Such was the horrible vision that pale Agaue saw. Then after she had shaken off sleep’s wing, trembling with terror, in the morning she called in the seer, Chariclo’s son, and revealed to him her dream, the bloody prophecy of things to come. Teiresias the diviner bade her sacrifice a male bull to help against the bloody dream, at the altar where men call upon Zeus the Protector, beside the trunk of a tall pinetree where Cithairon spreads his lofty head ; he told her to offer a female sheep to the Hamadryad Nymphs in the thicket. He knew the beast as human, he knew Agaue hunting the fruit of her own womb, the struggle that killed her son, the head of Pentheus ; but he concealed in wordless silence the deceptive vision of victory in the dream, that he might not provoke the heavy wrath of Pentheus his king. Agaue the tender mother obeyed the wise old man, and went to the lofty hill together with Cadmos while Pentheus followed. At the horns of the altar Cadmos Agenorides made one common sacrifice to Zeus and the Hadryads, female and male together, sheep and horned bull, where stood the grove of Zeus full of mountain trees ; he lit the fire on the altar to do pleasure to the gods, and did sacrifice to both. When the flame was kindled, the rich savour was spread abroad with the smoke in fragrant rings. When the bull was slaughtered, a jet of bloody dew spouted straight up of itself and stained the hands of Agaue with red blood. ... A serpent crept with its coils, surrounding the throat of Cadmos like a garland, twining and trailing a crooked swollen collar about it in a lacing circle but doing no harm — the gentle creature crept round his head like a trailing chaplet, and his tongue licked his chin all over dribbling the friendly poison from open mouth, quite harmless ; a female snake girdled the temples of Harmonialike a wreath of clusters in her yellow hair. Then Cronion turned the bodies of both snakes into stone, because Harmonia and Cadmos were destined to change their appearance and to assume the form of stone snakes, at the mouth of the snakebreeding Illyrian gulf. Then Agaue returned home with her son and her father, having a new fear besides the fear of the dream.
Such was the vision which Agaue had seen, and remembering this ominous dream the fond mother was shaken with fear.
Already Rumour was flying about the seven-gated city proclaiming the rites of danceweaving Dionysos. No one there was throughout the city who would not dance. The streets were garlanded with spring leafage by the country people. The chamber of Semele, still breathing sparks of the marriage thunders, was shaded by selfgrowing bunches of green leaves which intoxicated the place with sweet odours. King Pentheus swelled with arrogance and jealousy to see the terrible wonders of Bacchos in so many shapes. Then Pentheus uttered proud boasts and empty threats to his servants in these insulting words :
“Bring here my Lydian slave, that womanish vagabond, to serve the table of Pentheus at his dinner ; let him fill his winebeaker with some other drink, milk or some sweet liquor ; I will flog my mother’s sister Autonoe with retributive strokes of my hands, and we will crop the uncropt locks of Dionysos. Throw to the winds his tinkling cymbals, and the Berecyntian din and Euian tambourines of Rheia. Drag hither the mad Bassarids, drag the Bacchants hither, the handmaids who attend on Bromios — hurl them into the watery beds of Ismenos here in Thebes, mingle the Naiads with the Aonian rivernymphs their mates, let old Cithairon receive Hadryads to join his own Hadryads instead of Lyaios. Bring fire, men, for by the law of vengeance I will throw Bacchos into the fire, if he came out of the fire : Zeus tamed Semele, I will destroy Dionysos ! If he would like to try my thunder also, he shall learn what fire I have from earth ! ” For my fire has hotter sparks to match the heavenly fire. To-day I will make the viny one a scorchy one ! If he lift his thyrsus and give battle, he shall learn what kind of a spear I have from earth. I will destroy him without a wound in foot or flank, breast or belly ! I will not cut off the two crooked horns from his bullhorned head with a poleaxe, I will not cut through his neck : I will pierce the fork of his thigh with a blow from a spear of bronze, because of his lies about the thigh of great Zeus, and heaven as his home. Instead of the palace of Zeus, instead of his gatehouse, I will send him down to Hades, or make him roll himself helpless into the waves of Ismenos to hide — we can do without the sea !
“I will not receive a mortal man as a bastard god. If I dare say it, I will deny my ow breeding, like Dionysos. I have not in me the blood of mortal Cadmos, but my father is the chief of stars — Helios begat me, not Echion ; Selene brought me forth, not Agaue ; I am the offspring of Cronides and a citizen of heaven, the sky with its wandering stars is my home — so forgive me, Thebes ! Pallas is my concubine, immortal Hebe my consort. Queen Hera gave me the breast after Ares, divine Leto brought me forth after Phoibos. I will woo Artemis, who wants me — she does not run from me as she did from Phoibos, the wooer of her maidenhood, because she feared blame for wedding with a brother. And if the heavenly-flame did not bum your Semele, Cadmos did burn his house for his daughter’s shame, and gave the name of lightning to the earthly fire he kindled, called the flame of torches the spark of the thunderbolt.”
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