The god Dionysos, wearing a dress and a lion skin (which evoke Dionysiac and Heraklean costume, respectively) leads a donkey onstage. A slave, Xanthias, is riding the donkey and carrying a baggage pole on his shoulder. Xanthias and Dionysos banter, arguing over what kind of jokes are acceptable to make. They visit Herakles.

Dionysos tells Herakles that he is on his way to Hades to fetch the tragedian playwright Euripides. Herakles and Dionysos banter about the various tragedians of the day. Meanwhile, Xanthias’s complaints that no one cares about him are ignored, and he eventually begins unloading his baggage.

Dionysos asks Herakles to reveal the route to Hades that he used when he kidnapped Kerberos, the beast that guards Hades. At first, Herakles suggests several ways that Dionysos can kill himself and thus end up in Hades, but he finally provides directions and signs. When they arrive at a river of mud and excrement in which people who have done terrible things are submerged, they will hear pipes, see a beautiful light, and a procession of initiates in the Eleusinian Mysteries will tell them everything they need to know.

Dionysos orders Xanthias to repack his baggage so they can continue on their journey.