Hero and Leander are the protagonists in a classical tale of epic but tragic love. Hero lives secluded in a tower on the European shore of the Hellespont, and Leander on the opposite side of the passage. Since they cannot hope to marry, the couple resolves to meet in secret: each night he swims across to her, guided by the light of her torch. But the time comes when a winter storm kills both the light and Leander. At dawn, Hero sees her lover's mangled body washed ashore, and so hurls herself from the tower to meet him in death. Silvia Montiglio here shows how and why this affecting story has proved to be one of the most popular and perennial mythologies in the history of the West. Discussing its singular drama, danger, pathos and eroticism, the author explores the origin of the legend and its rich and varied afterlives. She shows how it was used by Greek and Latin writers; how it developed in the Middle Ages - notably in the writings of Christine de Pizan - and Renaissance; how it inspired Byron to swim the Dardanelles; and how it has lived on in representations by artists including Rubens and Frederic Leighton.

Hero and Leander are the protagonists in a classical tale of epic but tragic love.

INTRODUCTION 1The Scope of this Book 1The (Nebulous) Origins of the Tale and its (Nebulous)Literary Beginnings 111. SEDUCTION, LOVE AND ATHLETICISM: LEANDER(AND HERO) IN ROMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE 15The Exemplary Lover 15Why will Leander Swim? Heroides 18 and 19 20From Emblem of Lust to Bridegroom 37Hero's Selfishness According to Fronto 41Not Only a Love Story 43Outside Literature 482. MUSAEUS' HERO AND LEANDER, OR 'LOVEAGAINST THE WORLD' 59A Brief Introduction 59Darkness and Light 60The Bold Lover 67The Fearless Swimmer 73Leander's Native Land 79The Obstacles to the Couple's Marriage 81The Urgency of Passion 84Love Conquers All 88A Neoplatonic Allegory? 943. LUSTFUL FORNICATORS OR COURTLY LOVERS?THE LEGEND IN MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN LITERATURE 101Part One: Neo-Latin Texts 101Part Two: French Literature 116Part Three: Germany and the Low Countries 140Part Four: Italian and Iberian Literature 1484. THE TALE AS MUSAEUS TOLD IT: HERO AND LEANDERIN MEDIEVAL GREEK LITERATURE AND THEDIFFUSION OF MUSAEUS' POEM IN EUROPE 177Musaeus' Fame in the Byzantine Period 177The Novelistic Musaeus 185Caring About Locality: East Versus West 197And They Loved Happily Ever After: The Sequel to theTale According to Giovanni Grasso 200Musaeus Enters Western Europe, or How to Advertisea Poet 204EPILOGUE Looking Back and Looking Forward 217