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Women of Trachis
Mutability; uncertainty; a universe of precipitous these themes are at the heart of Sophocles' tragic vision. But nowhere are they elaborated with more urgency than in Women of Trachis . There are no subtle shifts of Fortune's favors in this tragedy, only stunning and total reversals, a relentless spinning of her fickle wheel. Thesis moves to crushing antithesis with an unparalleled violence at the moment of transformation.
Thought to have been written about 440 BC, midway through the poet's career, Women of Trachis has long suffered from neglect by scholars despite its sophistication and raw energy. This translation at last rescues the immense lyrical power and tragic grandeur of the play from obscurity, restoring the music of a poetry originally meant to be sung and danced collectively.
Thought to have been written about 440 BC, midway through the poet's career, Women of Trachis has long suffered from neglect by scholars despite its sophistication and raw energy. This translation at last rescues the immense lyrical power and tragic grandeur of the play from obscurity, restoring the music of a poetry originally meant to be sung and danced collectively.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 451
About the author
Sophocles
2,346 books2,874 followersSophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek:
Σοφοκλής
; German:
Sophokles
, Russian:
Софокл
, French:
Sophocle
, Catalan:
Sòfocles
) was an ancient Greek tragedian, known as one of three from whom at least one play has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.
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April 26, 2009Here’s something I just realized, about ten years too late: Greek is really, really hard. All you ambitious youngsters out there contemplating a fast-paced career in classics, take it from me: Ancient Greek will break your heart. I’ve been sweating over this infernal language for more than a decade, off and on, and even now I don’t read it so much as piece it together, clause by tortuous clause. You can, with a bilingual edition of Dante and a good dictionary, teach yourself Italian in six months. Klingon, I understand, is even easier. So be smart, kids: study a nice, friendly modern language, or better yet, take kinesiology and drink your face off for four years.
The perverse thing is, I’m not even all that interested in Greek literature. I just can’t get into Sophocles or Aristophanes the way I can Shakespeare or Beckett. The habits of thought and feeling that inform the Iliad or The Peloponnesian War are so alien to me that to read these books is to engage in an act of gross misprision. It’s simply unavoidable. As Louis MacNeice (a classics man himself) put it:
And how one can imagine oneself among them
I do not know;
It was all so unimaginably different
And all so long ago.
So if I still read Greek, it’s no longer for the various snobbish and high-minded reasons I started out with. My only excuse now is that it’s become an intellectual compulsion. Everybody with an IQ over 80 needs an outlet for the odd millijoules of mental energy left over from the struggle to make a living. Some people do crosswords; I do Greek.
Oh, but you were probably expecting some passing reference, at least, to the book under review. Truth be told, I’m only at the mid-point and I’m planning to switch over to English for the last half, so I can’t actually quote unquote review the play yet (and anyway, what kind of asshole condescends to review Sophocles? On a social networking site, no less? Right, I forgot – the same kind of asshole who airily dismisses Troilus and Cressida.) But, come on, it’s a Greek tragedy. What else do you need to know? Some shit will go down; good people will suffer; death will be histrionic. It’s Titanic on a community-theatre budget, written by a poetic genius. There, now I’ve just airily dismissed The Women of Trachis, too. I am an asshole.
The perverse thing is, I’m not even all that interested in Greek literature. I just can’t get into Sophocles or Aristophanes the way I can Shakespeare or Beckett. The habits of thought and feeling that inform the Iliad or The Peloponnesian War are so alien to me that to read these books is to engage in an act of gross misprision. It’s simply unavoidable. As Louis MacNeice (a classics man himself) put it:
And how one can imagine oneself among them
I do not know;
It was all so unimaginably different
And all so long ago.
So if I still read Greek, it’s no longer for the various snobbish and high-minded reasons I started out with. My only excuse now is that it’s become an intellectual compulsion. Everybody with an IQ over 80 needs an outlet for the odd millijoules of mental energy left over from the struggle to make a living. Some people do crosswords; I do Greek.
Oh, but you were probably expecting some passing reference, at least, to the book under review. Truth be told, I’m only at the mid-point and I’m planning to switch over to English for the last half, so I can’t actually quote unquote review the play yet (and anyway, what kind of asshole condescends to review Sophocles? On a social networking site, no less? Right, I forgot – the same kind of asshole who airily dismisses Troilus and Cressida.) But, come on, it’s a Greek tragedy. What else do you need to know? Some shit will go down; good people will suffer; death will be histrionic. It’s Titanic on a community-theatre budget, written by a poetic genius. There, now I’ve just airily dismissed The Women of Trachis, too. I am an asshole.
September 15, 2026
This play could very well have as its title that of its heroine, Deianeira, which in ancient Greek means something like man or husband-destroyer. She was the second wife of a destroyer in his own right, Hercules, and she was a princess of Calydon, daughter of King Oeneus and Queen Althaea, and sister of Meleager of the Boar Hunt. Although all of this is not in Sophocles’ play.
Instead, Sophocles presents us with both her and her husband’s ending. And in this tragedy his Deianeira is a highly complex figure. She has often been compared to Medea, for they both use a poisoned cloth to kill someone out of jealousy or spite. Or rather, Deianeira uses it no to kill her husband because she believed the poison was a love-potion that would strengthen her husband’s love for her. There was no intention in the murder, although as she later recognizes, there was wrongdoing. The audience needs no knowledge of Freud to wonder about her deep down intentions.
From the beginning of the play Deianeira laments her nightmarish past experiences. She was two times almost abducted and almost raped, once by the river god Achelous and another time by the centaur Nessus. The second time she was saved by Hercules and from this occasion she got hold of the fatal love-potion-cum-poison. But apart from these horrors, she had felt deep terror when having to face marriage. And then she had to put up with her husband’s philandering while he was about executing all his Labours. As she judiciously states in one of her first speeches, this was tolerable. What was not acceptable was when Hercules comes back with Iole, who in an exact parallel to Cassandra in Aeschylus's Agamemnon in his trilogy The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides remains mute on the stage, pretending to bring this conquered and enslaved lover into the house, to share the same bed as Deianeira. No, certainly not.
This play is also interesting because it presents a not admirable Hercules. His last deed is not the destruction of yet another threat to humanity, but of a city, the city-kingdom of Oechalia, as vengeance. Iole’s father, King Eurytus, had not wanted to deliver his daughter to him.
Women of Trachis has a diptych structure. This is something I noticed also in Euripides’ Hippolytos, but it seems this is a characteristic found mostly in Sophocles. Deianeira occupies the first half of the play while Hercules the second (most probably both were acted by the same man). And concepts are presented in pairs: Light versus Darkness (the poison is activated by light); Truth versus Falsity (who is telling the Truth?); Inside versus Outside (when a woman is outside in Greek drama, there is trouble and the Inside is sacrosanct); Female and Male (Deianeira kills herself in a manly way and Hercules dies crying like a girl).
I read this two times and as often happens, I appreciated a great deal more the second time and added one star.
Instead, Sophocles presents us with both her and her husband’s ending. And in this tragedy his Deianeira is a highly complex figure. She has often been compared to Medea, for they both use a poisoned cloth to kill someone out of jealousy or spite. Or rather, Deianeira uses it no to kill her husband because she believed the poison was a love-potion that would strengthen her husband’s love for her. There was no intention in the murder, although as she later recognizes, there was wrongdoing. The audience needs no knowledge of Freud to wonder about her deep down intentions.
From the beginning of the play Deianeira laments her nightmarish past experiences. She was two times almost abducted and almost raped, once by the river god Achelous and another time by the centaur Nessus. The second time she was saved by Hercules and from this occasion she got hold of the fatal love-potion-cum-poison. But apart from these horrors, she had felt deep terror when having to face marriage. And then she had to put up with her husband’s philandering while he was about executing all his Labours. As she judiciously states in one of her first speeches, this was tolerable. What was not acceptable was when Hercules comes back with Iole, who in an exact parallel to Cassandra in Aeschylus's Agamemnon in his trilogy The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides remains mute on the stage, pretending to bring this conquered and enslaved lover into the house, to share the same bed as Deianeira. No, certainly not.
This play is also interesting because it presents a not admirable Hercules. His last deed is not the destruction of yet another threat to humanity, but of a city, the city-kingdom of Oechalia, as vengeance. Iole’s father, King Eurytus, had not wanted to deliver his daughter to him.
Women of Trachis has a diptych structure. This is something I noticed also in Euripides’ Hippolytos, but it seems this is a characteristic found mostly in Sophocles. Deianeira occupies the first half of the play while Hercules the second (most probably both were acted by the same man). And concepts are presented in pairs: Light versus Darkness (the poison is activated by light); Truth versus Falsity (who is telling the Truth?); Inside versus Outside (when a woman is outside in Greek drama, there is trouble and the Inside is sacrosanct); Female and Male (Deianeira kills herself in a manly way and Hercules dies crying like a girl).
I read this two times and as often happens, I appreciated a great deal more the second time and added one star.
January 25, 2025
for the love of whatever God you look up to, was that all really worth it for a man?
March 13, 2019
Sophocles you do entertain me. In exile in Trachis, Deianira is pining for the return of her husband Heracles. Herald arrives to inform of his imminent return and war booty enters, enslaved vanquished, maidens.
Minor Boss Battle between Herald and Messenger goes down as the truth is sought.
Truth is found and Greek tragedy ensues - thanks rapey Centaur.
Tip of the Day for all the dudes:
If you find yourself transported to ancient Greece and some babe offers . . . just remember
Minor Boss Battle between Herald and Messenger goes down as the truth is sought.
Thou tell’st thy tale
To no weak woman, but to one who knows
Mankind are never constant to one joy.
Truth is found and Greek tragedy ensues - thanks rapey Centaur.
Then even there,
With thine own hand uplifting this my body,
Taking what friends thou wilt, and having lopped
Much wood from the deep-rooted oak and rough
Wild olive, lay me on the gathered pile,
And burn all with the touch of pine-wood flame.
Let not a tear of mourning dim thine eye;
But silent, with dry gaze, if thou art mine,
Perform it. Else my curse awaits thee still
To weigh thee down when I am lost in night.
Tip of the Day for all the dudes:
If you find yourself transported to ancient Greece and some babe offers . . . just remember
October 21, 2012
War and the absent husband
24 October 2012
This is the only Herculean play of Sophocles that we have, and when I use the term Herculean, it is not in the big and massive context that we generally use the term, but rather the story focuses around the Greek hero Heracles. This play could also have the subtitle of 'The Death of Heracles' and in many ways it is a tragedy true to form. However, it also adds to the mystery of how the story of Heracles played out. The problem with Heracles is that we have so many conflicting versions (not counting the sword and sandal epics) that it is quite difficult to work out the accepted story, even if there was one.
My understanding is that Heracles was forced to undergo twelve tasks so as to cleanse himself, and he performed the tasks for a king named Eurytcus. However, the problem is that it is unclear where Eurytcus was king, for in Heracles Gone Mad, he is king of Argos, however in this play he is king of Euboea (two completely different parts of Greece). Furthermore, in this play he goes after Eurytcus immediately after completing the tasks, whereas in the other play he goes home first, and it is unclear as to whether he manages to exact vengeance on him.
This is clearly a war play, but then again many of the Greek plays were war plays. If you look back at my commentary of Heracles Gone Mad, you will note that the twelve tasks are analogous of the tasks of the warrior. Whereas in the former play we deal with the problem of adapting to civilian life after living the life of a warrior, in this play we are dealing with the problem of the broken relationship that evolves out of the warrior simply not being home. Remember, in Ancient Greek society pretty much every male was expected to be a warrior, and most of the male's formative years would be spent abroad fighting (there was no such thing as a professional soldier in those days).
The play begins while Heracles is away, though we learn that he has completed his tasks and is now exacting revenge on Eurytcus. However, the problem is that his wife has very little information as to what is going on and has to rely on messengers. The tragedy of the play arises when a false messenger arrives and gives her a false rumour about how Heracles has stayed away because he has found a new love. Now, this is not necessarily an uncommon thing, especially in Greek literature. Remember, during his ten year voyage home Odysseus had shacked up with at least two women, which was not seen as a problem since his heart was always focused on returning to Penelope (or at least getting home to Ithaca). However, in this play the element of unfaithfulness suddenly arises.
We see this in the modern day all too much. I remember watching a film, the name of which escapes me at the moment, about soldiers in the Gulf War (and no doubt it also happened in the Iraq war as well) learning that while they were away their wives not only had been having affairs, but had then been breaking up with their husbands, simply because their husbands have not been around. Unlike the civilian life, where this happens because of the husband's desire to climb the corporate ladder to provide for his family, these men had little choice in the matter. They had joined the army, and when the army ships them off overseas, they have little choice but to acquiesce.
I am not really inclined to write this up as an anti-war play though, simply because war was a part of the culture at the time. In fact, war has always been apart of our culture. As it has been suggested in other literature, humanities normal state is to be at war with each other. These days we have the peace movement and rallies against wars, however even within our civil society, we are still at war. Gangs fight against other gangs for control over territory, criminals fight criminals to gain control of lucrative markets, and people in the workplace war against each other for the lucrative promotion. In fact, we are encouraged to take up a football team, and then to war against supporters of other football teams to keep us from turning against the ruling elite. However much of a distraction this is, we seem to feel the need to be at odds with our fellow humans, even if we disagree on minor issues, because for some reason it gives us a sense of satisfaction, especially when we come out on top, despite us not actually gaining any real benefit from it.
24 October 2012
This is the only Herculean play of Sophocles that we have, and when I use the term Herculean, it is not in the big and massive context that we generally use the term, but rather the story focuses around the Greek hero Heracles. This play could also have the subtitle of 'The Death of Heracles' and in many ways it is a tragedy true to form. However, it also adds to the mystery of how the story of Heracles played out. The problem with Heracles is that we have so many conflicting versions (not counting the sword and sandal epics) that it is quite difficult to work out the accepted story, even if there was one.
My understanding is that Heracles was forced to undergo twelve tasks so as to cleanse himself, and he performed the tasks for a king named Eurytcus. However, the problem is that it is unclear where Eurytcus was king, for in Heracles Gone Mad, he is king of Argos, however in this play he is king of Euboea (two completely different parts of Greece). Furthermore, in this play he goes after Eurytcus immediately after completing the tasks, whereas in the other play he goes home first, and it is unclear as to whether he manages to exact vengeance on him.
This is clearly a war play, but then again many of the Greek plays were war plays. If you look back at my commentary of Heracles Gone Mad, you will note that the twelve tasks are analogous of the tasks of the warrior. Whereas in the former play we deal with the problem of adapting to civilian life after living the life of a warrior, in this play we are dealing with the problem of the broken relationship that evolves out of the warrior simply not being home. Remember, in Ancient Greek society pretty much every male was expected to be a warrior, and most of the male's formative years would be spent abroad fighting (there was no such thing as a professional soldier in those days).
The play begins while Heracles is away, though we learn that he has completed his tasks and is now exacting revenge on Eurytcus. However, the problem is that his wife has very little information as to what is going on and has to rely on messengers. The tragedy of the play arises when a false messenger arrives and gives her a false rumour about how Heracles has stayed away because he has found a new love. Now, this is not necessarily an uncommon thing, especially in Greek literature. Remember, during his ten year voyage home Odysseus had shacked up with at least two women, which was not seen as a problem since his heart was always focused on returning to Penelope (or at least getting home to Ithaca). However, in this play the element of unfaithfulness suddenly arises.
We see this in the modern day all too much. I remember watching a film, the name of which escapes me at the moment, about soldiers in the Gulf War (and no doubt it also happened in the Iraq war as well) learning that while they were away their wives not only had been having affairs, but had then been breaking up with their husbands, simply because their husbands have not been around. Unlike the civilian life, where this happens because of the husband's desire to climb the corporate ladder to provide for his family, these men had little choice in the matter. They had joined the army, and when the army ships them off overseas, they have little choice but to acquiesce.
I am not really inclined to write this up as an anti-war play though, simply because war was a part of the culture at the time. In fact, war has always been apart of our culture. As it has been suggested in other literature, humanities normal state is to be at war with each other. These days we have the peace movement and rallies against wars, however even within our civil society, we are still at war. Gangs fight against other gangs for control over territory, criminals fight criminals to gain control of lucrative markets, and people in the workplace war against each other for the lucrative promotion. In fact, we are encouraged to take up a football team, and then to war against supporters of other football teams to keep us from turning against the ruling elite. However much of a distraction this is, we seem to feel the need to be at odds with our fellow humans, even if we disagree on minor issues, because for some reason it gives us a sense of satisfaction, especially when we come out on top, despite us not actually gaining any real benefit from it.
September 17, 2015
At the climax of this play, a character literally begs his son, "Son, I want you to kill me and marry my wife." And his son is begging off: "Dad, I think that's weird. Ask something else of me." But the father keeps putting the lean on, until the son relents.
According to Rene Girard, this is one Sophocles play that Freud never refers to. It's interesting to speculate how different the history of twentieth-century psychology would have been if he had.
According to Rene Girard, this is one Sophocles play that Freud never refers to. It's interesting to speculate how different the history of twentieth-century psychology would have been if he had.
September 23, 2025
This was actually REALLY GOOD. We all hate Heracles, and I think it's fantastic that he died at the hands of the only person who truly loved him, and died because he betrayed her. Divine justice. Everything happens because Zeus wanted it that way. I feel sorry for Hilo though
May 25, 2020
Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, fears her heroic husband may leave her for a younger woman, so hatches the most tragic of plans to keep him by her side.
Heracles is a wonderfully charming character; there's his loud and cheerful antics in Alcestis, his cunning and guile throughout the twelves labours, the song in that atrocious Disney film; he's just a big, friendly, demi-God hero. He may have slaughtered his wife and children in the most vicious way imaginable, but that was directly the fault of his evil step-mother and her hallucinations, so you can't blame him for an act he had no control over. And, yes, he was almost as incorrigible an adulterer as Zeus, but, eh... The ancient Greek's just ignore that, I suppose? Overall though, Heracles is usually a bombastic, clever and good natured bloke.
But my God is he an utter bastard in this, his final legend.
I felt sympathy for literally every other character. Deianeira is devoted, kind and loves her husband, but she's neglected and thouroughly miserable. Her solution to her husband falling for someone else isn't just to kill her rival, either. Then there's Heracles new 'love', Iole, who has just had her entire family murdered and been enslaved. By Heracles. I feel bad for the messenger sent on ahead with Iole too, who daren't tell the truth of the situation to his master's wife, while Heracles didn't even bother to hide what he'd done and why, he just sent someone else to deal with the initial fallout. And there's that poor sod Hyllus, Heracles' son, who has to .
As much as this is certainly a tragedy, I don't consider Heracles death to be part of it. Despite him suffering the most violent and agonising of endings, I found it carthartic. Sophocles sets us up to utterly despise his thoughtless, horny actions, and for the majority of the play he doesn't even appear. All the emphasis is on everyone elses' pain and misery, all of which our 'tragic hero' caused.
Considering the very next step in Heracles' journey is to become an Olympian and shack up with a Goddess, I'm glad Sophocles managed to give us so much screaming and agony for his final moments; a suitably just punishment for his unforgivably callous last days.
Heracles is a wonderfully charming character; there's his loud and cheerful antics in Alcestis, his cunning and guile throughout the twelves labours, the song in that atrocious Disney film; he's just a big, friendly, demi-God hero. He may have slaughtered his wife and children in the most vicious way imaginable, but that was directly the fault of his evil step-mother and her hallucinations, so you can't blame him for an act he had no control over. And, yes, he was almost as incorrigible an adulterer as Zeus, but, eh... The ancient Greek's just ignore that, I suppose? Overall though, Heracles is usually a bombastic, clever and good natured bloke.
But my God is he an utter bastard in this, his final legend.
I felt sympathy for literally every other character. Deianeira is devoted, kind and loves her husband, but she's neglected and thouroughly miserable. Her solution to her husband falling for someone else isn't just to kill her rival, either. Then there's Heracles new 'love', Iole, who has just had her entire family murdered and been enslaved. By Heracles. I feel bad for the messenger sent on ahead with Iole too, who daren't tell the truth of the situation to his master's wife, while Heracles didn't even bother to hide what he'd done and why, he just sent someone else to deal with the initial fallout. And there's that poor sod Hyllus, Heracles' son, who has to .
As much as this is certainly a tragedy, I don't consider Heracles death to be part of it. Despite him suffering the most violent and agonising of endings, I found it carthartic. Sophocles sets us up to utterly despise his thoughtless, horny actions, and for the majority of the play he doesn't even appear. All the emphasis is on everyone elses' pain and misery, all of which our 'tragic hero' caused.
Considering the very next step in Heracles' journey is to become an Olympian and shack up with a Goddess, I'm glad Sophocles managed to give us so much screaming and agony for his final moments; a suitably just punishment for his unforgivably callous last days.
June 26, 2021
Héracles volta ao lar depois de concluir os doze trabalhos. Sua esposa Dejanira fica sabendo que uma das escravas que chegam com o espólio de Héracles é na verdade sua amante Iole, filha do rei da Ecália.
No intuito de manter o amor de Héracles, Djanira envia para ele um manto que foi banhado no sangue do centauro Nesso (o centauro teria dito que seu sangue poderia fazer Heracles ama-la para sempre), mas ao contrário, foi o veneno que acabou por mata-lo.
No intuito de manter o amor de Héracles, Djanira envia para ele um manto que foi banhado no sangue do centauro Nesso (o centauro teria dito que seu sangue poderia fazer Heracles ama-la para sempre), mas ao contrário, foi o veneno que acabou por mata-lo.
June 1, 2019
Puanım 4/5 (%72/100)
Sophokles serimi tamamlamış buluyorum. Philoktetes okuyayım derken Trakhisli Kadınlar'ın aslında o kitaptan daha önceki bir olayı işlediğini öğrendim. Bu yüzden önce Trakhisli Kadınlar ile başlamaya karar verdim. Kitap oldukça kısa olmasına rağmen okuması yine çok zevkliydi. Kitabı beğenmiş olsam da bir Oidipus veya Antigone değil kesinlikle. Ayrıca Herakles ile ilgili bütün hikayeleri bildiğim için de biraz az sevmiş olabilirim. Yine de herkesin okumasını öneriyorum. Sophokles benim için çok çok ayrı seviyede bir yazar ve elimden geldiğince herkese okutturmaya çalışıyorum.
Kitap aslında Herakles'in hikayesini anlatsa da Deianeira'nın bakış açısı üzerinden gidiyor. Deianeira, Herakles'in karısı ve Trakhis'in kraliçesidir. Kitaba adını veren Trakhisli kadınlar ise koroyu oluşturmaktadır. Bu kitapta koro seyirciye bilgi vermek dışında oyunun içine girip Deianeira'ya birçok öğüt veriyor ve olaylara karışıyorlar. Herakles kitapta aslında sonlara kadar gözükmüyor bile. Deianeira kocasının yanında olmamasından dolayı çok üzgündür ve kısa bir süre sonra Herakles'in genç bir kızla geri döndüğünü öğrenir. Kocası kazanmak isteyen Deianeira pişman olacağı bir şey yapacaktır. Tragedya olması nedeniyle sonu mutsuz biten bir Sophokles metni daha. Olayların gelişmesi ve kitabın sonu oldukça güzeldi. Yalnız oyun bana biraz kısa geldi ve olaylar sanki aceleye gelmiş gibi geldi. Karakterler çok derin değildi, özellikle de ana karakter görevi gören Deianeira. Bunlar çok büyük sıkıntılar olmadığı için kitabı gözüm kapalı tavsiye ederim.
Sophokles serimi tamamlamış buluyorum. Philoktetes okuyayım derken Trakhisli Kadınlar'ın aslında o kitaptan daha önceki bir olayı işlediğini öğrendim. Bu yüzden önce Trakhisli Kadınlar ile başlamaya karar verdim. Kitap oldukça kısa olmasına rağmen okuması yine çok zevkliydi. Kitabı beğenmiş olsam da bir Oidipus veya Antigone değil kesinlikle. Ayrıca Herakles ile ilgili bütün hikayeleri bildiğim için de biraz az sevmiş olabilirim. Yine de herkesin okumasını öneriyorum. Sophokles benim için çok çok ayrı seviyede bir yazar ve elimden geldiğince herkese okutturmaya çalışıyorum.
"Bir insan yarını ya da birkaç gün sonrasını
hesaplıyorsa beyinsizdir. Çünkü bugünü
sorunsuz geçmeden yarını hiç olmaz!"
Kitap aslında Herakles'in hikayesini anlatsa da Deianeira'nın bakış açısı üzerinden gidiyor. Deianeira, Herakles'in karısı ve Trakhis'in kraliçesidir. Kitaba adını veren Trakhisli kadınlar ise koroyu oluşturmaktadır. Bu kitapta koro seyirciye bilgi vermek dışında oyunun içine girip Deianeira'ya birçok öğüt veriyor ve olaylara karışıyorlar. Herakles kitapta aslında sonlara kadar gözükmüyor bile. Deianeira kocasının yanında olmamasından dolayı çok üzgündür ve kısa bir süre sonra Herakles'in genç bir kızla geri döndüğünü öğrenir. Kocası kazanmak isteyen Deianeira pişman olacağı bir şey yapacaktır. Tragedya olması nedeniyle sonu mutsuz biten bir Sophokles metni daha. Olayların gelişmesi ve kitabın sonu oldukça güzeldi. Yalnız oyun bana biraz kısa geldi ve olaylar sanki aceleye gelmiş gibi geldi. Karakterler çok derin değildi, özellikle de ana karakter görevi gören Deianeira. Bunlar çok büyük sıkıntılar olmadığı için kitabı gözüm kapalı tavsiye ederim.
March 15, 2023
ریویوی ۲۰۲۶:
دیانیرا یک آنتی-کلوتمنسترا است، بقول استاد الیزابت وندیور.
***
ریویوی ۲۰۲۳:
مدهآ-ی تلطیفشده.
دیانیرا یک آنتی-کلوتمنسترا است، بقول استاد الیزابت وندیور.
***
ریویوی ۲۰۲۳:
مدهآ-ی تلطیفشده.
November 13, 2023
قشنگ بود:))
|تکه کتاب|
▪︎مثلی قدیمی است که هیچ آدمی را تا گاه مرگ او نه نیک بخت توان دانست، نه نگون بخت.
▪︎تنها مردم نادان به امید آینده مینشینند و روزها را یکی پس از دیگر پیش خود شماره میکنند. فردا! مگر این فردا چیست؟! تا امروز سپری نشده است و به عدم نپیوسته است، فردایی وجود ندارد!
▪︎آینده در نظر ما مجهول است. هرچه هست حال است، آن هم پر از اندوه و ناکامی است.
|تکه کتاب|
▪︎مثلی قدیمی است که هیچ آدمی را تا گاه مرگ او نه نیک بخت توان دانست، نه نگون بخت.
▪︎تنها مردم نادان به امید آینده مینشینند و روزها را یکی پس از دیگر پیش خود شماره میکنند. فردا! مگر این فردا چیست؟! تا امروز سپری نشده است و به عدم نپیوسته است، فردایی وجود ندارد!
▪︎آینده در نظر ما مجهول است. هرچه هست حال است، آن هم پر از اندوه و ناکامی است.
Read
August 26, 2023DUDE
May 12, 2019
Bildiğimiz Herkül'ün tanrı olmadan önceki hayatı.
Yunan mitolojisine göre Herkül'ün ölümüne üzülen babası Zeus ona ölümsüzlük bağışlayıp Tanrı olmasını sağlamış.
Herkül Tanrı olduktan sonra da kız kardeşi Hebe ile evlenmiş.
Günümüz fantastik eserlerinde bize marjinal gelen her şeyin 2500 yıl önce Antik Yunan'da yazılmış olduğunu görüyoruz. Neredeyse bütün edebiyatın atası.
Yunan mitolojisine göre Herkül'ün ölümüne üzülen babası Zeus ona ölümsüzlük bağışlayıp Tanrı olmasını sağlamış.
Herkül Tanrı olduktan sonra da kız kardeşi Hebe ile evlenmiş.
Günümüz fantastik eserlerinde bize marjinal gelen her şeyin 2500 yıl önce Antik Yunan'da yazılmış olduğunu görüyoruz. Neredeyse bütün edebiyatın atası.
December 29, 2018
Never read this one before. Really enjoyed it. Hercules has been gone for fifteen months (on his famous labors) and his wife Deianeira is anxious to have him back. But then Hercules' herald shows up with a group of women, war loot Hercules collected on his way back. One of the girls is very beautiful and mute. How lovely and ideal, right? Her name is Iole and she is of noble blood, daughter of the King Hercules killed. Deianeira is a mature and sensible woman and her reaction to her husband's behavior is really where the story gets interesting. I am not sure if Sophocles meant to send a message to wives about being tolerant and understanding of husbands chasing younger women, after all, what is a man to do when his wife turns 40? Surely he can't be expected to endure the calamity of sleeping with such a vile creature. Ahem.
Anyway, Deianeira in all her wisdom and despair remembers that after she'd been attacked as a girl by a centaur, Chiron I believe, and Hercules shot an arrow into the creature, the centaure, before passing away had told her that if she took the cloak he wore and followed very specific instructions, the magical cloak could one day save her marriage.
The cloak is supposed to revive Hercules' love for her and make him want no other woman.
Oups. Actually it's full of poison and once on Hercules, it clings to his skin and burns him and slowly kills him.
His son Hyllus accuses his mother of slaying his father. She of course runs away and marries a younger man and lives happil--no, she kills herself with a double edge sword in her marital bed.
Hercules is whining and bitching about his cursed fate and saying,after all the hours he put in at the shop this is what he gets when he comes home? He orders his son to throw him on a pyre and then for Hyllus to marry Iole.
The son protests a little but is basically a whimp and he proceeds with the funeral.
Of course we know that no one will have the guts to light the pyre, until Philoctese does and then he goes off to war with that magical arrow and steps on a snake and etc... That is another play.
I enjoyed this one a lot! It also filled in the missing pieces.
Anyway, Deianeira in all her wisdom and despair remembers that after she'd been attacked as a girl by a centaur, Chiron I believe, and Hercules shot an arrow into the creature, the centaure, before passing away had told her that if she took the cloak he wore and followed very specific instructions, the magical cloak could one day save her marriage.
The cloak is supposed to revive Hercules' love for her and make him want no other woman.
Oups. Actually it's full of poison and once on Hercules, it clings to his skin and burns him and slowly kills him.
His son Hyllus accuses his mother of slaying his father. She of course runs away and marries a younger man and lives happil--no, she kills herself with a double edge sword in her marital bed.
Hercules is whining and bitching about his cursed fate and saying,after all the hours he put in at the shop this is what he gets when he comes home? He orders his son to throw him on a pyre and then for Hyllus to marry Iole.
The son protests a little but is basically a whimp and he proceeds with the funeral.
Of course we know that no one will have the guts to light the pyre, until Philoctese does and then he goes off to war with that magical arrow and steps on a snake and etc... That is another play.
I enjoyed this one a lot! It also filled in the missing pieces.
November 5, 2016
Trakhisli Kadınlar, Herkül'ün başka bir kadına aşık olduğunu öğrenen eşini aşkını geri kazanmak adına yaptığı büyünün istem dışı ters tepmesini anlatıyor. Trajik sonuna rağmen daha önce Oidipus'un hikayesinde olduğu gibi Sophokles, istemeden yapılan yanlıştan insanın suçlanamayacağını savunuyor. Oldukça akıcı bir oyun.
May 10, 2019
I love reading old Greek books. There is something so familiar about the stories, probably because they've found their way into tons on modern pop culture. Sophocles is the OG. I like this translation a lot because it keeps well to the old style of the poetry. I felt like it kept the beauty of Sophocles' language without making it completely archaic and unreadable. I feel like this book doesn't get nearly enough love, probably because it's not as famous as some of his other works. I love the rhythm of the writing and how I can just fall into the words without needing to focus too much on plot details. It's like getting swept away by a tide of old Greek beliefs. I'd absolutely recommend this to any lovers of classic literature.
August 16, 2025
Since this is Sophocles, I knew it would be tragedy with a capital T. The story is fairly straightforward but I found it interesting, in part because I didn’t know (or didn’t remember) the story of the demise of Hercules.
October 18, 2025
“I waste beneath the power of this dark pestilence” me when my stomach hurts
July 27, 2014
A tragedy without a tragic hero immediately begs the question: WHY ALL THE PAIN?! We look for clues in the characters, even middling ones, and the chorus. We stumble upon hints, like the title. The Women of Trachis. In this play they serve as the chorus, the group of homegirls surrounding Deianira, her chillwomen come to stew in the house of jealous lovers. Strange, to name the play after them… If Heracles ain’t the hero of this sad tale (and he’s certainly worthy of it, so strong, so fierce in battle, so messed up toward women….) then surely it’s Deianira herself, right? Or Hyllus newly orphaned? So why Women of Trachis?
My brief and un-academic rundown is this: When Heracles dons the cloak of poison, a garment which causes him unimaginable agony and a god-like level of physical pain, he shrieks and howls and proclaims himself to be a WOMAN. This is no idle schoolyard cuss-word tossed about, not in this sense, not when it is Sophocles manning the quill. This is the strongest demi-god reduced to suffering, reduced to becoming what he has ignored the power of, he who has faced so many monsters and sacked so many cities; he has been reduced to a woman in pain. “Now you know how it feels,” someone whispers. On the other side, by killing the strongest man alive, Deianira usurps the most manlike quality from Heracles, which is his ability to kill. She emasculates him and becomes the man. “But they cancel out, and that doesn’t explain the title,” you may or may not be thinking. They do cancel each other out. So who is left? The women of Trachis. The women forever waiting for their fighting husbands to come home from work or the battlefield, the place where society demands they win trophies with their savagery and crowns their achievements with pussy galore. The nameless women in the background while the cruel play of life unfolds to the tune of endless murder. Pretty bleak background, you could say. I would agree, and to that add Hyllus’final plea: “Maiden, come from the house with us. / You have seen a terrible death / and agonies, many and strange, and there is / nothing here which is not Zeus.”
My brief and un-academic rundown is this: When Heracles dons the cloak of poison, a garment which causes him unimaginable agony and a god-like level of physical pain, he shrieks and howls and proclaims himself to be a WOMAN. This is no idle schoolyard cuss-word tossed about, not in this sense, not when it is Sophocles manning the quill. This is the strongest demi-god reduced to suffering, reduced to becoming what he has ignored the power of, he who has faced so many monsters and sacked so many cities; he has been reduced to a woman in pain. “Now you know how it feels,” someone whispers. On the other side, by killing the strongest man alive, Deianira usurps the most manlike quality from Heracles, which is his ability to kill. She emasculates him and becomes the man. “But they cancel out, and that doesn’t explain the title,” you may or may not be thinking. They do cancel each other out. So who is left? The women of Trachis. The women forever waiting for their fighting husbands to come home from work or the battlefield, the place where society demands they win trophies with their savagery and crowns their achievements with pussy galore. The nameless women in the background while the cruel play of life unfolds to the tune of endless murder. Pretty bleak background, you could say. I would agree, and to that add Hyllus’final plea: “Maiden, come from the house with us. / You have seen a terrible death / and agonies, many and strange, and there is / nothing here which is not Zeus.”
January 24, 2017
"No one forsees the future,Thus laments Hyllos, son of Herakles and Deianeira; his mother has unwittingly poisoned his mighty hero-father, thinking that she was giving him a love potion so that he would see no one but her (this being prompted by Herakles sending back home to her another, younger woman to be his wife). Deianeira ends her life when she realizes what she has done, and Herakles – dying of the poison – asks to be burned (selfishly he asks his son to do the burning, who refuses—patricide being a great sin). In other words, it does not get much more tragic than Women of Trakhis.
but our present is awash with grief
that shames even the gods, and pain
beyond anything we can know
strikes this man who now meets his doom.
Women, don't cower in the house.
Come with us. You've just seen death
and devastating calamity, but
you've seen nothing that is not Zeus."
April 21, 2017
Why I love mythological tragedy so much? I surely feel sorry that we couldn't save much of Sophocles works. O Sophocles that's the tragedy on our side!!
This one is a Greek, to be precise Athenian tragedy which centres Heracles and his wife and son.
Deianira afraid of losing her husband sends him a gift she thinks she had submerged in a love potion but turns out to be a poison. A poison in the form of Nessus's blood whom Heracles had killed to save Deianira. Well turns out he was killed by an old enemy who is already dead and that's exact was the prophecy. Mind gobbling... But Oh poor Heracles!!
Deianira after learning what she has done couldn't take it and commits suicide. ( What's with this mythology women? They don't use their brains and then they destroy almost everything they loved themselves dearly they just commit suicide. Oh god why? )
I wish I had more to read from Sophocles as I enjoy reading mythology very much.
This one is a Greek, to be precise Athenian tragedy which centres Heracles and his wife and son.
Deianira afraid of losing her husband sends him a gift she thinks she had submerged in a love potion but turns out to be a poison. A poison in the form of Nessus's blood whom Heracles had killed to save Deianira. Well turns out he was killed by an old enemy who is already dead and that's exact was the prophecy. Mind gobbling... But Oh poor Heracles!!
Deianira after learning what she has done couldn't take it and commits suicide. ( What's with this mythology women? They don't use their brains and then they destroy almost everything they loved themselves dearly they just commit suicide. Oh god why? )
I wish I had more to read from Sophocles as I enjoy reading mythology very much.
April 23, 2025
Western Canon Journey:
Women of Trachis is the sixth Sophocles poem that I’ve read. Unlike the other ones, I was completely unfamiliar with the plot of this story.
Here’s the plot: Heracles is completing a final heroic task. His wife, Deianeira, has been pining for his safe return. At first, she is relieved when she hears that he is on his way home. Then, however, she learns that he has sent ahead his spoils: women. One in particular, he plans to marry. In a panic, she uses the blood of Nessus the centaur on a tunic as a gift for Heracles. She thinks it is a love potion, but it’s actually a poison. Alas, the course of true love never did run smooth.
I was entertained by this play, but it definitely seems inferior to the others.
Women of Trachis is the sixth Sophocles poem that I’ve read. Unlike the other ones, I was completely unfamiliar with the plot of this story.
Here’s the plot: Heracles is completing a final heroic task. His wife, Deianeira, has been pining for his safe return. At first, she is relieved when she hears that he is on his way home. Then, however, she learns that he has sent ahead his spoils: women. One in particular, he plans to marry. In a panic, she uses the blood of Nessus the centaur on a tunic as a gift for Heracles. She thinks it is a love potion, but it’s actually a poison. Alas, the course of true love never did run smooth.
I was entertained by this play, but it definitely seems inferior to the others.
March 6, 2013
The Trachiniae, or Women of Trachis, is one of the plays which takes its name from the chorus, like the Trojan Women or the Suppliant Women. But whereas those names give some idea of the subject of the play, the title Women of Trachis suggests nothing. Gilbert Muarray's 1947 edition is titled The Wife of Heracles.
The play is a labarum of Sophocles' standard themes: irony, anguish, death and suicide. The wise learn too late, the innocent fall. Servility to providence.
The play is a labarum of Sophocles' standard themes: irony, anguish, death and suicide. The wise learn too late, the innocent fall. Servility to providence.
February 16, 2018
„... Acel ce-ar socoti
Cu ce „va fi”, cu „mâine”, „poimâine”, e un
Nebun. Că ziua cea de „mâine” doar atunci
Va fi când „azi” cu bine se va fi sfârșit.”
Cu ce „va fi”, cu „mâine”, „poimâine”, e un
Nebun. Că ziua cea de „mâine” doar atunci
Va fi când „azi” cu bine se va fi sfârșit.”
September 21, 2025
omiljena verzija dejanire sigurno, bravo sofokle
June 14, 2024
Überraschend gut. Liebe, Schicksal, Tod, Missverständnisse und Ehre: alle grossen Motive in ein Stück gepackt, typical antike I appreciate it
August 29, 2024
ριπ διηάνειρα γιου ντιντ ντισερβ αλλ δις
March 2, 2025
Deyanira lleva esperando el regreso de su esposo Heracles durante más de un año, y cuando al fin llegan las noticias de su regreso, se entera de que Heracles se ha traído consigo una joven amante. Desesperada, decide usar un encantamiento amoroso para que vuelva con ella.
April 8, 2026
Maiden, come from the house with us.
You have seen a terrible death
and agonies, many and strange, and there is
nothing here which is not Zeus.
"Sophocles claimed he depicted men as they ought to be, Euripides as they are."
-Aristotle
You have seen a terrible death
and agonies, many and strange, and there is
nothing here which is not Zeus.
"Sophocles claimed he depicted men as they ought to be, Euripides as they are."
-Aristotle
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