Religion In Euripides The Bacchae

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The “Bacchae” by Euripides is about a Greek god Dionysus who is seeking revenge on his mother’s people for not worshiping him. Euripides ideas came basically from ancient Greek mythology about religion. The elements of religion are based on festivals, cults, beliefs and worshiping. Similarly in the play “Equus” the writer Peter Shaffer wrote his play base on the elements religion and beliefs. “Equus”, is about a young boy who blinded six horses in one night and a psychiatrist who is trying to treat him. These plays were written in the time where religion was all about your belief, and the religion of Christianity was challenged. Euripides states, “And everywhere my sacred choirs, mine Orgies have founded by mankind” (pg 1). In this sentence Euripides expression is associated with ancient…show more content…
Shaffer depict a christianized mother, he also depicts the love for horses. Horses were an essential resources for people, it was use to travel and to transport goods. Horse was also worshipped in various countries such as India and the Romans. Such belief was conveyed into plays as Shaffer had done in Equus. He states, “Did you know that when Christian cavalry New World, the pagans thought horse and rider was one person,” he further state, “ Actually, they thought it must be a god” (pg 24). Shaffer infuse the idea of horse worshipping and masking in his play because these actions was part of ancient tradition. He also used nudity because it was something common by the people of that era. According to an article written by Ryan Claycomb it states, “The play itself shows influences from Japanese theatre traditions, work with masks, an attention to ritual, and nudity and explicit sexuality.” This statement further establishes the suggestion that Shaffer used ancient traditional ideas to write his play. Ancient Greeks adopt nudity as part of their custom, so it was common for them to wear
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