Painting: by Bartholomeus Spranger
Hercules's second wife was Deianira, a princess of Calydon and the sister of a man Hercules had met during his Labors. Promising her brother — who was, at the time, dead — that he'd make sure Deianira was taken care of, he married her after a handful of years questing and doing all the things that a demi-god was expected to do. It turned out that there was really no promise necessary, as she was a warrior in her own right, with little interest in settling down ... until she met Hercules.They lived a quiet and happy life for a good long while,until Hercules accidentally killed a member of the household. They decided to leave, and after a run-in with the centaur Nessus, things went sideways. Hercules killed Nessus for trying to assault Deianira, but as he was dying, the centaur told her that his blood was special. Just a little of it would ensure Hercules would be hers forever ... and it definitely wasn't deadly.Unfortunately for everyone involved, it actually was deadly, contaminated by the poison on Hercules's own arrows. Some time went by, and Hercules decided it would be a great idea to take a mistress. Deianira got out the blood vial, sprinkled some on his shirt, and he died a slow and agonizing death. It was so slow that he had time to build and climb his own funeral pyre, and realizing what she had done, Deianira hanged herself.
