How do Zeus and Aphrodite feature in The Women of Trachis?

Zeus and Aphrodite are presented as devious and manipulative. A common refrain in Greek drama and literature is the way in which the gods control the mortals to satisfy their own whims. Humans are often presented as the helpless playthings of the gods, jerked around by the immortals like puppets on a string. And so it proves to be in The Women of Trachis.
Although Hercules may be Zeus's son, and thus bound for great glory, he is no less prone to manipulation by the father of the gods. Zeus is a jealous god, and we can be sure that he won't take kindly to Hercules's impiety in demanding that Hyllus marry Iole. Hercules goes to his death knowing that it is the will of the gods. Hyllus is much less accepting of his father's fate and laments the cruel, unforgiving nature of the immortals.
As for Aphrodite, she is blamed by the Chorus for the tragedy of Deianira's death. Aphrodite enjoys making people fall in love with each other for no other reason than the satisfaction of her own personal whims. In keeping with her manipulative attitude towards love, it was Aphrodite who filled Hercules with love for Iole, which in due course led to Deianira's fateful decision to give Hercules what turned out to be a poisoned robe that almost devoured his flesh.

Zeus and Aphrodite are gods of the Olympian pantheon, with Zeus being the king of the gods and Aphrodite the goddess of love. Neither of these two gods actually appears in the play as a character, but they have effects on the main characters and are mentioned in speeches.
Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Alcmene. It is his half-divine nature that gives him his extraordinary strength. He also inherits his father's wandering eye. Just as Zeus is unfaithful to Hera with myriad mortal women and young men, so too is the plot of The Women of Trachis set in motion by Hercules's infidelity to Deianira with Iole. Although Hera is not mentioned in the play, it is her enmity that has, in the past, led to many of Hercules's problems, although Hercules's impulsiveness and self-indulgence are always inciting factors. At the end of the play, Hyllus, the son of Hercules and Deianira, seems to blame Zeus for his father's suffering and death.
Aphrodite does not appear as directly, but she is the goddess of love, and the messenger blames love for Hercules's delayed return, as his desire for Iole caused him to kill Eurytus. After the messenger reveals this, the chorus says, "Great is the power of Aphrodite's triumph!" and describes several examples of her power. Hercules's love for Iole and Deianira's desire to reclaim her husband's love are, along with the malice of the centaur, the causes of Hercules's downfall.