherous hordes and the futile banging of drums!
Elders, how can I respect you?
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
