One of the best-known pieces of Greek tragedy is The Bacchae of Euripides, a tale that chronicles the life and final vengeance that the Greek god Dionysus would exact on his mortal family. Through this story Dionysus can be seen in multiple lights. He varied in appearance from that of a great leader to that of a master of the great art of manipulation. That said, no image was grander than the one showing that the great Greek gods are not known for being forgiving creatures. Dionysus proved this by being absolutely brutal and relentless. With these actions, he demonstrated that the gods should, in most cases, truly be feared for their potential retaliation and punishment. Euripides' Bacchae tells the story of Dionysus, son of the Greek god Zeus and the mortal Shemele. Born from an illustrious relationship between the two, things got complicated when Zeus' second wife, Hera, found out. Hera decided to make her husband suffer; she hatched a devious plan, tricking Shemele and convincing Zeus to reveal his true form to her. So, after initially saying no, Zeus becomes convinced and eventually appears to Shemele in the form of lightning, causing her to seemingly die instantly due to his presence. Fortunately for Dionysus, at the very moment of his death, Zeus' other son, Hermes, whom he had conceived with the goddess Maia, saved his brother's life by placing and sewing his brother to the inside of his father's thigh to protect him from the wrath of Hera until he died. he was fully grown and ready to be born into the world. Unfortunately for Dionysus, his mother's mortal family, to whom he returned after birth, did not believe in his true parentage. Believing “That Semele slept with a man/ proceeds...... middle of paper ...... about drinking and sustaining the self-indulgent impulses that human beings feel. Having said this, one of the major correlations and major differences is drawn between the actions of Dionysus towards Pentheus and the actions of Jesus towards Pontius Pilate. While Jesus may have turned a blind eye to his attacker, Dionysus sought to make his cousin suffer, ultimately for something he wasn't even a part of. Dionysus carried out revenge throughout his cult. Instead of having followers who did so simply by believing in him, he used his powers of corruption to bend their will to his way of thinking, and if they didn't think alike he ended their lives. He loved being the center of attention, and if he wasn't, there was clearly a problem. Dionysus demonstrated that not all gods are kind and that, in the end, revenge is clearly a head that should be served cold..