in the valleys of Eleusinian Deo where all find welcome! O Bacchus, denizen of Thebes, the mother-city of your Bacchants, dweller by the wet stream of Ismenus on the soilof the sowing of the savage dragon’s teeth!

ChorusThe smoky glare of torches sees you above the cliffs of the twin peaks, where the Corycian nymphs move inspired by your godhead, and Castalia’s stream sees you, too. The ivy-mantled slopes of Nysa’s hills and the shore green with many-clustered vines send you, when accompanied by the cries of your divine words, you visit the avenues of Thebes.

ChorusThebes of all cities you hold foremost in honor, together with your lightning-struck mother. And now when the whole city is held subject to a violent plague, come, we ask, with purifying feet over steep Parnassus,