Bacchae

Acts

• Prologue

  Dionysus arrives in Thebes disguised as a mortal. His mother's family refuses to acknowledge his divinity. He has driven the women of Thebes mad.

  63 lines
• Parodos

  The chorus of Asian Bacchants sings the praises of Dionysus — the god of wine, ecstasy, and liberation.

  105 lines
• First Episode

  Tiresias and Cadmus accept Dionysus. Pentheus, the young king, is outraged and threatens to arrest the foreign priest.

  201 lines
• First Stasimon

  The chorus warns against those who resist the god. Wisdom is knowing when to submit.

  64 lines
• Second Episode

  Pentheus arrests "the stranger." The god is calm, almost amused. The answers are riddling and provocative.

  85 lines
• Second Stasimon

  The chorus calls on Dionysus to reveal himself and punish his persecutor.

  57 lines
• The Palace Miracle

  An earthquake shakes the palace. Dionysus walks free. A herdsman reports the Bacchants performing miracles and tearing cattle apart.

  288 lines
• Third Stasimon

  The chorus sings of Dionysus's birth and the happiness of those who accept the god.

  53 lines
• Fourth Episode

  Dionysus persuades Pentheus to dress as a woman and spy on the Bacchants. Desire and madness have already taken him.

  70 lines
• Fourth Stasimon

  The chorus anticipates Pentheus's fate with savage glee.

  42 lines
• The Messenger

  The Bacchants, led by Pentheus's mother Agave, tore him apart with their bare hands. She carries his head on a thyrsus.

  129 lines
• Agave's Return

  Agave returns in triumph. Cadmus slowly brings her back to sanity. She looks at what she holds and screams.

  59 lines
• Exodos

  Dionysus pronounces punishment. He has proved his divinity at the cost of an entire family.

  195 lines