Deianira is Hercules’s wife. She was also the love interest of both Achelous and Nessus. When Hercules defeats Nessus, Nessus gives Deianira a cursed shirt that he says will excite Hercules’s passion. Later, when Deianira wants to make Hercules fall in love with her again, she gives him the shirt and it burns him to death.
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Deianira Character Timeline in Metamorphoses
The timeline below shows where the character Deianira appears in Metamorphoses. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 9: Achelous and Hercules
...to tell a story of his own defeat but begins: Achelous falls in love with Deianira, who has countless suitors. Achelous enters Deianira’s father’s palace and asks for Deianira’s hand in...
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Book 9: Hercules and Nessus
Unlike Achelous, Nessus the centaur is fatally wounded trying to compete with Hercules for Deianira. After defeating Achelous, Hercules travels home with his new wife Deianira. They come to a...
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When Hercules reaches the opposite bank, he hears Deianira scream. Hercules screams that Nessus is a monster for trying to rape another man’s wife....
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Book 9: The Death of Hercules
...her husband’s bastard son infuriates Juno, so she sends the goddess Rumour to Hercules’s wife, Deianira. Rumour tells Deianira that Hercules has fallen in love with Iole, the princess of a...
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Finally, Deianira decides to give Hercules the blood-soaked shirt Nessus gave her in hopes of rekindling his...
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