He was sent away by the king, who believed Herakles would kill Lole and their future children if he accepted the union. However, Dejanira did not know that Herakles fell in love with a young princess named Lole years prior after joining an archery contest and winning her hand in marriage. Dejanira believed Nessus’s lies and took the blood just in case. While Nessus lay dying, he convinced Dejanira to take some of his blood, claiming it was magical and would bring Herakles back to her if he were ever unfaithful, keeping Herakles faithful for all eternity. Hearing his wife’s screams, Herakles shot and killed the centaur with poisoned arrows. In some instances, Nessus, taken by Dejaniras beauty, tried and succeeded in raping the young woman.
What happened after he helped her across changes depending on who is telling the story. Herakles, also known as Hercules and Dejanira, come into the story after they were recently married Nessus was hired to assist the couple by getting Dejanira across the river. As the story goes, Nessus was a ferryman who fled his homeland after the Lapith war, making his way to the Aitolian River, where he set himself up to help people cross it.
