Almost Destroying Her Man
Bit of a retelling of a segment of Heracles' myth
Picture credit: Flemish School
A mortal woman views Heracles and Deianeira trying to cross the river Euenos, as Heracles attempts to ferry his wife, but fails to as the ground attempts to buckle under the weight of two. She contemplates coming to their aid but retracts at the possible wrath she might face later from the lady of the demigod, as if she attempted to whisk Heracles from her.
She’s not Deianeira, but beautiful enough to bewitch the male population.
She remains soundless as Heracles and Deianeira voice between each other about wanting to cross the river, no form of transport in their outlook to carry them to the nearby village they have been opting to visit.
The woman is not unaware of the danger which treads the emerald of the forest and the cerulean of the water, one of the most frequent to manifest itself in the centaur.
Nessus. His biggest form of feast is stripping women of virginity. With a woman as ethereal as Deianeira, an exception is not of his rationality.
Speaking of the devil, she views the beast treading towards the pair, as Heracles sees the creature, failing to discern the lust in the centaur’s eyes for Deianeira.
The woman views as the three are conversant, before Heracles views his wife being stowed on Nessus’ bodice. She levers out her arrow, the bow unsheathed to ready herself for the target. She views Heracles’ bodice being unwet by the water as Deianeira travels for the village.
What she thought is almost what happens. She levers on her arrow right before Nessus attempts to bare Deianeira, hitting on one of his shins supported by hoofs. The centaur bellows in a horrendous, shrill tone as Heracles discerns the situation. He unsheathes his arrow embedded with poison and catapults it to Nessus’ bodice. He treads closer as he views his wife being told something by the creature in his dying breaths.
The archer woman treads out of the discreet setting before approaching them, before she introduces herself as Iole, voicing her identity in properness.
Viewing Deianeira attempting to hide something, she views the vial of Nessus’ blood on her hand before Heracles inquires about the matter. Iole warns them of Nessus’ blood being poisonous enough to kill even demigods, to which Heracles discards the vial, thanking her before they leave for the village, Deianeira subjected to a skeptical gaze from her husband.
It lays bare the edges of that old myth, doesn't it? The river's resistance, the emerald threat emerging from the trees. There's a potent stillness in the observer's gaze, the drawing of the bowstring a brief, sharp interruption in the fated path. It shows how even amidst heroic strength, fate twists in the quiet moments - the misunderstood glance, the whispered words in dying breath, the small, hidden vial that holds a deeper poison than the wound itself.