What is "scamander"

In Greek mythology, Scamander (Skamandros, Xanthos) is a river god, son of Oceanus and Tethys according to Hesiod. Scamander is also thought of as the river god, son of Zeus. By Idaea, he fathered King Teucer. He was also mentioned as the father of Glaucia.

Scamander fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan War ( Iliad XX, 73/74; XXI), after the Greek hero Achilles insulted him. Scamander was also said to have attempted to kill Achilles three times, and the hero was only saved due to the intervention of Hera, Athena and Hephaestus. In this context, he is the personification of the Scamander River that flowed from Mount Ida across the plain beneath the city of Troy, joining the Hellespont north of the city. The Achaeans, according to Homer, had set up their camp near its mouth, and their battles with the Trojans were fought on the plain of Scamander. In Iliad XXII (149ff), Homer states that the river had two springs: one produced warm water; the other yielded cold water, regardless of the season.

According to Homer, he was called Xanthos by gods and Scamander by men, which might indicate that the former name refers to the god and the latter one to the river itself.

Scamander was an Oceanid in Greek mythology.

Scamander may also refer to:

• Scamander, Tasmania, a small town at the mouth of the Scamander River on Tasmania's north east coast
• The father of Sappho
• Skamander- Polish literature group founded by Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Jan Lechoń and Kazimierz Wierzyński after independence of Poland in 1918

Rivers:

• Karamenderes River in Asia Minor, previously called the Scamander River
• Scamander River, Tasmania in north eastern Tasmania

Fiction:

• Newt Scamander, the pseudonym used by J. K. Rowling when she wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them