Nessus (mythology) "Nessos", "Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae", Munich-Zurich, Artemis Verlag, vol. VI,1, 1992, 838-847 & VI,2, 1992, 534-555. Nessus (mythology) In Greek mythology, Nessus (Ancient Greek: ) was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Centauros. He fought in the battle with the Lapiths and became a ferryman on the river, Euenos. Nessus is known for his role in the story of the Tunic of Nessus. After carrying Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, across the river, he attempted to force himself upon her. Heracles saw this from across
Diana and Actaeon into a deer with a dappled hide and long antlers, robbed of his ability to speak, and thereafter promptly flees in fear. It is not long, however, before his own hounds track him down and kill him, failing to recognize their master. The story became very popular in the Renaissance. The most common scene shown was Actaeon surprising Diana, but his transformation and his death were also sometimes shown. Titian painted the first two scenes in two of his greatest late "poesies" for Philip II of Spain, in "Diana and Actaeon" and "The Death of Actaeon". The latter actually shows