Hebrus was the son of Haemus and Rhodope and, according to a votive inscription, was worshipped by the Thracians as a god. In one version, the river was originally called Rhombus but was renamed Hebrus for the son of Cassander, a mythical king of Thrace, who was drowned in its waters. The tale recalls the story of Phaedra as related by Eurypides in his tragedy Hippolytus. Hebrus’ step-mother, Damasippe, fell madly in love with him, but he steadfastly refused all her advances. Infuriated by this rejection she told her husband that he had tried to rape her. Cassander was overcome by jealous rage and Hebrus, in order to escape death at his father’s hand, jumped into the Rhombus and was drowned. Since that day the river has been called Hebrus.Its waters are linked with another tragic death, for it was into them that the Maenads cast the head of Orpheus after they had torn him to pieces.They are also connected with purification: Orestes is said to have been cleansed of the crime of matricide, for which he had been pursued by the Furies, after bathing at the place where three rivers – the Hebrus, the Arda and the Tonsus – meet. In commemoration of this healing he founded the city of Orestias, later renamed Hadrianopolis (Adrianople/Edirne) in honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian.
