Sophocles' Women of Trachis is a play that resonates with the complexity
of life, expressing happiness entwined with despair and beauty tangled
with violence. The date of the play is uncertain, but it was probably
composed sometime between 450-425 BCE. The protagonists are Heracles
(Hercules), the son of Zeus, and Deianeira, his beautiful wife. The story is
myth, but the theme is timeless. Heracles falls in love with a younger woman
whom he has taken captive, and Deianeira tries to reclaim his love using
magic from a long-dead centaur's blood. Within the familiar theme of love
and heartbreak, Sophocles creates an image of the world with its fragility,
mutability, passion, and tragedy.
Sophocles (born 496 BCE in Colonus, near Athens) is one of the greatest
