Leander was the young man who loved Hero, and loyally swam each night across the Hellespont to her, guided by the light of a lighthouse. (One night the light was out, and he perished in the stormy waves; Hero found his body on the beach the next morning, and in despair threw herself into the sea ... ) His name, in spite of this sad fate, is a propitious one, meaning 'lion man', from leon, 'lion' and aner, andros, 'man'.
