Sophocles' Trachiniae - similarly to his Oedipus - is a drama of responsibility and conflict unfolding from the sharp contrast between belief and knowing, appearance and reality. Those having the knowledge and those left without it, however, do not clash on the stage here: in Trachiniae, the conflict takes place between the stage and the auditorium. This is why the two protagonists, Heracles and Deianeira do not appear together, and this is the reason for the seemingly uncoordinated diptych-form of the play. Consequently, it is only the spectators that have certain knowledge - or perhaps not even they? The peculiar, frequently-disputed ending, that is, the incompleteness of the drama, turns suddenly all certainty into uncertainty for them, as well.