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Hero and Leander

Image credit: Bridgend County Borough Council

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Hero and Leander is a story in Greek mythology. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite who lived in a tower in Sestos on the European side of the Dardanelles. Leander was a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with hero and every night would swim across the strait to be with her. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide him. This courtship lasted through a warm summer. One stormy winter night the wind blew out hero’s light and Leander lost his way and drowned. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself over the edge of the tower to her death to be with him.

Bridgend County Borough Council Collection, Maesteg Town Hall

Maesteg

Title

Hero and Leander

Date

c.1925

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 58.5 x W 58.5 cm

Accession number

PCF6

Acquisition method

inherited from the former Maesteg Urban District Council by the former Ogwr Borough Council and by Bridgend County Borough Council from them

Work type

Painting

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Bridgend County Borough Council Collection, Maesteg Town Hall

Talbot Street, Maesteg, Bridgend (Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) CF34 9DA Wales

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