P. 119 Trachis, the scene of the play, is a town on the Malian Gulf, between Thermopylae and the mouth of the river Spercheus. Some twenty miles out to sea, beyond the narrow entrance to the gulf, lies the north-westerly tip of the long island of Euboea, the point at which Heracles is reported to have paused on his homeward journey. The time allowed for the passage of the various persons to and fro between these two places, and for the intervening incidents, would seem to strain dramatic licence to an excessive degree if we considered the play as a continuous action; it is rather to be read as a sequence of episodes separated by indefinite lapses of time.
Deianeira is a native of western Greece, the region where the river Achelous forms a boundary between Aetolia and Acarnania. On her marriage with Heracles, she had lived at Tiryns, near Argos, until after his encounter with Iphitus, when they became ‘exiles’ under the protection of Ceyx, king of Trachis.
Other geographical features alluded to in the play are Mount Oeta, standing above the valley of the Spercheus, and the Hot Springs near Thermopylae.
P. 123 Scion of Cadmus: Heracles had been born at Thebes and virtually adopted into the royal house of that city.
P. 124 Dove-priestesses: there are various interpretations of this term (Peleiades) – doves – grey-haired ones – speakers with dovelike voices – interpreters of omens given by doves. Here and in the words of Heracles (p. 158) Sophocles refers to the legend that an oracle was given either by the agency of the doves or by the rustling of the leaves of the sacred oak. Dodona, in N.W. Greece, was from the earliest times and through many centuries a site dedicated to Zeus. Herodotus (II. 54) has an explicit account of the dove-legend connected with this shrine.
P. 134 By the fires of God: the construction put upon this speech is of some importance in relation to the character of Deianeira. It has been asked whether she is sincere in this profession of forgiveness, or is only using diplomacy to get the truth from Lichas. I cannot think – if Sophocles’ pen has been true to his intention – that the opening words of the speech are consistent with a studied insincerity. Further, though a passing mood of exasperation betrays itself in a later speech, the whole aim of Deianeira’s plan is to recover her husband’s love, not to visit him with any retribution. Her forgiveness of Iole naturally partakes more of pity than of love.
P. 137 They fought: the text here is corrupt and the abrupt conclusion of the ode perhaps preserves only fragments of the author’s original intention.
P. 138 Lemaean Hydra: Heracles had encountered and destroyed the Hydra, a serpentine monster, in the marsh of Lerna, near Argos.
P. 140 Synod of Thermopylae: an ancient Hellenic council, called ‘Amphictyonic’ after its legendary founder, Amphictyon, assembled near Thermopylae.
P. 143 Cheiron: a ‘good’ centaur, who had educated Heracles and had been accidentally wounded by him in his battle with the lawless tribe.
P. 153 Wife of Zeus: Hera, who persecuted Heracles from his birth and caused him to be enslaved to Eurystheus, king of Argos, at whose command he performed his famous ‘labours’. Of his numerous adversaries Heracles, later in this speech, mentions six: the Nemean Lion, the Hydra of Lerna, the Centaurs, the Erymanthian Boar, Cerberus, and the Dragon of the Hesperides.
P. 157 Selli: priests of Zeus, members of a prehistoric tribe dwelling around Dodona.
P. 161 The death of Heracles, by the generally accepted account, did not exactly take the form foreshadowed in this play. Making his way alone up the mountain, he contrived to rear his own pyre, and it was his friend Philoctetes whom he eventually persuaded to kindle the pyre, in return for the gift of the bow and poisoned arrows. In the play Philoctetes the gift of the weapons is assumed, though Philoctetes is there said to have thrown Heracles into the volcano of Lemnos.
Some authorities assign the last six lines of the play to Hyllus, and others to the Chorus; and some take them to be addressed to Iole. They are in fact addressed to ‘Woman’ (in the singular); but this could refer to the chorus-leader, or the chorus generally, whereas it is unlikely that Iole would be on the stage at this point. We do not know that Sophocles invariably gave the chorus the last word; I therefore adopt what seems to be the most fitting conclusion.