Dimensions
135 x 203 x 8mm
In Sophocles's WOMEN OF TRAKHIS, Deianeira is an ordinary woman married to Herakles, a canny and violent enforcer who carries the ideal of Greek manhood to its logical (and superhuman) conclusion. To cope with her anxiety about his labors and escapades, yet keep his affection and preserve her marriage, she tolerates his conduct. But ultimately her actions--given her predicament, plus the nature and history of her husband, the most feared and storied hero of the ancient world--destroy not only her but Herakles as well.
In WOMEN OF TRAKHIS, Sophocles undermines reverential accounts of the hero's selfless service to his fellow Greeks by taking equal notice of his crimes and his brutal, deceitful, selfish acts. When Herakles finally appears, he is writhing in a robe smeared with clinging, burning, penetrating acid, yet Sophocles makes it difficult for an audience to feel sorry for him.
Bagg's goal has been to make an accurate but idiomatic renderings of the Greek original that is suited for reading, teaching, or performing.
