The Reasons Dionysus Punishes Cadmus

In Euripides’ play The Bacchae, Cadmus is brutally punished for Pentheus’ denial of Dionysus’ divinity. Yet, in this ancient Greek tragedy, Cadmus himself never rejects Dionysus as a god. In fact, Cadmus goes out to worship Dionysus as a deity by dancing, despite his old age. So why is Cadmus punished to such an extreme extent by Dionysus? Even though Cadmus tells Pentheus the error he is making by not worshipping the gods, Cadmus is still not spared from punishment beyond the loss of his daughters, grandson, and home. Despite his own worship of Dionysus, the God punishes Cadmus because he does not honor Dionysus for the right reasons, and because of his association with non-­‐believers. The chorus defines the blessed worshipers of Dionysus as “those who know the mysteries of god” (158.72). This is the relationship that one must have to truly honor the deity. Although Cadmus speaks and acts like a believer, his words indicate that he worships Dionysus out of fear and selfishness rather than out of respect for this mysterious divinity. Euripides shows that punishment will be dealt not only to those who act wrongly, but also to