Hero was a priestess of Venus at Sestos, a Thracian town on the shores of the Hellespont, exactly opposite Abydos on the Asiatic side. She was loved by Leander, a youth of Abydos, and by night he would swim the Hellespont to join her, Hero directing his course by holding a beacon. One night Leander was drowned in a storm, and in despair Hero threw herself into the sea and perished. The subject has consistently appealed to artists; others who have treated it include Rubens, Etty, Evelyn De Morgan's mentor Burne-Jones (1875-7; Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada) and Lord Leighton (1887; Manchester City Art Gallery)