Christopher Marlowe (26 feb 1564 - 30 May 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator. His plays are known for the use of blank verse and their overreaching protagonists. Marlowe's first play performed on the regular stage in London, in 1587, was Tamburlaine the Great. Marlowe's plays were enormously successful. Hero and Leander is a poem by Christopher Marlowe that retells the Greek myth of the same name. The story follows two young lovers living in cities on opposite sides of the Hellespont. Hero is a priestess of Venus in Sestos, who lives in chastity nonetheless. At a festival she is seen by Leander, a youngster from Abydos on the opposite side of the Hellespont. Leander falls in love with her. Hero's vows become the separating chasm.