Dexamenus
Δεξάμενος
(Δεξάμενος), a centaur who lived in Bura in Aclliai, which town derived its name from his large stable for oxen. (Schol. ad Callim. Hymna. in Del. 102; Etymol. M. s. v.) According to others, he was a king of Olenus, and the father of Deianeira, whom Heracles seduced during his stay with Dexamenus, who had hospitably received him. Heracles on parting promised to return and marry her. But in his absence the centaur Eurytion sued for Deianeira's hand, and her father out of fear promised her to him. On the wedding day Heracles returned and slew Eurytion. (Hyg. Fab. 33.) Deianeira is usually called a daughter of Oeneus, but Apollodorus (2.5.5) calls the daughter of Dexamenus, Mnesimache, and Diodorus (4.33) Hippolyte.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.