Hero and Leander, << lee AN duhr >>, were legendary Greek lovers. Hero was a priestess of the goddess Aphrodite at Sestos in Thrace. Leander lived at Abydos across the Hellespont, or Dardanelles. Every night, Hero put a light in her tower, and Leander swam across the water to visit her. He returned to Abydos at dawn. One stormy night, the wind put out Hero’s light, and Leander was overwhelmed and drowned. At dawn, Hero saw Leander’s body floating beneath her tower. In her grief, she leaped into the sea and drowned herself.
