Literary Characters Names, Shakespeare Names, Greek Names, Greek Mythological Names

English speaking countries

In Greek legend, Hero is the tragic lover of Leander.
She was a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos, at the edge of the Hellespont. Leander, a young man from Abydos on the other side of the strait, fell in love with her and would swim every night across the Hellespont to be with her. One stormy winter night, Leander lost his way, and was drowned. Hero threw herself from the tower in grief and died as well.

The 16th-century British poet Christopher Marlowe wrote a mythological poem after this story, titled "Hero and Leander".

Hero is also the name of a character of Shakespeare's play "Much Ado About Nothing".