Io / Myth. Short summary

5 seconds

Io is Zeus’ beloved, whom he turned into a cow to protect her from Hera’s jealousy. It didn’t work, and the girl endured a lot before finding peace in Egypt.

1 minute

The beautiful Io, in one version the daughter of a king, in another the daughter of a nymph and a river god, is the girl that Zeus fell in love with. To hide her from the eyes of his wife Hera, who was very jealous and vengeful, he turned Io into a snow-white cow. Seeing the animal, Hera asked for it as a gift, and Zeus relented. The goddess, however, sent the giant Argus, who had a hundred eyes, to the cow to watch over the animal. Determined to help the girl, Zeus turned to Hermes, who put Argus to sleep and Io was able to leave.

On learning of this, enraged Hera created the insect gadfly, which chased Io around the world and stung her mercilessly. On the advice of Prometheus, Io went to Egypt, where she hoped to find peace. Zeus longed for the girl and, learning of her suffering, destroyed the gadfly and returned the girl to her form. In Egypt, Io gave Zeus a son, Epaph, who became the first king of Egypt.