Roman fresco depicting Hercules, Deianeira and centaur Nessos

Remarkable Roman fresco depicting Hercules, Deianeira and the centaur Nessos. The painting was discovered this year in the so-called House of Centaur (VI.9.5) in Pompeii.

The presented scene shows the moment when the traveling Hercules with his wife Deianeira meets the centaur Nessos by the rushing river, who proposes to transport the woman on his back to the other side of the water. At some point, however, the centaur began to run away with the woman, wanting to kidnap her. Then Hercules shot Nessos with his bow.

Before his death, Nessos managed to convince Deianeira that a bottle of his blood poured over his beloved’s robe would cause the husband’s eternal love for his wife. Later, according to the myth, this will lead indirectly to the death of Hercules.

It is located in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (Italy).