The Trachiniae

Sophocles' *The Trachiniae* plunges into the domestic tragedy of Deianeira, wife to the absent, legendary hero Heracles. Haunted by her husband's long sojourns and rumored infidelities, Deianeira’s worst fears are realized when Heracles sends home Iole, a captive princess intended as his concubine. In a desperate, misguided attempt to rekindle his love and ensure his fidelity, Deianeira applies a supposed love charm—a vial of centaur blood given to her years prior by the dying Nessus—to a ceremonial robe. Unbeknownst to her, Nessus's 'charm' is a potent, agonizing poison that will bring about Heracles's excruciating demise, sealing Deianeira’s own tragic fate as a perpetrator of unimaginable suffering.