A river on the Troad.1
Simoeis, a tributary of the Skamandros (Scamander) River, flowed across the battlefield at Troy. Several pitched battles took place on the no man's land between the Simoeis and the Skamandros.
The war ended with Troy in ruins. The gods deemed it necessary to wash away the wall the Achaians (Achaeans) built to protect their ships. Guided by the hand of Apollon, the Simoeis and other rivers2 on the Troad were diverted from their natural courses to form a unified body of water, which flowed across the plain between Mount Ida and the sea for nine days. The god Zeus augmented the river torrents with constant rain. Poseidon, lord of the sea, used his trident to hurl the bastions of the wall into the surging water. Satisfied with their handiwork, the gods returned the rivers to their original channels.
1. Troad—the extensive area surrounding Troy.
2. Rivers on the Troad—Aisepos (Aesepus), Grenikos (Granicus), Heptaporos (Heptaporus), Karesos (Caresus), Rhesos (Rhesus), Rhodios (Rhodius), Simoeis (Simois), and Skamandros (Scamander) a.k.a. Xanthos (Xanthus).
| References: Homer, Iliad book 4, line 475 book 5, line 774 book 6, line 4 book 12, line 22 book 20, line 53 |