On their way to Hades, Dionysus and Xanthias encounter a group of Initiates engaged in a sacrificial feast and procession to honor “Iacchus” (a deity associated with Dionysus). The Initiates perform the parodos that comprises the play’s main choral interlude. Per Heracles’s suggestion, Dionysus asks the Initiates for directions to Pluto’s palace, which they give him.