10 of the Saddest Love Stories in Greek Mythology

 

 

All’s fair in love and war, or so they say.

Back in ancient Greece though, love had much more to contend with, such as vengeful and envious gods, or Apate; the personification of deceit and her male partner in crime, Dolos; demon of trickery, as well as various scheming sorceresses and seductresses.

Fate and destiny also have a lot to answer for when it came to affairs of the heart in Greek mythology, the thread connecting love and hate is a fine one and let’s not forget the trials and tribulations of searching for your twin flame, which also has its origins in ancient Greece!

And then there are the Erotes, companions of Aphrodite, a flock of winged gods who identified with love and erotic goings on, who, depending on which side of bed they had tumbled out of that morning, could either help or hinder the true course of love.

 

 The Erotes:

 

 

Anteros:

 

 God of requited love, vindicator of unrequited love, who punished those who turned their nose up at love and spurned  the advances of others.

 

 Hedylogos:

 

God of Sweet-talk and flattery.

 

Hermaphroditus:

 

God of hermaphrodites, effeminacy and androgyny.

 

 Himeros:

 

Son of the goddess Aphrodite and the god Ares, the God of uncontrollable desire.

 

Hymenaeus or Hymen:

 

God of weddings and marriage.

 

Pothos:

 

God of yearning.

 

 

Surely, it can be no coincidence, that these meddling little creatures, the Erotes, were the offspring of Ares; Greek god of war and Aphrodite; Greek goddess of love! (Venus and Mars)

Below are ten of the saddest, most intense love stories of ancient Greece and Greek mythology; tales of star crossed lovers, tales of betrayal and tragedy; stories of forbidden and unrequited love.

Some triumphed and won the war whilst others fought a good fight before surrendering and admitting defeat.

 

 

1. Orpheus and Eurydice

 

 

 

The legend about the fateful love of Orpheus, son of the god Apollo and the Muse Calliope, for Eurydice, a wood nymph, is one of the most beautiful and sad in Greek mythology, where lack of faith caused Orpheus to lose Eurydice forever.

After returning home from a journey with Jason and the Argonauts, where he helped them with their quest for the Golden Fleece by drowning out the song of the sirens, which lured sailors to the rocky shores, where they were instantly shipwrecked, by playing his lyre in an even more irresistible way than the sirens could sing, Orpheus met the love of his life, Eurydice.

 

 

One balmy day, as Orpheus sat in the shade of a tree, playing his lyre, a sudden rustling of its leaves caused him to look upwards, there, hiding between the branches, was Eurydice, the most delightful tree nymph he had ever set his eyes on.

Now it has been said that “nothing could resist Orpheus’s beautiful melodies, neither enemies nor beasts” and so it was with Eurydice, who begged him to play on.

Beguiled by her beauty, Orpheus invited Eurydice, to come out of her hiding place and sit beside him.

So began their love affair, which led to marriage and which, as it turned out, was not to be happy for long but they should have expected this as Hymenaios, God of weddings, reception and  marriage, who had officiated at their wedding ceremony, had predicted that their marriage was not destined to be a long one.

Not long after Hymenaios’s prophecy, Eurydice was in the forest, dancing with her wood nymph friends, when she was bitten by a snake (another version of the story tells of Eurydice being bitten by the snake whilst being chased by Aristaeus, a minor God, who had taken a shine to her), the bite proved fatal and poor Eurydice died on the spot.

 

 

Orpheus was bereft; he felt his life was over, he spent his days playing mournful melodies on his lyre for Eurydice, hoping that in the depths of the ancient Greek Underworld, his love would hear his songs and feel his grief.

How could he exist without his beloved Eurydice? Life was not worth living.

 

 

Deciding he had nothing to lose, Orpheus sets off for the Underworld, determined to bring Eurydice back to the land of the living.

It was no easy task as Charon, ferryman to the dead, refused to row Orpheus across the River Styx to the Underworld, as Orpheus looks very much alive to him.

Luckily, Orpheus had brought along his lyre and sends Charon into a trance by playing a mesmerizing tune, allowing him to jump aboard the boat which will take him to his dearly beloved.

 

 

When he reaches the gates of the Underworld, he plays the same tune to hypnotize Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog in the same way.

Orpheus enters and introduces himself to the god of the Underworld, Hades and his companion, Persephone and explains his mission to them by singing the saddest and most beautiful song about his love for Eurydice and her tragic death.

 He then sang about his grief and how he yearned for the return of his wife.

As Charon, the ferryman and Cerberus, the guard dog before them, Hades and Persephone are bewitched by the music of Orpheus and agree to his wish to take his wife Eurydice, back to the land of the living but on one condition.

The condition was that Eurydice must walk out of the Underworld behind Orpheus, who, on no account, was to turn behind him to look at her, before they left the Underworld and emerged into the light of day, or he would lose his wife; she be forced to stay in the world of the dead forever.

 

 

Thinking all he had to do to save Eurydice, was to practice patience, Orpheus expressed his gratitude to the God Hades, made sure his wife was behind him and began walking out of the Underworld towards the light.

All was going to plan but the nearer they got to the light, the more nervous Orpheus became, he could not hear Eurydice’s footsteps, had the god Hades fooled him?

 

 

He quashed his fears and pressed on, as the first ray of light touched his face, Orpheus turned around to embrace Eurydice, only seconds too late, the awful truth hit him, he may have left the Underworld but his wife, a few steps behind him, was still standing in the dark world of the dead.

Orpheus attempted to re-enter the underworld but a person cannot enter the Underworld twice whilst still alive.

There are various endings to the myth; Orpheus played a mourning song with his lyre, calling for death so that he can be united with Eurydice forever, or, he was killed by beasts tearing him apart, or Zeus hit him with a lightning bolt, in order for him not to reveal the secrets of the underworld to humans.

 

 

Pausanias, Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD, tells us that Orpheus, upon losing Eurydice for a second time, committed suicide.

 The most popular finale is that Orpheus survived but never forgot his true love and would sing about his sorrow and lost love until he was reunited with Eurydice in the underworld.

 

 

 2. Cupid (Eros) and Psyche

 

 

 

The ancient Greek myth of Eros (Cupid in Roman mythology) and Psyche, is a story of a loss of trust and betrayal.

Psyche, the youngest of three daughters of a King of ancient Greece, was famed for her unrivaled beauty, so much so that people began to call her Aphrodite (Venus in Roman mythology), the goddess of love and beauty.

It didn’t take long for the real Aphrodite to hear of this and in a rage of envy, dispatched her son, Eros, to secretly administer a magic potion to Psyche, which would ascertain that no man would ever fall in love with her or desire to marry her.

Eros, not one to disobey his mother, did as he was told but whilst administering the potion to Psyche; he mistakenly shot her with one of his arrows of love, agitated and wondering what to do about his blunder, he let go another arrow, this time shooting himself.

Well, we know what happens when Cupid’s arrows strike; instant, undying love follows, Eros and Psyche were hooked.

 

 

The course of true love is never easy though, is it?

Remember the magic potion, secretly administered to Psyche by Eros before he accidently discharged the two arrows? Well, the potion worked its magic.

As Psyche watched her two sisters, not half as attractive as she herself was, find suitors and marry, she wondered what affliction had befallen her, which left her cold and unfeeling towards men, who also seemed to be immune to her famed beauty.

Psyche’s predicament caused much distress to father, who, after finding no solution to the problem, set off to consult the Oracle at Delphi.

The answer was not pleasing, Apollo, the then Priest of Delphi, informed Psyche’s father, who dare not defy the oracle, that she must be dressed in black, taken to the top of a far off mountain, where she would remain alone until a designated husband would be delivered to her.

Little did Psyche know, Eros had a plan, which was put into action as soon as Psyche was left on the mountain top.

 Zephyrus, god of the wind, aided by Eros, spirited the forsaken Psyche away to Eros’ palace, located in a beautiful valley, where she was attended to by an army of servants, to whom her every wish was their command.

Psyche was only visited by her husband at night; he was an excellent lover but on no account, ever allowed her to set eyes upon his face, he made her swear an oath to never peep.

The reason for all this cloak and dagger carry on, was that, unbeknown to Psyche, her husband was none other than Eros!

 

 

Time passed peacefully for Psyche her nights were exciting but as that was the only time her husband visited, her days were empty and so she asked her husband’s permission for her sisters to visit, he agreed, in hindsight, he wished he hadn’t.

Presently, the sisters arrive but upon seeing Psyches’ extravagant lifestyle they are filled with envy and begin to fill Psyches head with nonsense, informing her that they have knowledge that her husband is a hairy, monstrous beast, which is the reason he has forbidden her to ever look at him.

They advise her, that when her husband is asleep, she is to take an oil lamp and a knife, for self defense, just in case things turn nasty and see the truth herself.

She does as they told her and the truth is indeed revealed, her husband is no hairy beast but Eros, the god of love.

 

 

Shocked and trembling at this revelation, a drop of oil from the lamp falls upon Eros’ shoulder, burning him, the pain wakes him up, only for him to find Psyche towering over him, wielding a knife.

In fear for his life, Eros flees the scene with a distraught Psyche shouting her apologies after him for not trusting him.

Feeling betrayed, Eros rejects her apologies and swears she will never see him again.

Mortified after being abandoned by Eros, Psyche attempts to drown herself but the river nymphs take pity on her and she is washed ashore, where she comes to her senses and sets off to find Eros, to see if they can’t resolve things.

All this time, Aphrodite, who has been watching from the side lines, aware of her son’s defiance towards her, orders a servant to find Psyche and bring her before the goddess.

 

 

Aphrodite gives Psyche an ultimatum, to atone for her actions and save her life; she is to complete three tasks.

The first is to sort a mountain of poppy seeds, chickpeas and lentils into separate piles, which, with help from some nearby ants, Psyche manages to complete quickly.

Secondly, Psyche is to skin the fleece from a ferocious, man-eating golden sheep, this task worried Psyche a little until a passing river nymph suggested she wait until the sheep falls asleep and gently remove loose bits of fleece and gather other bits which may have fallen to the ground around it or have become caught in trees the sheep has brushed against.

In this way, Psyche successfully completes task number two.

The third task set by Aphrodite, which was also a trap, nearly defeated Psyche.

She was to visit the Underworld (Hades) and bring back Persephone’s box which contained the elixir of beauty to Aphrodite, who warned her (knowing all the time her curiosity would get the better of her) that under no circumstances was she to open the box.

 

 

Aphrodite knew that the potion inside the box was no beauty elixir but instead a curse of eternal sleep.

Astonishingly, Psyche actually manages to retrieve the box and feeling pleased with herself, thinks a little magical beauty potion can only help her to win back the love of Eros and opens the box, whereupon, she collapses instantly into a deep sleep.

 

 

As Psyche has been busy with her tasks, Eros, whom Aphrodite had imprisoned in her mansion, to prevent him rushing to the aid of Psyche, manages to escape and searching for his true love, comes upon her, flat on her back sleeping the sleep of the dead.

 

 

Thinking quickly, he uses his magical arrows to bring Psyche out of her trance-like sleep.

 

 

Reunited with his love, Eros begs Zeus, to deem their marriage, which was conducted in secret, as legitimate.

 

 

Zeus not only grants his wish but grants Psyche immortality and declares her Goddess of the Human Soul.

 

 

  3. Alcyone and Ceyx

 

 

Long, long ago, in ancient Greece, Ceyx, son of the morning star and Alcyone (Halcyon), daughter of Aeolus, god of the wind, fell madly in love, a love so passionate, it not only became a legend, known all over the ancient lands but also caused the wrath of Zeus, king of all ancient Greek gods, which would turn out to be their downfall.

So in love were they, they jokingly called each other Zeus and Hera, after the king and queen of Greek Gods, who were famous for their passionate love for each other, this was classed as sacrilege, and through the grapevine, it didn’t take long to reach Zeus’s ears.

 

 

Alcyone and Ceyx must be punished for their audacity, thought Zeus, I’ll bide my time, the moment is sure to present itself.

One stormy morning, Ceyx set sail to visit The Oracle at Delphi, as was the norm in those days, when advice and forethought were needed about pressing matters.

Alcyone, knowing all about the treacherous ways of the weather (had she not witnessed the storm clouds and lightning wreaking havoc around her father’s palace?) begged him not to go, or at least, to take her with him.

Ceyx, said not to worry, he would be fine and be home before she knew it, little did either of them know, that Zeus had been keeping his eye on the couple, and here was his chance to punish them.

Alcyone was left alone on the shore to watch Ceyx disappear into the misty, darkening sea.

 

 

Ceyx was not long out to sea when tragedy struck.

A terrific storm blew up (no doubt the doings of Zeus), tossing his ship around in the furious waves, the ship was wrecked and Ceyx drowned, his last thought being of his true love, Alcyone, and with his dying breath, he  pleaded with the sea-god, Poseidon, to return his body to the arms of his love.

 

 

Meanwhile, Alcyone, not knowing of the terrible fate of Ceyx, prayed to the goddess Hera, pleading to her, to keep him safe and send him home quickly.

Hearing the prayers, Hera, feeling sorry for Alcyone, as she  already knew of the death of Ceyx, and sent her messenger, Iris, to Hypnos, the God of sleep, to demand that he send a vision to Alcyone, revealing the death of Ceyx.

Hypnos, then sent his son Morpheus, God of dreams, to visit Alcyone.

Morpheus appeared at Alcyone’s bedside in the form of Ceyx, wet and naked, and recounted the story of the shipwreck and his death.

On awakening and, finding herself alone, Alcyone rushed to the shore, where she recognized something floating in the sea, it was the body of Ceyx.

 

 

Alcyone threw herself into the sea.

Before she had chance to drown, Zeus, who had been watching the drama from high above, took pity on the couple and  transformed both her and Ceyx into Halcyons, a type of kingfisher.

The two lovers, united again, flew off into the horizon.

 

 

Zeus was not about to let them off lightly though and ordered that Alcyone should make her nest and lay her eggs in the winter, on the shore, at the spot where she had discovered Ceyx’s body.

 But when Alcyone made her nest on the beach, the fierce waves of winter washed it away.

 Again, Zeus’s heart softened, and he ordered Aeolus, Alcyone’s  father, to restrain his winds, which he kept imprisoned in a cave, and calm the waves for fourteen days, seven before, and seven after the winter solstice, usually 21 or 22 December, also known as midwinter, allowing Alcyone to lay her eggs.

 

 

 These fourteen days became known as the ‘Halcyon Days’.

In reality, they happen mid January, not December, as in the myth, I have asked so many Greeks ‘when are the Halcyon Days?’ I have yet to find one that has not answered ‘mid January’!

Oh, if only Ceyx had listened to his wife, Alcyone, and never gone to sea, this question would never have arisen.

 

 

4. Echo and Narcissus

 

 

 

The Greek myth about narcissus is a cautionary tale about the imperfections of humans.

Narcissus had the looks to make any Greek god jealous, and, in his neighborhood, was considered quite the catch, all the village girls dreamed of being the one to take his fancy.

 

 

Narcissus, though, had no time for girls; he was too taken up with himself and scorned the advances of all, including the poor nymph, Echo (who could talk the hind legs off a donkey), who was head over heels in love with him.

 

 

Beautiful in her own right, Echo was chased by both Apollo and Pan but would shun their advances, and although Zeus did not chase after Echo, he made use of the mountain nymph.

For whilst Zeus would have his way with other nymphs, Echo would talk for hours with Hera to  distract the goddess from Zeus’ indiscretions.

 Hera would eventually recognise the role Echo was playing in enabling her husband’s affairs and so Hera cursed Echo so that she no longer had a voice of her own, and the nymph was only able to repeat the words of others.

 

 

Echo tried her best to gain the attention of Narcissus, to no avail, at her wits end, seeing him alone in the woods one day, Echo drew up her courage and threw her arms around him.

Narcissus, taken by surprise, exclaimed ‘Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!’

Mortified with shame, Echo ran to hide in the woods and from that time on, lived in a cave, her body wasting away from sadness; her bones changed into rocks, there was nothing left but her voice, with which she repeated anything she heard called out by passersby, she had become her namesake, Echo.

When, Nemesis, the goddess of revenge heard of Narcissus’s abominable behaviour towards Echo, she wanted retribution, she enticed Narcissus to a pond, where he saw his own reflection and instantly fell madly in love with it.

 

 

Totally absorbed in his reflection in the water, Narcissus lost his footing and tumbled into the pond, where he drowned.

In the spot where Narcissus had sat gazing at himself in the water, there appeared a flower, the narcissus, a flower symbolizing selfishness and cold-heartedness.

 The nymphs erected a funeral pyre for Narcissus but when they came to place his body upon it, it was nowhere to be found, all that remained was a flower, the Narcissus flower.

Today psychologists use the term narcissist to describe someone who thinks only of themselves.

 

 

5. Apollo and Daphne

 

 

 

The Greek myth of Apollo, the Greek god of music, poetry and art, son of Zeus and Daphne (Greek: Δάφνη, meaning laurel), a river nymph, daughter of the river god, Peneus, is a tale of pride, insults, retaliation and unrequited love.

Our story begins just after Apollo, an excellent marksman, launched a thousand arrows into a monstrous python, an earth dragon, which had been the dread of mankind, felling it on the spot and establishing the four yearly Pythian Games.

 

 

His victory over the feared snake went to Apollo’s head, he had always been rather prideful and a show off but after this triumph he became positively arrogant, as Eros (Cupid), the god of love, was about to find out.

One day, whilst walking across the top of Mount Parnassus, Apollo came across the winged god Eros, practicing his archery skills, now Apollo already had a bit of a beef with Eros, whom he thought was getting a tad above himself after gaining fame as a skilled archer, a reputation that, up to now, had belonged only to Apollo.

‘Hey you there, boy, what do you think you’re up to with that bow and arrow?’ called out Apollo to Eros, ‘leave it to us men to kill wild beasts and enemies and stop wasting your time and arrows on meaningless matters of the heart’.

Apollo was unprepared for what Eros did next.

Feeling extremely insulted Eros drew two arrows from his quiver, one of gold and one of lead, the gold one, he shot into Apollo, the other, the leaden one, hit the unsuspecting Daphne, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, for her anyway, for Eros, who had noticed the naiad cavorting in a nearby mountain stream, the timing was perfect for what he had in mind.

 

 

The golden arrow which hit Apollo instilled in him a passionate, obsessive, overwhelming desire for Daphne, the leaden arrow which pierced Daphne however, had the exact opposite effect and she was overcome by an intense hatred for Apollo.

Now Daphne, who was adamant she was never going marry or become attached to any man but instead chose to excel at woodland sports and other things of the forests, being the beauty she was, had been pursued by many a youth in the throes of desire and had always managed to fend them off.

This time, with Apollo, it was different, never before had she had to contend with anyone who had been specifically targeted with her in mind, by Eros’ golden arrow.

Everywhere she turned, there he was pleading for any sign of affection from her, he would not take no for an answer and it became unbearable.

 

 

Not knowing how to solve her predicament, she called upon her father, the river god, Peneus, for his assistance:

 “Help me father, rid me of this unbearable man, open up the Earth that it may swallow me up, or transform me into some inhuman form, do anything but please, free me from this ordeal”.

Peneus, seeing the distress of his daughter, wanting to help in any way he could, called upon his powers of metamorphosis  and directed them towards Daphne whose limbs at once began to feel stiff and heavy, her skin felt rough and hard and as she put a hand to her hair, she heard it rustle.

Feeling exceedingly strange, Daphne managed to hobble nearer to the stream and looking down at her reflection, saw she had become a laurel tree (In the Greek language, the word for Laurel tree is Daphne or bay).

 

 

On seeing what had become of Daphne, Apollo, desolate, knelt before the laurel tree and using all his powers of eternal youth and immortality rendered Daphne immortal by transforming the laurel tree into an evergreen, declaring it sacred and that he would forever adorn his head with a crown of its leaves.

 

 

Some versions say Daphne, taking pity on Apollo, made him a laurel wreath (a circle made of laurel that is worn like a crown) from her leaves. Others state that Apollo made the laurel himself, taking leaves from the tree that was once Daphne.

Apollo developed a weakness for the laurel tree and in his honour, a wreath of laurel leaves were presented to the victors of the Pythian Games, held every four years in Delphi.

 

 

 It later became the norm to award laurel wreaths to victorious generals, athletes, poets and musicians, to be worn as a crown on their heads.

The term Laureate, as in Poet Laureate, derives from the custom of awarding winners with a laurel wreath crown.

 

6. Apollo and Hyacinth

 

 

 

Known for his great beauty, Hyacinth, a Spartan Prince, was a lover of Apollo, the sun god but was also greatly desired by the West wind Zephyrus, who, through his jealousy and need for revenge, not only dashed any hopes he may have had for himself and Hyacinth but caused the death of the proud Prince.

Zephyrus possessed the patience of Job and knew that all good things come to those who wait and so he was just biding his time, until an opportunity came along, to put Apollo out of the running.

One afternoon, the opportunity arose when Apollo and Hyacinth were throwing a discus around.

Seeing the lithe body of Hyacinth running back and forth in front of Apollo was more than Zephyrus could bear, he would put an end to their fun and games and with one great expulsion of his breath, blew the discus off course.

 

 

Well, Zephyrus certainly put an end to the fun and games; permanently, yes, he blew the discus off course, what he did not take into consideration though, was where its new direction would take it.

Spinning out of control under the force of Zephyrus’s breath, the discus struck Hyacinth on the head, felling him instantly.

In a panic Apollo ran to his lover but it was too late to save him, Hyacinth was dead.

 

 

As Apollo wept over Hyacinth, his tears, which dropped on the ground, turned into the beautifully scented flowers, the hyacinths.

 

 

7. Acontius and Cydippe

 

 

 

Acontius, a handsome youth from the island of Chios, first set eyes on the charming Cydippe, a girl from a wealthy and noble Athenian family, whilst attending the festival of Diana (Artemis) at Delos, the sacred island of Apollo in the Cyclades,

It was love at first sight, for Acontius at least, Cydippe didn’t seem that enamored with him.

Try as he may, Acontius didn’t seem to be making much headway with persuading Cydippe to commit to him and so he resorted to trickery.

He knew Clyppe spent much of her day at the Temple of Diana (Artemis), which gave him an idea, he wrote on an apple the words:

 “I swear by the temple of Artemis that I shall marry Acontius…”

Acontius made his way to the temple, concealed himself behind the altar and patiently waited for Clyppe to make her entrance.

Once Clyppe entered and approached the altar, Acontius threw the apple at her feet.

Curiously, she picked up the apple and read aloud the words inscribed upon it.

The act of repeating these words aloud, in front of the altar at the Temple of Artemis, meant she was beholden to her vow and was obligated to marry Acontius.

 

 

On hearing of Acontius’s plans to marry his daughter, Clyppe’s father told Acontius, in no uncertain terms, there was no way on Earth, a high-born girl like Clyppe was about to be betrothed to a low-life like himself.

To make sure nothing would come of Acontius and Clyppe, her father quickly found a more suitable match for her and arranged the wedding.

The night before the wedding however Clyppe fell ill and the marriage was postponed.

Once she recovered, the wedding was back on; once again though, on the eve of the marriage, Clyppe fell ill, this happened three times.

At his wit’s end, Clyppe’s father set off for Delphi, to ask the advice of the oracle and very surprised he was too on hearing what she had to say.

Clyppe’s father, who had no idea of the goings on with the apple in the Temple of Artemis at Delos, was informed by the oracle, that the goddess Artemis was furious with Clyppe for breaking her vows to her and to prevent her from marrying anyone other than Acontius, had caused Clyppe to become ill before each marriage attempt.

 

 

Unless Clyppe wished to remain single for the rest of her life, a thing frowned on in those days, Cydippe and her parents had no choice but to go ahead with a marriage between Clyppe and Acontius, which is just what happened.

Acontius, through his sly trickery had won Clyppe, as to whether or not the marriage was a happy one, we can only wonder.

 

8. Hero and Leander

 

 

 

Here is a story of star-crossed lovers, more or less doomed before it even started; the odds were stacked against the two lovers from day one.

Hero, an alluring priestess of the cult of Aphrodite, lives in the tower of Sestus, on the European side of Hellespont, today known as the Dardanelles, one of the World’s narrowest and most treacherous, international navigation straits with a length of around sixty kilometers and around one kilometer wide at its narrowest point.

Leander, a most handsome youth, lived in Abydos on the opposite side of the straits, on the south-Eastern, Asia Minor bank of Hellespont.

 

 

One summer, Leander decides to make the trip from Abydos, across Hellespont to Sestos, to attend the popular, annual Festival of Aphrodite.

Here, at the festival, Leander meets Hero and it’s love at first sight, their fate is sealed.

Although Hero is a priestess of Aphrodite, being the daughter of over-protective parents, who kept her isolated in her high tower, she didn’t get out much and not being familiar with the ways of love, remained a virgin.

Leander, who really has the hots for Hero, sneakily asks her; “what is the point of being a priestess of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, if you are a virgin, hiding yourself away in a high tower?”

Hero, who, though she didn’t admit it to him, desired Leander as much as he desired her, considered his question, concluded it made sense and so began the passionate affair between Hero and Leander.

Now, as I mentioned at the beginning, the odds were stacked against the two lovers from the start, neither of their families approved of the relationship, Leander’s parents were against him marrying a foreigner and Hero’s parents seemed to be against their daughter having any relationship of any sort whatsoever.

So, the affair had to be kept a secret, which, we all know, only adds to the yearning and desire of one lover for the other.

So it was with Hero and Leander, they couldn’t keep away from each other, even the hazardous waters of Hellespont could not separate the couple.

They had devised a plan, Leander, a strong swimmer, would swim across the straits to Hero each evening, navigating his way across, not by the stars but by the light of a torch which shone from Hero’s tower, guiding her lover safely to her.

 

 

Their clandestine affair continued throughout the summer months but as autumn approached and the winds blew harder and the sea grew rougher, they realized, for safety’s sake, they should part in winter and resume things in the spring.

 

 

This was easier said than done, they missed each other terribly, Hero was desperate for Leander’s touch, to feel his skin on hers and to see the look of love for her in his eyes, so one stormy winter’s night, literally throwing caution to the wind, she lit the torch in her tower.

 

 

Across the straits in Abydos, Leander, who spent his evenings starring out, across the straits to Sestus, thinking of his love, Hero, dreaming of spring and the moment he would again take her in his arms, suddenly saw light pouring forth from her tower, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, it was not his eyes playing tricks on him, his love was calling him.

Elated, without hesitation and disregard for the stormy sea, Leander dived in and swam vigorously towards the light which would lead him to his beloved.

 

 

Suddenly, blackness, the light could no longer be seen; a gust of strong wind had extinguished the flame of Hero’s torch.

Leander battled against the waves but now, disorientated with no light to guide him, he was off track, being tossed back and forth in the turbulent sea, his strength was failing him, he became weak and eventually could take no more and with the name of his lover upon his lips, calling to her with his last breath, Leander succumbed to the ferocity of the water and drowned.

Meanwhile, in her tower, Hero was frantic, the wind was too much, she could not reignite her torch, she knew too much time had passed; Leander should have been here by now.

Eventually, during a lull in the storm, Hero managed to light her torch but looking out across the straits of Hellespont towards Abydos, she could see nothing, she looked nearer to shore and there below her tower, she saw something, she focused her eyes and froze, there, floating in the sea, was the body of Leander.

 

 

Hero’s anguish knew no bounds, in a last act of love for Leander she threw herself off the tower to drown in the sea below, ensuring she would be with him as much death as she was in life.

 

 

The legendary crossings of Leander across the Hellespont inspired Lord Byron, British poet, in 1810, at the age of twenty two, to undertake for himself, the risky task of swimming across the dangerous waters.

It took him seventy minutes, which he stated, was longer than it should have, as he was buffeted back and forth by the current, resulting in him swimming much more than the intended kilometer or two.

Now swimming the strait has become an annual event, entered by those who have swum the Channel or accomplished similar demanding feats, and is held on 30 August each year.

 

 

To commemorate his crossing Byron wrote the following poem entitled “Written after swimming from Sestos to Abydos”:

 

 

If, in the month of dark December,

Leander, who was nightly wont

(What maid will not the tale remember?)

To cross thy stream, broad Hellespont!

If, when the wintry tempest roared,

He sped to Hero, nothing loath,

And thus of old thy current poured,

Fair Venus! How I pity both!

For me, degenerate modern wretch,

Though in the genial month of May,

My dripping limbs I faintly stretch,

And think I’ve done a feat today.

But since he crossed the rapid tide,

According to the doubtful story,

To woo—and—Lord knows what beside,

And swam for Love, as I for Glory;

‘Twere hard to say who fared the best:

Sad mortals! thus the gods still plague you!

He lost his labour, I my jest;

For he was drowned, and I’ve the ague.

 

 

9. Clyte and Helios

 

 

 

The Greek myth of how the Sunflower or Heliotrope came to be, tells the story of the sea nymph, Clytie, a tale of unrequited love.

Clytie, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, a water nymph, daughter of the titan sea-god Oceanos, was madly in love with Helios, who draws the sun across the sky each day.

 

 

Unfortunately for Clytie, Helios had his eye on Leucothoe, another sea nymph and abandoned Clytie, who, hurt and angered at the loss of her love, Helios, told Leucothea’s father, Orchamus, of what his daughter was up to.

Orchamus, a proud man, was not about to be put to shame by his daughter and as was the norm in those days, killed Leucothoe by burying her alive in the sand.

Now Leucothoe was out of the way, Clytie fully expected Helios to return to her but what she had done to poor Leucothoe, only hardened his heart against her.

Desolate, Clytie stripped off her clothes and sat naked on a rock, without food or drink, for nine days, watching Helios as he pulled the sun across the sky.

 

 

Eventually, after nine days, Clytie was transformed into the sunflower, or heliotrope, which continuously turned its head, to look wistfully at Helios’ chariot of the sun.

 

 

10. Aries and Aphrodite (Venus and Mars)

 

 

 

One of the oldest tales of forbidden love in ancient Greece involves Ares (Mars), the god of war, who was not a much loved god and known as a cruel troublemaker, famous for his torrid love affair with Aphrodite (Venus), a vain women, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

 

 

Aphrodite is said to have arisen from the sea foam (foam – aphro in Greek, hence her name) caused by  Cronus, leader of the Titians, when he  severed Uranus’  (God of the sky) genitals and threw them into the sea.

 

 

Not by chance the word aphrodisiac named after Aphrodite, you can see the connection here between her and maybe the most famous aphrodisiac, seafood, especially shellfish!

Ares, the lover of Aphrodite, was also the cause of her loveless marriage to Hephaestus (Vulcan in Roman mythology), god of blacksmiths.

Hephaestus also happened to be the brother of Ares, who had been cast out at birth, by their mother the goddess Hera, for being born with a deformity, some versions state a withered, or club foot, others, that he was a hunchback.

In revenge for being abandoned at birth, Hephaestus created a kingdom for his mother, Hera and placed in it a glittering golden throne and invited his mother to sit upon it.

However, the throne had magical powers, anyone who sat upon it, was destined to live out the rest of their life trapped in the kingdom and this is what fate had in store for Hera.

Furious at the catastrophe which had befallen his mother, Ares agreed to give his brother, Hephaestus, anything he desired he if would free her.

Hephaestus demanded the hand of the goddess Aphrodite’s (Venus) hand in marriage.

What could Ares do but agree to the terms? And so it was, Hephaestus and Aphrodite became man and wife.

 

 

Now it’s not clear whether originally, Ares began his affair with Aphrodite to spite his brother, Hephaestus, for what he had put their mother through, either way, Ares ended up madly in love with Aphrodite and there ensued a long-lived, torrid love affair between the two.

The lovers would secretly meet while Hephaestus spent every night in his workshop but Ares was always careful to make an exit before dawn, when Helios, the Sun god who saw everything, appeared on the horizon.

 

 

As an extra precaution, Ares took a young man named Alectryon along with him, whose job it was to guard the door and warn them when the sun was about to come up.

One night Alectryon, who had such an exhausting day, couldn’t keep his eyes open and dropped off to sleep, failing to warn the lovers when Helios, the sun god, popped up over the horizon, who immediately ran off to inform Hephaestus what his brother Ares was up to, in his very own bed, with his wife Aphrodite.

On hearing the news, Hephaestus, as was his habit, thought only of revenge and designed an invisible but unbreakable net which he laid upon the bed before pretending to go off to work.

At his usual time, Ares turned up at Hephaestus’s house, thinking Hephaestus to be at work but who, in reality, was concealed behind some bushes in the garden, waiting to make his move.

When the timing was right, Hephaestus burst in on Ares and Aphrodite and drew the net tightly around them.

 

 

 Hephaestus took the illicit lovers off to Mount Olympus, where the spectacle of the naked lovers, tied up in a net, caused the gods who resided there to fall about laughing.

 

 

Eventually, Poseidon (Neptune) persuaded Hephaestus to free them by promising that Ares would pay the adulterer’s fine and agree never to see Aphrodite again.

 Although the lovers were forbidden to see each other again, love won and their relationship not only continued but they proceeded to have eight children together.

 

 

By the way, Ares punished Alectryon by turning him into a rooster and made him crow every morning when the Sun appeared.

 

Back to the present

 

Has much changed today, when it comes to affairs of the heart?

Very little I suspect, maybe vengeful, envious gods have been replaced by interfering in-laws but fate still plays a part, we still relish a good love story and one thing for sure has not changed, when Eros aims his arrow and it hits the mark, well, that still means love at first sight!

 

Related Posts:

 

The 10 Most Wicked Witches of Ancient Greece

The Greek Myth of Pandora and Prometheus – What was in Pandora’s Box?

10 Ancient Greek Aphrodisiacs – The Food of Love

20 Ancient Greek Myths About 20 Ancient Greek Flowers

10 Ancient Greeks Myths about 10 Ancient Greek Trees