Bacchae

[bak-ee]

plural noun

Classical Mythology.

1. the female attendants of Bacchus.

2. the priestesses of Bacchus.

3. the women who took part in the Bacchanalia.

Bacchae

/ ˈbækiː /

plural noun

1. the priestesses or female devotees of Bacchus

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bacchae¹

< Latin < Greek Bákkhai, plural of Bákkhē maenad

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bacchae¹

Latin, from Greek Bakkhai , plural of Bakkhē priestess of _Bacchus

Example Sentences

Euripides, whom Aristotle called “the most tragic of the poets,” returns to the figure of the grief-stricken parent in “Hecuba,” “Hippolytus” and “The Bacchae,” to cite just a few disparate examples of characters brought to their knees by the death of their child.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Theseus in “Hippolytus” and Agave in “The Bacchae” both have reason to feel that they have blood on their hands.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In this version, the Bacchae—the chorus—are individualized and do not speak in a single voice.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Set in the idyllic island of Naxos, Greece, Pochoda refashions Euripides’ “The Bacchae” to weave a hypnotic tale of recently widowed Lena, breaking free from the strictures imposed by the men in her life.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

While still set in 21st-century America, this one is based on Euripides’ “The Bacchae” — well, the one he might have written as a brilliant, fiercely feminist provocateur.

Read more on Los Angeles Times