“Hero, priestess of Venus, rejects the advances of the Arconte of the Sacrifices, who swears to take revenge. During the Olympic Games, a young man called Leander arrives from Ses­tos, in Asia, wins, and is crowned with the laurel wreath by Hero herself. Suspecting a sympathy between the two, the Arconte spies on Leander and sees him go to the house of Hero by night. The Arconte waits until the two withdraw and then denounces Hero to the Priest: the ancient religion forbids her to yield herself to love. The two lovers are separated. Leander is exiled to an island and Hero undertakes to signal to him with a torch from a rocky sea coast. One night Leander succeeds in swimming across the arm of sea which separates them, to rejoin his loved one. He makes the crossing every night, until the Arconte comes to learn of it. One night, as Leander is swimming in the sea, the Arconte surprises Hero and extinguishes the torch with which she was signaling her position to Leander: without any point of reference, and left in the darkness, the young man meets death among the rocks, and the despairing Hero holds his body in her arms”.

Anonymous, “The Moving Picture World”, New York, 5 February 1910

“Magnificent scenic backgrounds, interiors, and seashore are the pleasing features of this elaborate film, which tells an unsatisfactory story (…)”.

Anonymous, “The New York Dramatic Mirror”, New York, 5 February 1910