Pentheus

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Image:Death Pentheus Louvre G445.jpg

In Greek mythology, Pentheus was a king of Thebes.

In Euripides' play The Bacchae, after Pentheus bans the worship of his cousin Dionysus, the god lures him into the woods, where the Maenads tear him apart. His corpse is mutilated by his own mother, Agave, who tears off his head in her Bacchic frenzy, believing it to be that of a lion.

The name 'Pentheus', as Dionysus points out, means "'Man of Sorrows'; even his name destines him for tragedy.

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