Women of Trachis

Athenian tragedies were not divided into acts, and the texts that have survived do not feature stage directions. Entrances and exits that are included are reconstructed by scholars based on what is known about the tragic form and on the play’s events. The set design is believed to be the house in Trachis where Deianeira lives as a guest, and she and the nurse are the first characters to appear on the stage.

Historical audiences would have been familiar with the facts of the myth—namely, that Deianeira is the wife of Heracles, the most famous Greek hero owing to his performing 12 (sometimes 10) labors. Specific details within the myth could vary quite widely. When and why Heracles performed his labors could be tweaked by playwrights depending on the themes they wished to emphasize. While the characters and some of their exploits would have been familiar to the audience, the playwright’s retelling could nevertheless feature elements of surprise, either with plot or with subversion of traditional themes.

Deianeira’s speech sets the intentions for Sophocles’ retelling. It will engage a familiar theme, that of returning, or nostos. Deianeira laments that she has spent much of her marriage to Heracles in a cycle of waiting for him, welcoming him home, and seeing him off again. Deianeira’s expressed wish to the Chorus, a group of young women from Trachis (hence the title), that they never experience her worries is likely futile, as the cycle she is living would have been familiar in volatile fifth century Greece.

In the context of Athenian tragedy and Greek myth, her reference to the prophecy that Heracles leaves with her creates a sense of foreboding. Historically, oracles and oracular prophecy were pervasive in ancient Greece. They could be sought several ways but were never straightforward, always requiring interpretation. In the context of myth, oracles often establish a tension between what mortals wish for or expect and the elusive intentions of gods and goddesses. Deianeira grieves because she fears that Heracles will leave her behind, a fear that is eventually realized—but not in the way that she expects. The Chorus, who often serve to direct the audience’s emotional response in ancient tragedies, express the futility of her fears, not only because of the inevitability of the gods’ plans being fulfilled but also because joy and pain are both the gifts of Zeus and must be accepted.

Deianeira orders a song of joy to celebrate the Messenger’s news and shortly learns that her joy also brings sorrow. Heracles is on his way home (which is joyful), but he is bringing home another woman (which is painful). Heracles’ motives for going to war against Eurytus are not as they seemed since he was motivated by love, not revenge. In the text, the capitalization of Love reflects the divine, personified form of love, Eros in Greek, who is granted agency to determine outcomes and whose power must be respected. Seeming to do so, Deianeira claims that she will not go against them. For her, this seems to mean not blaming Heracles and Iole or seeking to punish them. However, Deianeira still seeks to restore Heracles’ affections for her, and in doing so she puts what will be a disastrous plan into effect.