The Difference Between Euthyphro And Dionysus

Dionysus is not a god who Socrates could respect because his actions challenge Socrates’ beliefs. Dionysus deems gods most important and lets this fuel his revenge on the city of Thebes, which challenges the idea of piety and a pure soul being the most important things in life. Dionysus and Euthyphro represent the same character and the comparison shows how Socrates would respond to Dionysus as a god based on how he responds to Euthyphro and the jury in Euthyphro and Apology.

Dionysus obsesses over being accepted as a god. He begins his dialogue with “I’ve arrived here in the land of Thebes” (Euripides, 1). This is an assertion of his presence. It insinuates that he has an expectation from the people of Thebes. He expects the people of Thebes

Pentheus chains the women of Thebes and utilizes jail cells to emphasize his power through restraint. Dionysus combats this by setting them free. “Chains fell off their feet, just dropping on their own. Keys opened doors not turned by human hands” (Euripides, 557-559). He is setting the bodies free, which is representative of his superiority over Pentheus. Although he may utilize the importance of the physical body strictly because humans, or Pentheus, hold it most dear, he is still supporting this notion. Socrates, no matter at what cost, will not support the notion that the physical body is more important than the soul. Dionysus also drives the women crazy, and with that, they use their brute strength to tear apart animals and nature in the mountains. As the ultimate revenge, Dionysus’ women are in such a craze that Agave murders her own son, Pentheus. The murder is aimed to destroy the body, “…tossing bits of his flesh back and forth, for fun. His body parts lie scattered everywhere” (Euripides, 1410-1411). Dionysus gets his revenge, both on the women as well as on Pentheus, by focusing on the physicality of the world, because that is what he deems as most important. Socrates does not care for the physical world and focuses his life on preserving the spiritual one. His soul is his main priority. “They thought to injure me,” says Socrates about his death sentence, “they deserve blame for that”

When the truth was not enough to convince his godliness to the people of Thebes, Dionysus reverted to violence. Similar to this, Euthyphro expresses that telling the truth does not convince the jury, but attacking the prosecutors does by saying, “I should find his weak spot, and it would be much more a question about him in court than about me” (Plato, Euthyphro, 5c). In this sense, Euthyphro and Dionysus are the same. Rather than sticking to the truth, they take greater measure to accomplish their goals. Socrates does not respect Euthyphro, he proves this by continuing to defend himself with the truth, calling his accusers “all those who persuaded you by means of envy and slander,” therefore he would not respect Dionysus either (Plato, Apology, 18d). This parallel between Euthyphro and Dionysus is also shown through their inability to recognize their own ignorance. Euthyphro claims he “would be in no way different from other men, if [he] did not have exact knowledge about all such things” in reference to divine law and holiness (Plato, Euthyphro, 4e). Dionysus, through his actions, is claiming to know all and does not acknowledge any ignorance he may have. As a god, he inclines he is entitled to his actions. He never second-guesses himself or his actions towards the city of Thebes. Socrates is the only one to admit he knows his own ignorance,