Comparison of Euripides’ Bacchae and Sophocles’ Antigone

In Euripides’ Bacchae and Sophocles’ Antigone, piety is a major theme consistent among the play. Piety among the Ancient Greeks was concerned with proper human behavior towards the Gods. It was more about knowing your place, which is not greater than the Gods, and showing respect towards them. In both the Bacchae and Antigone, the main characters, Pentheus & Dionysus and Creon & Antigone respectively, are placed at odds with one another. In this battle of characters in both plays, one is more devout to the State while the other is more pious to the Gods. In this same sense, both plays are consistent with their conceptions of how humans are...