Deianeira
The wife of Heracles whose love inadvertently killed the greatest hero in Greek mythology when she used the poisoned shirt of Nessus.
The Legend of Deianeira
Deianeira was the daughter of King Oeneus of Calydon and sister of Meleager. Heracles won her hand by defeating the river god Achelous in a wrestling match, breaking off his horn (which became the cornucopia). On their journey home, the centaur Nessus offered to carry Deianeira across the river Evenus but attempted to assault her. Heracles shot him with an arrow poisoned by the Hydra's blood. Dying, Nessus whispered to Deianeira that his blood-soaked tunic would serve as a love charm. Years later, when Heracles conquered Oechalia and took the princess Iole as a concubine, Deianeira — not from jealousy but from love — sent him the shirt. The Hydra's poison burned Heracles' flesh irremovably. When Deianeira learned what she had done, she killed herself with a sword. Heracles built his funeral pyre on Mount Oeta, and Zeus raised him to Olympus.
Parents
Oeneus, Althaea
Children
Hyllus, Macaria
Symbols
Fun Fact
Deianeira's name means "man-destroyer" — an epithet she fulfilled accidentally through love rather than malice, making her Greek mythology's most tragically ironic character. Sophocles' Women of Trachis portrays her not as a villain but as a devoted wife who trusted a dying enemy. She is the original "good intentions, catastrophic outcome" character — a figure modern audiences find more sympathetic than the hero she destroyed.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Phaedra
🗡 heroQueen consumed by forbidden love
Phaedra was the wife of Theseus who was cursed by Aphrodite to fall hopelessly in love with her stepson Hippolytus — her suicide and false accusation destroyed him.
Nessus
🐉 creatureCentaur whose blood killed Heracles
Nessus was the centaur who tried to abduct Heracles' wife Deianira — and whose poisoned blood, given as a love charm, eventually killed the greatest hero.
Psyche
🗡 heroMortal whose love conquered a god
Psyche was a princess so beautiful that Aphrodite was jealous — she married Eros in darkness and lost him when she looked, then won him back through impossible labours.
Cephalus and Procris
🗡 heroLovers destroyed by jealousy
Cephalus and Procris were devoted spouses whose mutual jealousy — tested by Eos and by a magic gift — led to Procris's accidental death.
Alphesiboea
🗡 heroMarriage, tragedy
First wife of Alcmaeon who received the cursed necklace of Harmonia as a wedding gift
Lichas
🗡 heroNone recorded
Herald of Heracles who unwittingly delivered the poisoned robe that killed his master
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Centaur
🐉 creatureCentaur whose dying gift killed Heracles
Nessus was the centaur whose poisoned blood, given as a false love charm, ultimately destroyed the invincible Heracles.
Heracles
🗡 heroGreatest of all Greek heroes
The son of Zeus and Alcmene who performed twelve impossible labours and was the only hero to achieve full godhood after death.
Hippolytus
🗡 heroSon of Theseus destroyed by Aphrodite
Hippolytus was the chaste son of Theseus who rejected Aphrodite and was destroyed when his stepmother Phaedra fell in love with him.
Alcmene
🗡 heroMother of Heracles
Alcmene was the mortal woman whom Zeus seduced by disguising himself as her husband — she bore Heracles, the greatest hero of Greek mythology.
Peleus
🗡 heroMortal who married a goddess
The king of Phthia who wrestled and won the sea-nymph Thetis, fathering Achilles — the greatest warrior of the Trojan War.