Deianira
Also known as: Dejanira · Deianeira
- 1She was a Calydonian princess whose name translates to man-destroyer.
- 2She is the wife of the hero Heracles.
- 3She is the primary character in the play Women of Trachis by Sophocles.
- 4She caused the death of her husband using the Shirt of Nessus.
Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira, also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her husband".
Connections1
second wife
Deianira is famously responsible for the death of Heracles, as she inadvertently poisoned him with the blood of the centaur Nessus.
Deianira, also known as Dejanira, was a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name carries the ominous meaning of man-destroyer. She is most famously known as the wife of the hero Heracles. In the later traditions of Classical literature, she is depicted as the unwitting agent of his death, having used the poisoned Shirt of Nessus to kill him.
Heracles, Deianira and Nessus, black-figure hydria, 575-550 BCE, Louvre (E 803)Wikimedia Commons: File:Herakles_Nessos_Louvre_E803.jpgNessus and Deianira, Enrique Simonet, 1888.Wikimedia Commons: File:Simonet_-_Neso_y_Deyanira.jpg Her story is a central theme in the play Women of Trachis, written by the playwright Sophocles. The narrative explores the tragic consequences of her actions and her complex role in the life of her husband, marking her as a significant and often tragic character within the broader cycle of myths surrounding the hero.