Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
Hero and Leander explained
Leander, a youth of Abydos, swims nightly across the Hellespont to be with Hero, a priestess of Venus in Sestos, guided by her torch.
What happens
Leander, a youth of Abydos, swims nightly across the Hellespont to be with Hero, a priestess of Venus in Sestos, guided by her torch. One stormy night he drowns, and Hero, upon discovering his body, casts herself from the tower into the sea. The chapter includes a sonnet by Keats and an allusion by Byron, noting that Lord Byron later proved the swim possible.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Transformation
Leander's nightly swim for love and the tragic transformation of both lovers through death.
Fate and Free Will
Leander ignores storm warnings, choosing love over safety, leading to his fated drowning.
Mortality and Immortality
The lovers' mortal deaths contrasted with the enduring fame of their story through poetry and legend.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Leander loved her, and used to swim the strait nightly to enjoy the company of his mistress, guided by a torch which she reared upon the tower for the purpose.”
Leander loved Hero and swam across the strait every night to be with her, guided by a torch she placed on the tower.
Describes the nightly ritual of the lovers.
“But one night a tempest arose and the sea was rough; his strength failed, and he was drowned.”
One stormy night, the rough sea overcame him and he drowned.
The pivotal moment of Leander's death.
“The waves bore his body to the European shore, where Hero became aware of his death, and in her despair cast herself down from the tower into the sea and perished.”
His body washed ashore in Europe; Hero saw it and, in despair, jumped from the tower into the sea, dying as well.
Hero's suicide upon discovering Leander's body.