Simoeis or Simois ( ''Simóeis'') was a river of the Trojan plain, now called the Dümruk Su (Dümrek Çayı), and the name of its god in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

River

The Simoeis was a small river of the ancient Troad, having its source in Mount Ida, or more accurately in Mount Cotylus, which passed by

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, joined the

Scamander River Karamenderes is a river located entirely within the Çanakkale Province of Turkey. It flows west from Mount Ida (Turkey), Mount Ida and empties into the Aegean Sea near the Troy#Troy_Historical_National_Park, Troy Historical National Park. Acco ...

below that city. This river is frequently spoken of in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', and described as a rapid mountain torrent. The river is also noted by the ancient geographers

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, Stephanus of Byzantium, Pomponius Mela, and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

. Its present course is so altered that it is no longer a tributary of the Scamander, but flows directly into the Hellespont.

Family

Like other river-gods, Simoeis was the son of Oceanus and Tethys. Hesiod, '' Theogony'
342

366–370
/ref> Simoeis had two daughters who were married into the Trojan royal family. One daughter, Astyoche, was married to Erichthonius, and the other daughter, Hieromneme was the wife of Assaracus.

Mythology

When the gods took sides in the Trojan War, Simoeis supported the Trojans. Scamander, another river who also supported the Trojans, called upon Simoeis for help in his battle against

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

''"Come to my aid with all speed, fill your streams with water from your springs, stir up all your torrents, stand high in a great wave, and rouse a mighty roar of timbers and rocks, so we can stop this savage man'' ''who in his strength is raging like the gods."'' (''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'', 21.311-15).

Before Simoeis could respond,

Hephaestus Hephaestus ( , ; wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms, eight spellings; ) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2. ...

was able to save Achilles by subduing Scamander with flame.

Trojan descendants

References

* March, J. ''Cassell's Dictionary Of Classical Mythology''. London, 1999. {{Authority control Ancient Greek geography River gods in Greek mythology Places in the Iliad