The primary river on the Troad.1
The river and the river-god were called Skamandros by mortals, and Xanthos by the gods.
The Skamandros River and its tributary, the Simoeis (Simois), flowed across the battlefield at Troy. Several pitched battles took place on the no man's land between the Skamandros and Simoeis.
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 Skamandros 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 2, lines 465, 467 book 5, lines 36, 774 book 7, line 329 book 11, line 499 book 12, line 21 book 20, line 74 book 21, lines 124, 603 book 22, line 148 |