The protagonist of this play is told that Demeter is the god of solid nourishment by Tiresias, whose admonishment he ignores.
In one interlude in this play, a god representing Holiness is invoked to witness sacrilege. One character notes "this curl has fallen out of its proper place," instructing a king to "hold your head straight" as he cuts his hair. One character misses and plunges a knife into the shadow of his victim, who then conjures an earthquake and starts a fire. The protagonist of this play is told that Demeter is the god of solid nourishment by Tiresias, whose admonishment he ignores. This play opens with the revelation that Zeus had (*) stitched the child of Semele into his own thigh; that child appears as a stranger to the Theban court of the protagonist, whose grandfather Cadmus becomes a snake. The protagonist is torn apart by the Maenads commanded by his mother Agave. For 10 points, identify this play about Pentheus, who prohibits worship of Dionysus, a play by Euripides.
In one interlude in this play, a god representing Holiness is invoked to witness sacrilege.
The {Bacchae} [or {Bakchai}]