''The Bacchantes'' ( it, Le baccanti) is a 1961 adventure-fantasy film directed by

Giorgio Ferroni Giorgio Ferroni (12 April 1908 – 1981) was an Italian film director. Life and career Giorgio Ferroni was born in Perugia on 12 April 1908. Ferroni began his career in film with short documentaries during World War II World War ...

. It is loosely based on the

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

''.

Plot

Thebes, the birthplace of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

(born from the union between the god

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and the mortal woman

Semele Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from ...

) suffers from a terrible drought, which triggers popular discontent. This adds up to the accusations of the prophet

Tiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nym ...

, who alleges drought to the wrath of Dionysus, blaming King Pentheus for not believing in his divine nature and not revering him. Manto, daughter of Tiresias, gives water to a stranger, who reciprocates with wine sacred to Dionysus. She then confides in her friend

Dirce Dirce (; , , modern Greek , meaning "double" or "cleft") was a queen of Thebes as the wife of Lycus in Greek mythology. Family Dirce was a daughter of the river-gods Achelous or Ismenus, or of Helios. Mythology After Zeus impregnated Dir ...

, discussing their respective unhappy destinies: Manto will become a virgin sacred to Demeter, despite her being in love with the servant Lacdamos, while Dirce is engaged to Pentheus, while dreaming of a life free from the court. Following an omen reported by a priest,

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

, Semele's sister and Pentheus's mother, reveals to her son the existence of an ancient prophecy, according to which Lacdamos will marry a virgin sacred to Demeter and their son will become king of Thebes. Lacdamos is in fact the son of Ino, Agave's elder sister, who had him kidnapped and raised as a servant to keep the throne for Pentheus. According to the priest, Manto is the virgin of prophecy, and rumors have come that she already knows Lacdamos. To avoid both the fulfillment of the prophecy and the popular turmoil, Pentheus orders the sacrifice of Manto in honor of Demeter to obtain better harvests. Dirce intercedes in vain with Pentheus to prevent Manto's sacrifice, involuntarily confirming that she is already in love with Lacdamos. At the suggestion of Tiresias, the night before the sacrifice Dirce drinks the sacred wine to Dionysus and goes with other women to Mount Cithaeron, where she meets the stranger who gave the wine to Manto. The next day the stranger instigate the people against Pentheus, while a lightning bolt blocks the hand of the priest who would have killed Manto. The Theban youth then goes to the Cithaeron to celebrate

bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...

in honor of Dionysus, as well as the marriage between Manto and Lacdamos. The stranger reveals indeed that Lacdamos is actually the cousin of Pentheus and legitimate king of Thebes; according to the laws, he can therefore take Manto as his wife even if she has already been consecrated to Demeter. Pentheus sends soldiers to the Cytheron and imprisons the rebels. The stranger manages to save himself but the next day he spontaneously goes to the palace before Pentheus' wedding, which has him chained to the cliffs of the Cithaeron. However, to appease the people's spirits, he decides to free all the captured people, except Manto and Lacdamos. Dirce visits the chained stranger, with whom she has fallen in love, who nevertheless reveals that he is Dionysus and will soon leave his mortal body. Meanwhile, Tiresias reveals to Polycrates, the current head of the tribe that belonged to

Athamas In Greek mythology, Athamas (; grc, Ἀθάμας, Athámas) was a Boeotian king.Apollodorus1.9.1/ref> Family Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the bro ...

(Lacdamo's father), that Lacdamos is the true king of Thebes. Polychrates' soldiers free him and Manto and join the

Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

, fighting against the army of Pentheus. Lacdamos defeats Pentheus in a duel and becomes the new king of Thebes; Dionysus finally ascends to god, while Dirce will lead the Bacchae.

Cast

Taina Elg __NOTOC__ Taina may refer to: People Women * Taina Asili (), Puerto Rican musician, filmmaker and activist * Taïna Barioz (born 1988), French alpine skier * Taina Bien-Aimé, Swiss social activist * Taina Bofferding (born 1982), Luxembourgish po ...

as Dirce * Pierre Brice as Dionysus *

Alessandra Panaro Alessandra Panaro (14 December 1939 – 1 May 2019) was an Italian film actress of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Panaro is best known for her films in the early 1960s, notably Luchino Visconti's crime drama '' Rocco e i suoi fratelli'' in 19 ...

as Manto * Alberto Lupo as Pentheus * Akim Tamiroff as Tiresias * Raf Mattioli as Lacdamos *

Erno Crisa Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western ''Sugar Colt''. Partial filmography * ''Croisières sidérales'' (1942) ...

as Atteon *

Miranda Campa Miranda Campa (31 January 1914 – 7 May 1989) was a Swiss-born Italian actress and voice actress. Life and career Born Liliana Campa Capodaglio in Geneva, the nephew of actors Pio Campa and Wanda Capodaglio, Campa studied acting at the ...

as Agave *

Gérard Landry Landry Fernand Charles Marrier de Lagatinerie (16 October 1912 – 18 September 1999), known professionally as Gérard Landry, was an Argentinian actor. He began acting in 1932 with his first movie ''Mirages de Paris'', acted for over fifty ...

as Shepherd *

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * '' The Shep ...

as High Priest *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to Do ...

as Polycrates *

Nino Marchetti Nino or Niño may refer to: * Nino (name) * Niño (name) *Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino" *El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean *NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in t ...

as Theban

Differences with mythology and Euripides' work

* Lacdamos' character does not exist; the children of Ino and Athamas ( Learches and Melicertes) died as children and none of them married Manto * Pentheus dies killed by his own mother, who has become a maenad under the control of Dionysus * After the death of Pentheus the crown of Thebes passed to uncle

Polydorus In Greek mythology, Polydorus (; grc, Πολύδωρος, i.e. "many-gift d) or Polydoros referred to several different people. *Polydorus, son of Phineus and Cleopatra, and brother of Polydector (Polydectus). These two sons by his first wife were ...

(only son of Cadmus and future great-grandfather of Oedipus) * Dirce was the wife of Lycus, who will be the future regent of Thebes for

Labdacus In Greek mythology, Labdacus ( grc, Λάβδακος, ''Lábdakos'') was the only son of Polydorus and a king of Thebes. Labdacus was a grandson of Thebes' founder, Cadmus. His mother was Nycteïs, daughter of Nycteus. Mythology Polydorus die ...

(son of Polydous and cousin of Pentheus)

Release

''The Bacchantes'' was released in Italy with a 100 minute running time on March 2, 1961.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacchantes, The 1961 films French fantasy adventure films Italian fantasy adventure films Films based on works by Euripides Films based on classical mythology Films directed by Giorgio Ferroni Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Peplum films 1960s fantasy adventure films Sword and sandal films Works based on The Bacchae 1960s Italian films 1960s French films