“.. the conquest of the whole city was due to love for this girl: the Lydian woman was not its destroyer, but the passion which this maid has kindled.”
~ ‘Trachiniae’ by Sophocles (Richard. C. Jebb translation. GB5 - p174)
Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, is anxiously awaiting her husband’s return. He has gone on long absences in the past also, but this time feels different because before he left, he told her how to divide his property if he were to die. She sends her son Hyllus to find information about his father. A messenger arrives and tells Deianeira that Heracles is alive and Lichas, his herald, is on the way to give more details. Deianeira is very happy that Heracles is alive. Lichas arrives with a group of maidens and tells Deianeira that Heracles was held captive for a year, and after that, he sacked the city of Oechalia, whose King Eurytus had insulted him at a banquet, and the women with him are the captives from the city. One of the girls looks noble, and when Deianeira asks about her, Lichas says he doesn’t know anything.
After Lichas and the maidens go inside, the messenger calls Deianeira to a side and says everything Lichas said was a lie, except for the sacking of Oechalia and being captive for a year. He says Heracles sacked the city because he was in love with Iole, the beautiful maiden Deianeira was asking about. Since her father, Eurytus, didn’t agree to give his daughter, Heracles attacked the city and sacked it. Deianeira is horrified by the news and says that even gods cannot go against love. She calls Lichas, who, though he denies this initially, agrees later, saying that he didn’t want to tell the truth for fear of hurting her feelings.