Great Books Ep 87. Euripides - The Bacchantes. The Ecstatic Experience: Dance Rituals and Altered States of the Mind

Dance rituals are practiced across cultures and seem to be fundamental to people who believe in the supernatural. They give people feelings of connection with the divine and a sense of transcendence.

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash

“This god too hath prophetic power, for there is no small prophecy inspired by Bacchic frenzy; for whenever the god in his full might enters the human frame, he makes his frantic votaries foretell the future.”

~ ‘The Bacchantes’ by Euripides (Edward P. Coleridge translation. GB5 - p. 342)

Brief Summary

Dionysus, a god, h…