![]() With the last of his strength he uprooted several trees to build his own funeral pyre.Īs his skin burned to the bone, Hercules threw himself onto the pyre. The great hero was driven mad by the pain the poison caused. The fabric stuck to him and he was not able to pull it off. When Hercules put on the tunic his skin began to burn. His deceptive words to Deianira had been his way of ensuring that his death would some day be avenged. Nessus had realized that the poison was so potent that his blood would be deadly even long after it dried. The tunic did not contain a love potion, but rather was imbued with the poison of the Lernean Hydra. Believing it would ensure her husband’s loyalty to her, she gave it to him as a gift.ĭeianira had been misled by the centaur, however. He began an affair and, Deianira believed, meant to leave her to marry his new mistress.ĭeianira pulled out the stained tunic that she had kept hidden since the centaur’s death. Centaurs were known for their mastery of herbs and medicine, and he told her that the tunic was imbued with a love potion that would bring her husband back to her if he ever strayed from their marriage.Īfter some time, Hercules did just that. He told the young woman to take his blood-stained tunic. With his last breaths, however, he found a way to get revenge. Nessus died on the banks of the river with Deianira beside him. ![]() The hero quickly pulled out his bow and shot the creature before he could get away. The centaur ran off with Deianira too quickly for even Hercules to catch them. The supposed good deed, however, was a ruse to attempt to abduct the beautiful young woman. Hercules was strong enough to swim across it, but his bride could not make it across on her own.Ī centaur named Nessus offered to help the princess across while Hercules swam. Shortly after their marriage the couple travelled to Tiryns together.ĭuring the journey they came to a fast-flowing river. Many years later Hercules married Deianira, a Calydonian princess. The poisoned arrows proved valuable in his later adventures, but eventually led to his demise. When Heracles killed the Hydra, he had the foresight to dip his arrows in the monster’s blood. It also had exceptionally strong venom, making it a dangerous opponent. The nine-headed snake was another fearsome opponent, with the ability to regenerate severed heads making it difficult to slay. After defeating the Nemean Lion and taking its impenetrable hide as a cloak, the hero was sent to kill the Lernean Hydra. The story of the death of Hercules began many years before it actually happened, with the second of his famous twelve labors. When he was purportedly planning on leaving his wife, Deianira, she gave him an artifact that she had been led to believe was imbued with the power to win back his heart. Hercules died not in a fight with a terrible monster, but as an indirect result of his own infidelity. The venom of the Lernean Hydra was used to poison the arrows he used in later adventures, and eventually led to his death. Hercules was killed by one of his most powerful weapons, itself a relic of one of his most famous adventures. Unlike Achilles, whose mortality was almost entirely removed by his mother as an infant, Hercules had to live a full life before becoming a god. To do so, however, he first had to be rid of his mortal half. According to many sources, particularly later writers, the iconic cultural hero was lifted to the heights of Mount Olympus to live as an immortal god. Hercules was considered to be an exception to this pattern. These semi-divine offspring became great heroes or kings, but remained mostly human. Many gods had children with mortal women.
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