Bacchae

The Bacchae is a great example of how much the Greeks loved Dionysus and how they recognized that there is a time for everything. Even though they worshiped Apollo and Athena for their reason, wisdom and ability to structure society, they also recognized the opposite in Dionysus and how important it is. Just as it is important to inflate the ego of your society to be proud of its achievements; it is just as important that you not take your self too seriously. This was highlighted in Medieval Christendom through the use of the "Fool" or court jester. A parody of the king himself; the court jester was a constant reminder to those in power what their eventual fate might be or could have been. The jester might deliver a parody of the kings decrees or mimic his actions and we see that in Shakespeare mighty kings such as Lear could have done well to listen to the advice of their fools.

Because Dionysus represents the hidden aspects of our unconscious mind and the taboo aspects of society he has the power to do much harm to law and order and our ego. But this only holds true if we refuse to acknowledge him. Our American society is such a one as this. We turn a blind eye to the poor, the sick, and less fortunate. We marginalize gays and lesbians much as we used to black and Asian people. We ignore genocide in Rwanda and the Congo because it "does not affect us". We turned a blind eye to the injustice occurring in Afghanistan until it we were forced to recognize it in the heart of our American ego; New York.

There is an old saying that "your enemy hides in the shadow you cast". This is certainly very true for us as our society, a great one, casts a very large shadow. In that shadow our enemies take shape, but Dionysus would have us know that they are products of our own greatness. Dionysus prompts us to recognize and come to terms with our shadow, our opposite, before it consumes us quietly from within.