Deianira in Heracles (Hercules): Later Adventures and Death

Deianira in Heracles (Hercules): Later Adventures and Death

You'd think Heracles might think twice before he married someone whose name meant "husband destroyer." Nevertheless, Heracles got hitched to Deianira, making her his third wife. Deianira ended up earning her name by accidentally causing the death of the greatest hero of all time. (She accidentally poisoned him with Hydra venom. Read more about it here.)

Deianira is the main character for the first half of Sophocles' play The Women of Trachis, and her story is also featured in Ovid's Metamorphoses.