Trachiniae by Sophocles

Deianeira was, as a young woman, very beautiful.  The river god Achelous, who sometimes appeared as a bull and other times as a snake, wished to marry her.  Heracles (in Rome known as Hercules) desired her also, and killed the river god in order to marry her himself. 


While she was crossing a river carried by a Centaur named Nessus, the Centaur attempted to violate her and was also killed by Heracles.  As he was dying, he told Deianeira to take some of his clotted blood.  From it she could make a potion which would cause Heracles to only love and be faithful to her.


Fast forward many years.  Deianeira is waiting for Heracles to return after an absence of 15 months.  She is apparently now at least middle-aged, as she has grown children.  Before Heracles enters the city, the spoils of war precede him.  Among them is a beautiful young woman who has been taken captive.  Deianeira pities her and is interested in her story.  Eventually she learns the truth that the girl Iole is the reason Heracles recently destroyed a city, and that he intends Iole to also be his wife.


Deianeira fakes acceptance of this, but then sends a robe to Heracles which she has treated with the potion given to her by Nessus many years earlier.  She gives instructions to the messenger to ask Heracles to wear it as he makes sacrifices to the gods.  Heracles complies.  The robe tightens around his body sucking the life out of him and causing agonizing pain.
  
Deianeira now realizes that the Centaur has tricked her.  Heracles will never look at another woman, because he won't be alive to do so.  The Centaur has reached out from the grave to extract his revenge.  Deianeira commits suicide.


Heracles begs his son to put him on a funeral pyre, even though he is still alive, and so end his misery.  He also makes his son promise that he will marry Iole.  His son Hyllus protests, but eventually gives in to his father's demands.  Hyllus exits chanting, No man foresees the future; but the present is fraught with mourning for us, and with shame for the powers above, and verily with anguish beyond compare for him who endures this doom.


Something tells me there is a sequel to this story....or there ought to be.


Also,  it isn't smart to believe what a Centaur tells you.


And, it is even less smart to replace your middle-aged wife with a young beauty.  Ever since I was a teenager, I have wondered how smart men can be so dumb when it comes to women.