Tiresias: And while we loose the bars of deepest hell,
Do ye the praises of our Bacchus tell.
[Exeunt Creon, Tiresias, and Manto.]
The Chorus [in dithyrambic strain sings in praise of Bacchus]: Bind ye now your flowing locks with the swaying ivy,
Brandish aloft with your languishing arms the Nysaean thyrsus!
O glorious light of heaven, attend the prayers405
Which noble Thebes, thy Thebes, O beautiful Bacchus,
With suppliant hands outstretched here offers thee.
Turn hither thy smiling virgin face,
Dispel the clouds with thy starry glance,410