View source for Pentheus

{{Short description|Greek mythological king of Thebes}}
{{no footnotes|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Pentheus
| image = Pompeii - Casa dei Vettii - Pentheus.jpg
| caption = 
| deity_of = King of Thebes
| abode = Thebes
| symbol = 
| consort = 
| parents = [[Echion]] and [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]]
| siblings = [[Epirus (mythology)|Epeiros]]
| children = [[Menoeceus]]
| mount = 
}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Pentheus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|n|θj|uː|s}}; {{langx|grc|Πενθεύς|Pentheús}}) was a king of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]]. His father was [[Echion]]<!-- Echion links here -->, the wisest of the [[Spartoi]]. His mother was [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]], the daughter of [[Cadmus]], the founder of Thebes, and grandson of the goddess [[Harmonia (mythology)|Harmonia]]. His sister was [[Epirus (mythology)|Epeiros]] and his son was [[Menoeceus]].

Much of what is known about the character comes from the interpretation of the myth in [[Euripides]]' tragic play, ''[[The Bacchae]]''.

==Mythological biography==
The story of Pentheus' resistance to Dionysus and his subsequent punishment is presented by Euripides as follows. 
Cadmus, the [[Theban kings in Greek mythology|king of Thebes]], abdicated due to his old age in favour of his grandson Pentheus.  Pentheus soon banned the worship of the god [[Dionysus]], who was the son of his aunt [[Semele]], and forbade the women of Cadmeia to partake in his rites. 
An angered Dionysus caused Pentheus' mother [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]] and his aunts [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]] and [[Autonoë]], along with all the other women of Thebes, to rush to [[Mount Cithaeron]] in a Bacchic frenzy. Accordingly, Pentheus imprisoned Dionysus, thinking the man simply a follower, but his chains fell off and the jail doors opened for him.

[[Image:Death Pentheus Louvre G445.jpg|thumb|left|Pentheus torn apart by [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]] and [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]], lekanis lid, ca.&nbsp;450 BC, [[Louvre]].]]
Dionysus lured Pentheus, disguised as a woman, out to spy on the Bacchic rites, where Pentheus expected to see sexual activities. The daughters of Cadmus saw him in a tree and thought him to be a wild animal.  They pulled Pentheus down and tore him limb from limb (as part of a ritual known as the [[sparagmos]]).  When his true identity was later discovered, officials exiled the women from Thebes. Some say that his own mother was the first to attack him, tearing his arm off and then tearing off his head. She placed the head on a stick and took it back to Thebes, but only realized whose head it was after meeting her father Cadmus.

The name "Pentheus", as [[Dionysus]] and [[Tiresias]] both point out, means "Man of Sorrows" and derives from πένθος, ''pénthos'', sorrow or grief, especially the grief caused by the death of a loved one.  His name appeared to mark him for tragedy. Pentheus was succeeded by his uncle [[Polydorus (son of Cadmus)|Polydorus]].

Before or possibly after Pentheus was killed, his wife gave birth to a son named [[Menoeceus]], who became the father of [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]] and [[Jocasta]].  He became the grandfather of [[Oedipus]].

The story of Pentheus is also discussed by [[Ovid]] in Book III of his ''[[Metamorphoses]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph3.php |title= Ovid: The Metamorphoses (Book III) |last=Kline |first=A.S. |date=2000 |website=Poetry in Translation |access-date=10 September 2024}}</ref> Ovid's version diverges from Euripides' work in several areas. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', King Pentheus is warned by the blind seer [[Tiresias]] to welcome Bacchus or else "Your blood [shall be] poured out and defile the woods and your mother and her sisters..." Pentheus dismisses Tiresias and ignores his warnings. As [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]] succumbs to the "dementia and the delirium of the new god", Pentheus laments the fall of his kingdom and demands the arrest of Bacchus. His guards instead arrest [[Acoetes]] of Maeonia, a sailor who confirms the divinity of Bacchus and tells how the crew of his ship ended up being turned into dolphins after trying to kidnap the young god.

Pentheus, convinced that Acoetes is lying, tries to throw him in jail, but when the guards try to shackle Acoetes, the chains fall off. In a rage, Pentheus ran to deal with Bacchus himself. He charged through the woods straight into a [[Bacchanalia]]. Driven to a frenzy the participants thought Pentheus was a boar and attacked him. His mother was the first one to spear him and then the group tore his flesh apart with their bare hands.

In [[Oppian]]'s version, Dionysus's female followers ask the god to transform them into leopards, and he grants their request, while simultaneously changing Pentheus into a bull. The leopards then attack and tear apart the bull, killing Pentheus, as Oppian presents the metaphors and illusions from ''The Bacchae'' as literal.<ref>{{cite book | page= 221 | title = Metamorphosis in Greek Myths | location = Oxford, New York, Toronto | first = Paul M. C. | last = Forbes Irving | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]], [[Clarendon Press]] | date = 1990 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=URvXAAAAMAAJ | isbn = 0-19-814730-9}}</ref>

==In classical history==
According to a biography written by the ancient historian [[Plutarch]], after his defeat and death at the [[Battle of Carrhae]] in 53 BC, the head of Roman general and statesman [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] was sent to the [[Parthia|Parthian]] emperor [[Orodes II]] and used "as a prop, standing in for the head of"<ref>{{cite book |last=Beard |first=Mary |author-link=Mary Beard (classicist)|date=2016 |title=SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome |location=London |publisher=Profile Books |page=280 |isbn=978-1-84668-381-7}}</ref> Pentheus in a production of Euripides' ''The Bacchae''.

== In modern popular culture ==
King Pentheus appears in ''[[Bacchae (Thiyam play)|Bacchae]]'', a [[classical Meitei language]] play based on the [[ancient Greek tragedy]] of the [[The Bacchae|same title]]. In the play, as distinct from the original tragedy, King Pentheus is portrayed as a [[minority group|small community]], whose chances of survival are highly unpredictable and doubtful, affected by the massive [[globalization]] results of the [[developed countries]] (depicted by the god [[Dionysus]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-25 |title=Discover the richness of northeast at NSD |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/discover-the-richness-of-northeast-at-nsd/story-KMjyUHrR7Z0BERWpjsXHRO.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>

== Family tree of Theban Royal House ==
{{Family tree of the Theban royal house}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[[Euripides]], ''The Tragedies of Euripides'' translated by T. A. Buckley. Bacchae. London. Henry G. Bohn. 1850. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0092 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0091 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*{{cite book
  | last = Ovid
  | title = Cadmus
}}
*[[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].

==External links==
*{{Commons category inline}}

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{{s-bef|before=[[Cadmus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Theban kings in Greek mythology|Mythical King of]] [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]]|years}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Polydorus (son of Cadmus)|Polydorus]]}}
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{{Theban Kings}}
{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Theban kings]]
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological Thebans]]
[[Category:Mythology of Dionysus]]
[[Category:Dismemberments]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology]]