A characteristic example of the early Athenian Black-Figure Style, this large, wheel-made amphora has a tall neck, two vertical handles, and dark-on-light painted decoration. It owes its name to the scene depicted on the neck, in which Hercules kills the Centaur Nessos with his sword, because he harassed Hercules's wife, Dieaneira. On the amphora's body, two Gorgons are rendered within a seascape, which is indicated by dolphins. The Gorgons pursue Perseus, who is not pictured, while their sister, Medusa, falls to the ground, beheaded by the young man. A row of palmettes along the shoulder, birds and geometric and floral motifs complete the decoration, which covers most of the amphora's surface. This amphora was used as a funerary monument. It is the work of the so-called 'Nessos painter', the first vase-painter of the Black-Figure Style to be identified by scholars, and who was named after this vase.