Strymon was the god of the river of that name in Thrace, the son of Oceanus and Tithys, although in some versions he is the son of Ares and Helice. He was the father of Rhesus and of Sete, who is also mentioned as his sister. The mother of Rhesus was one of the Muses, but the sources disagree as to which one. Strymon had a daughter, Evadne, whose mother was Neaera; the mothers of his other children – Tereine, Brangas, Olynthus, Boreas and Rhodope – are not known. At first his eponymous river was called Conozus. The ruler of that country, whose name was Palaestinus and who was a son of Poseidon, fell ill while at war with his neighbours and was obliged to send his son Aliacmon to lead the army in his place. Aliacmon was killed and Palaestinus, overpowered by grief, drowned himself in the river Conozus, which was thereafter called Palaestinus. In the same manner Strymon, when told of the death of his son, Rhesus, who was killed beneath the walls of Troy, threw himself into the river Palaestinus, which was afterwards called by his name. Another legend tells of Strymon’s clash with Heracles: as the hero was returning from Spain with the cattle of Geryon he was impeded by the River Strymon, which afforded him no passage. In the end he defeated the river and succeeded in crossing to the other bank by throwing huge rocks into the stream-bed.
