Nessus’s Connections

About Nessus →

Slain by

• Heracles

  Heracles shot Nessus with a Hydra-poisoned arrow after the centaur tried to abduct Deianira at the river Evenus.

Member of

• Centaurs

  The Centaurs, the wild horse-men of Thessaly, counted among their notable members the wise Chiron, the hospitable Pholus, and the ferryman Nessus.

Associated with

• Deianira

  Nessus attempted to abduct Deianira while ferrying her across the river Evenus. As he lay dying from Heracles's arrow, he told Deianira to keep his blood as a love charm — a deception that would later destroy Heracles.

• Iole

  Nessus's poisoned blood, given to Deianira as a supposed love charm, was used on a robe sent to Heracles because of his desire for Iole. The centaur's dying deception thus linked Iole to Heracles' destruction.