The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn

From Myths and Hymns, a song cycle based on Greek myth and lyrics found in an antique hymnal, “Hero and Leander” is based on the myth of the same name: Hero was a priestess to Aphrodite and in love with a young man named Leander, who lived on the opposite side of the Hellespont strait. Every night Leander would swim across to be with her, and Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way. Succumbing to Leander’s soft words and to his argument that Aphrodite, as the goddess of love, would scorn the worship of a virgin, Hero allowed him to make love to her. These trysts lasted through the warm summer, but one stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander in the sea and the breezes blew out Hero’s light. Leander lost his way and was drowned.

From Myths and Hymns, a song cycle based on Greek myth and lyrics found in an antique hymnal, “Hero and Leander” is based on the myth of the same name: Hero was a priestess to Aphrodite and in love with a young man named Leander, who lived on the opposite side of the Hellespont strait. Every night Leander would swim across to be with her, and Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way. Succumbing to Leander’s soft words and to his argument that Aphrodite, as the goddess of love, would scorn the worship of a virgin, Hero allowed him to make love to her. These trysts lasted through the warm summer, but one stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander in the sea and the breezes blew out Hero’s light. Leander lost his way and was drowned.