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There shall be wailing and lamentation in the palace of Thebes, and the cities round shall rise in arms against the polluter of the holiest and most universal law of nature.

Creon, overawed by the reality of this prediction, is smitten with remorse almost before Teiresias is led from the stage. He will yield to necessity, and he summons his attendants to bring axes that may break open the tomb while there is yet time to release the maiden.

Then the Chorus utter a fervent prayer to Bacchus, "the god of many names," to come to the rescue of Thebes, the city of his mother, Semele:—

Events crowd on one another in rapid succession, as the action hurries on to the catastrophe. In