Synopsis of the play Bacchae

Vocabulary and key characters from the synopsis of the Greek tragedy Bacchae, detailing the conflict between Dionysus and Pentheus.

Dionysus

The protagonist who appears in the prologue disguised as the human leader of the Dionysiac cult to announce his reason for coming to Thebes.

The Chorus

Followers who enter during the parados and sing hymns in honor of Dionysus, denouncing Pentheus' arrogance and emphasizing humility and moderation.

Tiresias and Cadmus

Two respected elders who announce their intention to go to Mount Chythiron to dance in honor of the new god.

Pentheus

The King of Thebes who furiously rejects the Dionysiac cult, orders Tiresias' special seat destroyed, and is eventually manipulated and killed by the bacchants.

First choral ode

A musical section where the chorus denounces Pentheus as blasphemous and arrogant while wishing for repression-free surroundings.

Second episode

The point in the play where a soldier brings Dionysus before Pentheus, marking the first of three confrontations between the king and the god.

Third episode

A dramatic scene featuring a violent earthquake that shakes the palace and marks the beginning of Dionysus' psychological manipulation of Pentheus.

Fourth episode

The scene where Pentheus is led out of the palace dressed as a woman and a worshipper, reduced to a pathetic state of delusion.

Messenger from Catheron

The character who arrives in the fifth episode to describe the journey to the mountain and the gruesome death of Pentheus at the hands of the women.

Agave

The mother of Pentheus who, while mad and mind-controlled by Dionysus, arrives in Thebes carrying her son's severed head.

Harmony

The wife of Cadmus who is forced to become a snake and is exiled from Thebes along with her husband.

The Exodus

The final section of the play where Cadmus helps Agave recover her senses, and Dionysus appears as a god to justify his actions and announce the characters' destinies.