Marriage In Sophocles' account of Deianira's marriage, she was courted by the river god
Achelous, but was saved from having to marry him by Heracles, who defeated Achelous in a wrestling contest for her hand in marriage. In another version of the tale, where she was described as the daughter of Dexamenus, Heracles raped her and promised to come back and marry her. While he was away, the
centaur Eurytion appeared and demanded her as his wife. Her father, being afraid, agreed, but Heracles returned before the marriage and slew the centaur and claimed his bride. Deianira was associated with combat, and was described as someone who "drove a chariot and practiced the art of war."
Death of Heracles The most famous story containing Deianira concerns the
Shirt of Nessus. A wild centaur named
Nessus attempted to kidnap or rape Deianira as he was ferrying her across the river
Euenos, but she was rescued by Heracles, who shot the centaur with an arrow laced with the venom of the
Hydra. As he lay dying, Nessus persuaded Deianira to take a sample of his blood, claiming that, when mixed with his semen, it would create a love potion that would ensure Heracles would never again be unfaithful., 1888. When Heracles fell in love with the younger and more beautiful
Iole, Deianira, fearing that she would lose her husband, decided to use the potion. She soaked a tunic or shirt (perhaps Heracles' famous
lionskin shirt) in the potion. When Heracles put on the shirt, the venom from the very arrow he had used to kill Nessus began to burn and eat away at his skin. When he tried to remove the shirt, he tore off chunks of his own flesh. Eventually, unable to bear the pain any longer, Heracles built a funeral pyre and immolated himself. When Deianira realized what she had done, she committed suicide, either by hanging or by a sword.
Middle Age tradition She is remembered in
De Mulieribus Claris, a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the
Florentine author
Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in 136162. It is notable as an early collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women, following such ancient examples as Hesiod's
Catalogue of Women. == Calydonian family tree ==