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.
