As king
of all gods and goddesses, Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and
took full advantage of this fact. Before and after wedding to Hera, the list of
ZeusÕs lovers is long. Among the better known of these is Io, on whom Hera
inflicted a most severe revenge.
As soon
as Zeus laid eyes on Io he lusted after her. The maiden, who happened to be one his wifeÕs priestesses,
at first rejected ZeusÕs advances.
Frustrated, he eventually forced IoÕs own father to banish her into the
fields. Here, Zeus made love to
priestess as they hid from Hera beneath a blanket of thick clouds. This plan backfired, however, as his
wife grew suspicious of the clouded patch of sky.
So, Hera
decided to come down from Olympus and do a little spying. As she descended the mountain, the
clouds began to disperse. Thinking
quickly, Zeus sought to outsmart his wife by turning Io into a heifer.
ÒWhat do
we have here?Ó Hera wondered upon
her arrival. She squinted her eyes
knowingly at the white cow, which stood beside her husband. Then she raised an eyebrow as she
stared down the heifer the way a woman scorned would look upon her rival to
quietly judge her.
Zeus
played dumb. ÒI have never seen
this cow before in my life,Ó he said, trying to sound innocent; but the falter
in his voice was fodder for conviction.
Playing
along as if none the wiser, Hera asked to have the heifer as a present. ÒWhat a beautiful thing you happened to
find,Ó Hera said. ÒMy sweet and scrupulous husband,Ó she continued, now batting
her eyes, Òmight I have this heifer as gift of your immeasurable love and
infinite fidelity?Ó
Zeus
chuckled and smiled sheepishly. ÒOf
course,Ó he said, as if to turn down such a reasonable request would give away
his guilt. He handed the heifer
over to his wife.
Hera
imprisoned the cow and commissioned a hundred-eyed monster to keep watch of
her, but he did not live up to his task.
Zeus, desperate for IoÕs return, sent Hermes to fetch her. Disguised as a shepherd, Hermes had to
employ all his musical talent and skill as a storyteller to lull the monster to
sleep. Many hours passed before
Hermes was successful. He killed
the monster and freed Io.
When Hera
had discovered what happened, first she created a memorial for the slain
monster by setting his eyes into the tail feathers of her favorite bird the
peacock. Then she sent a swarm of
gadflies after Io. They stung her
so many times that Io went completely insane.
For the
many years that followed, Io wondered the world aimlessly. She came across Prometheus, who tried
to comfort her, but foretold a future of still more wondering and in far more
fearsome lands. Indeed, the part
of the sea where she first roamed would be named the Ionian Sea in memory of
her, and at long last she would reach the Nile River. Here, by the hand of
Zeus, it was said Io would return to her human form, bear Zeus a son, and live
happily ever after.