The Bacchae

The Bacchae
Pentheus being torn apart by Agave and Ino, Attic red-figure vase.
Written by	Euripides
Chorus	Bacchae, female followers of Dionysus
Characters	Dionysus Tiresias Cadmus Pentheus Servant Messenger Second Messenger Agave
Date premiered	405 BC
Place premiered	Athens
Original language	Ancient Greek
Genre	Tragedy
Setting	Thebes

The Bacchae (/ˈbækiː/; Greek: Βάκχαι, Bakchai; also known as The Bacchantes /ˈbækənts, bəˈkænts, -ˈkɑːnts/) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis and Alcmaeon in Corinth, and which Euripides' son or nephew are assumed to have directed. It won first prize in the City Dionysia festival competition.