Hero and Leander

The waters of the narrow Hellespont divide Leander and Hero. Hero of Sestos is a handmaiden in the service of the goddess Venus. At the festival commemorating the love of Venus and Adonis she is spotted by Leander of Abydos. Cupid shoots them both with his arrow and the two fall deeply in love. Will Hero’s vow of chastity keep the two young lovers apart? It’s sink or swim as Leander strips down and dives into the treacherous waters of the Hellespont to have a moonlight tryst with Hero. This "little epic" or classical epyllion was written by poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe. It was first published in 1598.