We continue to discuss the meaning of the worship of Bacchus among the women of Thebes. The few women who hold out against the new cult are punished for their impertinence by being transformed into bats. What about the stories they tell merits the punishment they receive? Is the Bacchanalian revelry about sexual desire, a more literal desire to possess or merge with another being, chaos overtaking order, an illustration of the fear Rome felt at the possibility of women liberated from household chores, or something else altogether? We also spend some time discussing the central importance of speech, and the power of human speech, to the world of the Metamorphoses. This leads to a very interesting series of digressions about the history of Christianity, Heidegger, modern disenchantment, and evolutionary biology. It’s great! Give it a listen.