Agave Character Analysis in The Bacchae

The most tragic figure in the play, Agave is Pentheus’ mother and Cadmus’s daughter. She is entranced by Dionysus and becomes one of his followers, known as the Bacchae. The herdsman witnesses her killing and eating animals raw, and using her thyrsus to draw milk, honey, and wine from the ground. Dionysus embroils her in his plot for revenge because she was one of the sisters who doubted the truth of Semele’s story (that she had been the lover of the supreme god Zeus). Accordingly, Dionysus uses his power over Agave to make her commit the ultimate tragic act—the murder of her own son. Even after the murder, she’s deluded, thinking she has bravely killed a mountain lion and deserves to be celebrated. Cadmus makes her realize the terrible deed she has done, and Agave leaves the stage into her own exile, knowing her life is irreparably ruined.

Agave Quotes in The Bacchae

The The Bacchae quotes below are all either spoken by Agave or refer to Agave. 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:

Disguise, Deception, and Identity Theme Icon

Women have deserted their homes for these
fraudulent rites up in the woods and mountains,
dancing to celebrate some new god
Dionysus, whoever he is.
Drink is at the bottom of it all.
Huge bowls stand in their midst, I'm told,
brimming with wine, and one by one the women
slip into the shadows to satisfy the lusts of men.
They say they are priestesses, sworn to Bacchus,
but it's clearly Aphrodite they adore.
I've had some of them trapped, and shackled in the prison.
The rest are still out there on the mountain –
Even my mother is among them,
she who bore me to Echion,
with her sisters Ino and Autonoe, mother of Actaeon.
I'll hunt them down with nets.
I'll put an end to their filthy orgies.

Related Characters: Pentheus (speaker), Dionysus, The Bacchae, Agave, Ino, Autonoe, Actaeon

Page Number and Citation: Lines 215-232

Explanation and Analysis:

When Pentheus first enters, he outlines some of his objections to Dionysus. Essentially, he views the behavior of the women of Thebes as immoral, and is particularly frustrated at their drunkenness, perhaps because it represents a kind of opposite of the type of rational, authoritarian order he seeks to impose upon his kingdom. These lines also show the extent and power of Dionysus’ influence over the Bacchae—Pentheus’ own mother and aunts are all enthralled by the god. This also heightens the dramatic tension of the play by making further gesture to the violence that is to come. Meanwhile, the mention Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperi

PENTHEUS
I see two suns in the sky;
two cities of Thebes, each with seven gates.
And you, my guide, you seem to be a bull.
Horns grow from your head.
Were you a beast all along? For you are a bull now.

DIONYSUS
The god is with us.
There were difficulties, but now we have a truce.
You see now what you should have seen before. The god.

PENTHEUS
So how do l look?
A little like Aunt Ino, or a bit more like my mother?

DIONYSUS
The very image of your mother, now I can see you plain.
But let me fix this curl that's come astray.

PENTHEUS
It must have been all that Bacchic ecstasy there in the palace.
I was shaking my head so much!

Related Characters: Pentheus (speaker), Dionysus (speaker), Agave, Ino, The Bacchae

Related Symbols: Hair

Page Number and Citation: Lines 918-930

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote comes just after Dionysus and Pentheus have prepared Pentheus’ female disguise. It represents the height of Pentheus’ loss of rationality; Dionysus has been toying with the King by dramatically altering his form. Pentheus’ double vision demonstrates that he is losing his grip on reality. Dionysus even confesses to Pentheus that he is the god, rather than the Dionysian priest, but Pentheus is too preoccupied with his new outfit to even notice. Pentheus has clearly let loose a buried part of his psyche, wanting to look like either his mother or his aunt. Euripides underscores the irony of Pentheus’ Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque er

His own mother,
like a priestess with her sacrifice, fell on him first.
But he snatched off his headdress and wig
so she could see who he was.
He reached out his hand to touch her cheek
and cried out: "Mother! Mother! Look!
It's me, Pentheus, Your own son!
The son you bore to Echion!
Spare me, Mother, I beg You!
I have done wrong, Perhaps,
but you cannot kill your own son!"
But Agave's eyes were rolling,
and her mouth filling with foam.
In the grip of the god and the god's frenzy,
it was as if she couldn't see him, couldn't hear.
Grabbing his left hand at the wrist,
she planted her foot against his flank and wrenched,
pulling his arm straight out of his shoulder—
not with her own strength but the strength of the god.

Related Characters: The Second Messenger (speaker), Agave, Pentheus, The Bacchae

Page Number and Citation: Lines 1115-1128

Explanation and Analysis:

Soon after Dionysus and Pentheus depart to see the Bacchae, Euripides uses the sudden arrival of a messenger once again, this time forcing the audience to actively imagine Pentheus’ violent death rather than perform it on stage. This quote is important for many reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates the extent to which Agave has given herself—or been forced to give her self—to the way of the Bacchae. She is so firmly entrenched in Dionysian ritual that she can’t recognize her own son, who should be the clearest reminder of her normal life. She is “like a priestess” because she is leading Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis

Father, you have the right to make the proudest boast,
for you have sired the bravest daughters in the world.
And of us all, I am the foremost:
leaving the shuttle and loom for bigger things –
hunting animals with my bare hands.
As you can see, I have a trophy for our house,
to hang here on the wall.

Related Characters: Agave (speaker), Cadmus, Pentheus

Page Number and Citation: Lines 1231-1240

Explanation and Analysis:

These are Agave’s words as she appears on stage for the first time—previously the audience only encountered her through recounted stories from the messengers. This moment represents the height of the play’s tragedy, as Agave parades her own son’s head, deluded into thinking she has nobly killed a mountain lion. It’s at this point that audience has to really question the nature of Dionysus’ revenge, and whether it is a just punishment for denying his godliness. Agave displays hubris—an excessive belief in one’s own abilities or achievements—just to add further pain to the tragic events that have taken place. This Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur m

AGAVE
Cithaeron? But why was Pentheus there?

CADMUS
He went to mock the gods, and your rituals.

AGAVE
But we—why were we there?

CADMUS
You were out of your wits.
The whole city was possessed by Bacchus.

AGAVE
I see. Dionysus has destroyed us all.

Related Characters: Agave (speaker), Cadmus (speaker), Pentheus, Dionysus

Page Number and Citation: Lines 1292-1296

Explanation and Analysis:

Agave realizes her tragic mistake, and tries to piece together what has happened. She has been so deeply entranced by Dionysus that she remembers nothing, asking the audience to consider how much agency she has had throughout the play. It’s not easy to ascertain whether she has any true responsibility for her actions, or whether she has been a mere puppet for Dionysus to enact his particularly cruel revenge. Cadmus suggests that what she has been though constitutes a form of madness—but this contradicts the idea that mortals ought to follow the gods and pay them tribute. Agave has done Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperi

Agave Character Timeline in The Bacchae

The timeline below shows where the character Agave appears in The Bacchae. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...fawn-skin, holding the thyrsus.” He explains that he’s targeted Thebes because his mother Semele’s sisters, Agave, Ino, and Autonoe, deny that he is the son of Zeus and dishonor his mother’s... (full context)

...of them, and that he will hunt down the rest on the mountain—even his mother, Agave, and his aunts, Ino and Autonoe. (full context)

...Pentheus of what he’s seen: the Bacchae are running wild. He tells Pentheus he saw Agave, Ino, and Autonoe leading three bands of women; at first they seemed to be resting... (full context)

But then, continues the herdsman, Agave heard the sound of cattle and sprung to her feet, waking up the rest of... (full context)

...the herdsman if they should earn the “gratitude of the king” and capture Pentheus’ mother, Agave. They lay in ambush as the Bacchae came by, practicing their rituals, seemingly possessed. The... (full context)

...understand him properly. Pentheus asks if he looks like his aunt Ino or his mother, Agave. (full context)

The Bacchae threw stones and branches at Pentheus, but he held his grip. Then Agave, his mother, gathered the Bacchae around the tree and had them tear it out of... (full context)

Pentheus pleaded with Agave for his life, but her “eyes were rolling, and her mouth filling with foam.” She... (full context)

Agave picked up Pentheus’ head and mounted it on the top of her thyrsus. The second... (full context)

The chorus celebrates what’s happened to Pentheus. Agave enters, carrying her thyrsus with the head of Pentheus impaled upon it. Agave addresses the... (full context)

Agave shows off the head before asking the whereabouts of Cadmus and Pentheus. Cadmus arrives with... (full context)

Agave tells Cadmus that he should be proud of her and her sisters, given their skill... (full context)

Cadmus tells Agave that her and her sisters aren’t hunters, but murderers. He says he pities her for... (full context)

Agave calls out for Pentheus, so he can witness “his mother’s good fortune.” Cadmus says that... (full context)

As Agave stares at the sky, she feels her “head is clearing.” She tells Cadmus she can’t... (full context)

Agave asks who killed Pentheus. Cadmus explains what happened—that Agave and her sisters are responsible. She... (full context)

Cadmus explains to Agave that Pentheus was made to suffer because “he refused the god.” He laments that their... (full context)

Agave embraces Cadmus, distraught that she must be exiled with him. Cadmus says he can’t help... (full context)

Agave says “terrible is the ruin Lord Dionysus has visited on this house”; Cadmus says it’s... (full context)

Agave Character Analysis

Agave Quotes in The Bacchae

Lines 169 - 519 Quotes

Lines 867 - 1022 Quotes

Lines 1023 - 1392 Quotes

Agave Character Timeline in The Bacchae