The god of wine, ecstasy, and theater who has arrived in his mother's home city of Thebes disguised as a mortal priest from Lydia. He seeks to institute his religious rites and punish the royal family for denying his divine birth. Beneath his calm and dispassionate mortal disguise lies immense divine power, which he uses to drive the women of the city into a wild frenzy.

The young acting ruler of Thebes and grandson of Cadmus. He is fiercely dedicated to maintaining social order, reason, and conventional boundaries within his city. His strict reliance on logic makes him rigid and entirely resistant to the spiritual or inexplicable, leading him to aggressively oppose the newly introduced Dionysian rites.

Daughter of Cadmus and mother of Pentheus. She and her sisters previously mocked their deceased sister Semele, claiming she lied about carrying a god's child. As retribution, she has been stripped of her sanity and domestic role, abandoning her loom to lead the city's women in wild rituals in the wilderness.

The aged founder of Thebes who has recently transferred his ruling authority to his grandson, Pentheus. Pragmatic and respectful of divine power, he argues that embracing the new god will bring honor to their entire family. He tries to temper his grandson's stubbornness, knowing the dangers of mortal defiance.

A blind seer of Thebes who possesses deep spiritual wisdom. Despite his age, he eagerly adopts the new customs, recognizing that denying a god his due honors is a dangerous form of madness. He attempts to guide the young ruler of the city toward a more flexible and reverent mindset.

A group of female Bacchants who have traveled with the disguised priest from Asia. They provide musical and poetic commentary on the unfolding events, expressing deep religious devotion and warning against the dangers of human arrogance.

The deceased daughter of Cadmus who died while pregnant. Her sisters claimed she lied about Zeus fathering her child, a slight that brings the god of wine back to Thebes to defend her honor.

One of Cadmus's daughters. Like her sisters, she is afflicted by divine madness for refusing to believe in Semele's divine pregnancy, abandoning the city for the wild slopes of Mount Cithaeron.

Another daughter of Cadmus who faces divine retribution. She joins her sisters and the other women of Thebes in their strange, ecstatic behavior outside the city walls.

A wary guard in service to the current ruler of Thebes. He is deeply unsettled by the peaceful surrender of his captive and the miraculous events surrounding the imprisoned female worshippers.

A rural worker who witnesses the miraculous and terrifying behavior of the mad women in the wilderness. He acts as a messenger, urging the king to recognize the power of the new god after narrowly escaping the women's sudden ferocity.