Sophocles

After completing his labours, Herakles finally returns home, sending ahead a young woman, Iole, to serve his bed. In an attempt to regain Herakles' affection and defend her position, his faithful wife Deianeira accidentally destroys the hero by her use of magic. Sophocles' "Women of Trachis" deals with the roles of the sexes within marriage, the function of sex and procreation in the family and society, the conflict between individual motivation and public perception, and the central tragic theme of the limits of human knowledge. This book enables the student new to the study of Greek tragedy to realise more of the interpretative possibilities available in this bold and disturbing work, first by providing the social and historical background, and secondly by employing a number of critical approaches to interpret the major thematic and dramatic issues of the play.