In the manner of his type, the Messenger exits (or rejoins the chorus, possibly, in a modern instantiation) and is not seen again. But the impact of his words remains - Pentheus reacts to the presence of marauding Bacchae that invert, to a certain extent, the social function of women. In the following passage, his initial impulse toward military action is perverted into something . . . different.
But first, an initial note. From 534 on, this translation has been assisted by the Bryn Mawr (I believe) commentary on the Bacchae by Beth Causey. This commentary was a necessary crutch during the class I took several years ago, when Dodds was proving inadequate for our needs as students, to put it mildly. Unfortunately, like a work attended to by absentminded scribes, it survives only in fragments dredged out of my notebook, covering lines 534-1391. It provides consistently useful vocabulary help and explanations, although anyone hoping for thematic/analytical commentary will have to turn to Dodds or elsewhere.
Pentheus' interest is first in military action, but Dionysus instead persuades him to infiltrate the inner sanctum of the Bacchae to spy upon their proceedings. How does he change his mind so quickly, and acquiesce to the suggestions of his hated prisoner? The answer has at least two important components. One is that Dionysus plays upon an element that Pentheus has fixated upon from the beginning - his obsession with the supposed libidinous nature of the Bacchae. He desires to see them from a hidden location, to spy upon them while they are drunk, and beyond that, both our and Pentheus' imagination plays on. The tipping point is Dionysus' question at 811, which completely changes the nature of the stichomathia at that point. Dodds writes that it "has touched a hidden spring in Pentheus' mind, and his self-mastery vanishes" (175).
Dionysus' interaction with Pentheus is not limited to mere persuasion. Throughout the scene, wherein Pentheus is convinced to don the apparel of a Bacchant, in essence becoming what he hates, the god seems to be exercising some sort of mental power over the king. "What happens is rather the beginning of a psychic invasion, the entry of the god into his victim" (172), as Pentheus is alternately interested in and disturbed about his assisted crossdressing experiment, but offers no real resistance. Dionysus brags about how he's twisted the mind of Pentheus once his target leaves the stage, reversing Pentheus' attempts to influence the Dionysiac ritual (Who's the prisoner now? Why the talk of casting nets? For this reason.). Foreshadowing shades into a literal description of what will happen - Pentheus will be humiliated and killed, and the only question between now and the play's end will be the precise shape of Dionysus' irresistible power and how it destroys his unlucky opponent.
775-861
(Exit MESSENGER)
CHORUS: I’m afraid to speak honestly
to the tyrant, but it must be said all the same:
Dionysus has risen, no less than a god.
PENTHEUS: The arrogance of the Bacchae
already burns near, like a fire; it’s very wrong in Greece
But we shouldn’t hesitate. Go towards the gate
of Electra! Command all the shield-bearers
and the entire cavalry with their swift-footed horses
and all that carry small shields and pluck bowstrings
with their hand to assemble so we may march
against the Bacchae. This crosses all the boundaries,
for us to suffer what we’ve already suffered from women.
DIONYSUS: Though you’ve heard my words, Pentheus,
you do not listen. Although I’ve suffered horribly by your hands,
I say you shouldn’t marshal soldiers against the god,
but relax. Bromios will not allow you
to displace the Bacchae from the hills of rejoicing.
PENTHEUS: Don’t instruct me! Shouldn’t you save yourself,
a fugitive from prison? Or should I inflict justice upon you again?
DIONYSUS: I would rather sacrifice to him than, as a mortal,
kick in fury against the divine goad.
PENTHEUS: I’ll make a sacrifice, a mass slaughter of women,
which they deserve, in the glades of Cithaeron .
DIONYSUS: All of you will flee. This is shameful, for shields
of beaten bronze to be defeated by Bacchic thyrsoi.
PENTHEUS: I’m tangled up with this impossible stranger,
who never shuts up, whether he’s victim or torturer.
DIONYSUS: Good sir, there’s still a chance to set things right.
P: By doing what? By being a slave to my slaves?
D: I will lead the women here, with no need for weapons.
P: Ah? Hmm. This is some trick you’ve devised against me.
D: What? If I want to save you through my own devices?
P: You’ve made some agreement with him, to keep your revelry.
D: This is true – I made an agreement with the god.
P: Bring my arms out here! Stop talking, you!
D: Ah,
do you want to go to the mountains to see the women lying there?
P: Very much! I’d give a countless amount of gold for that.
D: Why do you possess such great desire for this?
P: I should be ashamed to see them drunk.
D: Would you enjoy seeing things you think are hateful?
P: Surely I would, lying in silence among the trees.
D: But they’d track you down, even if you approach stealthily.
P: Clearly so. You’re using good reasoning.
D: Shall I guide you, then? Will you attempt this expedition?
P: Yes, as quickly as possible – I’m blaming you for delay.
D: Now, clothe yourself in these linen garments.
P: What’s this? You’re turning me from a man into a woman?
D: They’ll kill you if they see you’re a man there.
P: Again, you make a good point. How wise you’ve been all along!
D: Dionysus taught these things to me.
P: How can what you well advised me of be carried out?
D: I’ll go into the house and equip you.
P: In what clothes? Women’s clothes? I’m ashamed at this.
D: Then you aren’t a willing enough spectator of the maenads.
P: What’s this apparel you say you’ll put on my body?
D: I’ll straighten out some long hair upon your head.
P: What’s the next portion of my costume?
D: Floor-length robes, and a band across your forehead.
P: What else are you draping on me in addition to this?
D: A spotted fawnskin, and a thyrsus for your hand.
P: I can’t put on a woman’s clothes.
D: But you’ll cause bloodshed if you start a battle with the Bacchae.
P: Right. We have to go out first as reconnaissance.
D: Certainly that’s wiser than hunting evils with other evils.
P: How will I go through the city unseen by the Thebans?
D: We’ll go through lonely roads. I’ll take the lead.
P: All this is better than being ridiculed by the Bacchae.
I’ll go into the house . . . and plan out what seems best.
D: Possibly. As for me, I’m entirely ready and prepared.
P: I’ll go. Either I’ll advance carrying arms
or I’ll pay heed to your arguments.
(PENTHEUS exits)
D: Women, this man is caught in the cast of my net; he will
come to the Bacchae, and there he will pay the penalty and die.
Dionysus, it’s your work now. You aren’t far off.
We will punish him. First of all, alter his mind,
put him in a dizzying madness. If his wits were whole,
he wouldn’t be willing to dress in women’s clothes,
but he’ll wear them since I drove him out of his mind.
I’d like him to bring the laughter of the Thebans onto himself,
venturing from the city dressed like a woman
as opposed to his previous boasts, which were horrible.
But I’ll attend to the costume which he’ll be wearing
when he goes to Hades, torn apart by his mother’s hands,
dressing him in it. He will understand that Dionysus
was born from Zeus, produced by a god’s authority,
most dreadful, but also kindest to men.
The Gate of Electra is located at the southern end of the city of Thebes.
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