The Bacchae Dramatis Personae
DIONYSUS: divine son of Zeus and Semele, also called Bromius or Bacchus.

TIRESIAS: an old blind prophet

CADMUS: grandfather of both Dionysus and Pentheus, an old man

PENTHEUS: young king of Thebes, grandson of Cadmus, cousin of Dionysus

AGAVE: mother of Pentheus, daughter of Cadmus, sister of Semele

FIRST MESSENGER a cattle herder

SECOND MESSENGER: an attendant on Pentheus

CHORUS OF BACCHAE: worshippers of Dionysus who have followed him from Asia, also called Maenads or Bacchants.

SOLDIERS and ATTENDANTS around Pentheus

Supplementary List of Characters and Places

The following names are frequently mentioned but are not speaking characters in the play.
Actaeon: hunter destroyed by his own dogs as punishment for boasting that he was a better hunter than goddess Artemis, son of Autonoe (one of Cadmus' daughters).

Aphrodite: goddess of erotic love and sexuality.

Autonoe: sister of Agave, Ino, and Semele, daughter of Cadmus, mother of Actaeon

Cithaeron: sacred mountain close to Thebes.

Ino: daughter of Cadmus, sister of Agave and Semele

Semele: human daughter of Cadmus, mother of Dionysus, killed by Zeus' lightning bolt.

Thebes: a major Greek city, where (according to some legends) the Greek race originated.

Tmolus: sacred mountain in Asia Minor, associated with Dionysus.