It has been remarked that Euripides' The Bacchae celebrates the rebellion of women and female forces against the patriarchal society and the conventions of femininity it imposes. To a certain extent, the argument rings true. The women, especially the Thebans, reject the men and civil laws for the Dionysian cult and religious customs. Nevertheless, while the women initially hold control over men, they ultimately lose power. At Agave's epiphany, it is Dionysus, not Agave, or her sisters, who maintains the triumph over Pentheus's death. Agave and her sisters, standing synecdochically for all the Theban women, must face censure and punishment for their rebellion. It seems, then, that the female rebellion must be weakened and its power compromised to restore social order and to provide the dramatic conflict with a sensible closure. In this sense, by presenting the terrifying implications and consequences of female rebellion, The Bacchae denounces the idea of female rebellion. This criticism seems motivated by the fear that women who refuse to follow the conventional code of femininity would threaten the survival of established society.