Greek Mythology Notes

Scamander

god
Σκάμανδρος
river, Troy

River god of the Scamander, the great river of the Trojan plain.

The Myth

During the Trojan War, Scamander grew enraged when Achilles choked his waters with Trojan corpses. The river god rose up in a great flood to drown Achilles, one of the few times a natural force nearly defeated the greatest Greek warrior. Only Hephaestus, god of fire, saved Achilles by scorching the river back into its banks. Homer's account of the battle between fire and water remains among the Iliad's most vivid passages.

Parents

Oceanus, Tethys

Children

Teucer

Symbols

flooding watersgolden colour

Fun Fact

The river, now called Karamenderes in Turkey, still flows across the Trojan plain and has been identified by archaeologists matching Homer's geography.

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