Belief, action, and suffering in Euripides’ Bacchae

Abstract

This article takes as its starting point the fact that the study of Greek religion has in recent years seen the return of belief as a fundamental category, and with it a questioning of the assumption that in Greek (and Roman) religion ritual always came first and belief second. It examines the varied approaches to religious belief taken by the characters and chorus of Euripides’ Bacchae, and seeks to show that beliefs and acts are inseparable and equally important in divine-human relations in ancient Greek culture.