Nessus

Nessus was a centaur in Greek mythology, who was killed by Heracles and whose blood eventually led to the hero’s death. He is known for his part in the story of the Shirt of Nessus, the poisoned tunic that Deianira sent to her husband.

Who Was Nessus?

Nessus was one of the centaurs, the wild creatures with the body of a horse and the upper body of a man. Ovid makes him a son of Ixion: when Nessus runs off with Deianira, Heracles tells him that his father’s wheel, the punishment of Ixion, should have kept him from such a crime (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.123–124). The centaurs as a race are traced to Centaurus, the child of Ixion and a cloud shaped by Zeus in the likeness of Hera (Apollodorus, Epitome 1.20; Pindar, Pythian 2.21–48).

After Heracles fought the centaurs at the cave of Pholus, the survivors scattered, and Nessus fled to the river Evenus (Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4). There he lived as a ferryman.

The Shirt of Nessus

Nessus is well known for his part in the story of Heracles and Deianira. According to Apollodorus, Heracles was travelling to Trachis with Deianira and came to the river Evenus, where the centaur Nessus sat and carried passengers across for hire, claiming that the gods had given him the ferry in reward for his righteousness. Heracles crossed by himself and entrusted Deianira to Nessus. In the middle of the crossing the centaur tried to violate her; she cried out, and Heracles shot him in the heart with an arrow as he came out of the river (Apollodorus, Library 2.7.6).

In Ovid’s account, Nessus offered to carry the frightened Deianira while Heracles swam across. Heracles heard her cries from the far bank and shot the fleeing centaur through the back; the blood from the wound was mixed with the poison of the Lernaean Hydra on the arrow, and Nessus gave Deianira his bloodstained tunic as a love charm (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.101–133). In Sophocles’ Trachiniae, Deianira tells how the dying centaur advised her to gather the blood from his wound, which was stained with the Hydra’s venom from Heracles’ arrow, and use it as a charm that would keep her husband from loving any other woman more than her (Sophocles, Trachiniae 555–577).

Before he drew his last breath, in Apollodorus’ version, Nessus told Deianira that if she wanted a love charm for Heracles she should mix the seed he had dropped on the ground with the blood from his wound. Deianira believed him and kept the mixture (Apollodorus, Library 2.7.6).

The Death of Heracles

Years later, after Heracles had taken Iole captive in Oechalia, he sent the herald Lichas to Trachis for fine clothing in order to sacrifice. From Lichas, Deianira learned about Iole and, afraid that Heracles might love the girl more than herself, she smeared the tunic with the blood of Nessus, supposing it to be a love charm. When Heracles put it on and was warmed by the sacrificial fire, the poison of the Hydra began to corrode his skin. He hurled Lichas from the headland and tore off the tunic, but it clung to him and his flesh was torn away with it. He was carried to Trachis, where Deianira hanged herself on learning what had happened. Heracles then went to Mount Oeta, built a pyre and mounted it, and Poeas lit it when no one else would; a cloud then took him up to heaven, where he became immortal (Apollodorus, Library 2.7.7).

In Sophocles’ Trachiniae, Heracles learns the truth when his son Hyllus tells him that Nessus long ago persuaded Deianira to use such a charm. Heracles then recalls an old prophecy from his father that he would be killed by none of the living but by someone who had died and dwelt in Hades, and he says that the centaur, though dead, had killed him while he lived (Sophocles, Trachiniae 1141–1142, 1159–1163).

Nessus Sources

Apollodorus, Library 2.5.4, 2.7.6–7, Epitome 1.20; Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.101–133; Sophocles, Trachiniae 555–577, 1141–1142, 1159–1163; Pindar, Pythian 2.21–48.

See Also: Heracles, Deianira, Centaurs, Hydra, Iole, Lichas, Hyllus, Ixion