It is known that ancient Greek myths were often based on plots drawn from real life, and the authors endowed fictional characters with their own features. That is why many ancient deities are far from the models of morality and morality in their modern sense. An example of this is the story of the supreme thunderer Zeus and the young goddess Io.
Young mistress of the master of Olympus
The goddess Io, who came to the modern world from Ancient Greece, had a very vague origin. According to some sources, she was the daughter of the river god Inach, according to others - one elderly, but very loving king. Other options are also given. However, this is a matter of life, because it is known that even the mother of a child cannot always name the father with confidence.
One way or another, the goddess Io spent her adolescence in the temple of Hera, the all-powerful patroness of marriage, who, through indiscretion, took her to the staff of her priestesses. The young girl behaved quite decently until she fell in love with her husband, the supreme god and owner of Olympus, Zeus, who struck his malethe beauty of all the representatives of the weaker sex indiscriminately. He did not take long to persuade himself, and a love affair began between them - one of those that have been repeated in different versions since the time of the universe.
Failed ploy
To lull his wife's vigilance, and perhaps wanting to add some piquancy to the novel, Zeus temporarily turned his beloved into a cow - white and beautiful, which the world has never seen. However, Hera, knowing her husband's inclinations, quickly saw through him and unleashed her righteous anger on the heads of her lovers.
Having told her husband everything that is said in such cases, and threatening to "go to her mother", she demanded that, as a token of repentance, he give her "this vile harlot." He cowardly agreed, and the unfortunate goddess Io was at the mercy of Hera, who spared no effort to take revenge on her with all the ruthlessness that a woman who loved but deceived is capable of.
The monster slain by Hermes
To top it off, Hera assigned to her prisoner an all-seeing guard - the many-eyed giant Argus, who constantly harassed the poor thing with empty nit-picking. Perhaps the story of the goddess Io would have ended there if not for the conscience that awakened in the soul of her former lover.
Seeing the suffering he condemned the unfortunate girl to, Zeus instructed his son Hermes (also, I must say, a fair womanizer) to kill the giant and free the captive. Without arguing with his father, he fulfilled his order, having previously lulled the monster with his speeches. It should be noted that the art of inducing sleep onlisteners not only has not been lost in our days, but has been brought to perfection by some speakers.
Hera's Revenge
Upon learning of what had happened, Hera became indescribably angry. First of all, she cast a spell on the fugitive, by virtue of which she was doomed to remain forever in the form of a cow. In addition, by the power of magic, she created a terrible gadfly - a giant insect that was supposed to pursue the goddess Io everywhere and, mercilessly pitying, inflict unbearable torment on her.
A vainly bitten cow fled from an evil gadfly. She did not find salvation either in the ancient city of Dodona, famous for its exquisite temple, once erected in honor of the culprit of her troubles - Zeus, or in the expanses of Asia, where she vainly dreamed of finding peace, neither on the shores of the seas, nor in the river valleys. Everywhere a vile insect from the family of "parasitic Diptera" (as it is commonly expressed in the scientific world) pursued its prey.
A ray of hope shining in the ice of Scythia
Only within the far northern country of Scythia did a ray of hope dawn for the rather desperate goddess Io. An ancient legend tells that at the time when she reached the polar latitudes, her fellow countryman Prometheus, a mighty titan who gave fire to people, was chained to one of the rocks, and doomed for this to suffering caused by an eagle, which day and night crushed his chest. Understanding the problems of his compatriot like no one else, he consoled her with a prediction that deliverance from troubles awaits her on the banks of the Nile.
HearingThis joyful news, Io hurried to Egypt, and a pretty cold and frost-covered gadfly flew after her. From the cold, he became even angrier and rushed at the fugitive like a mad dog. About how much and what kind of torment she had to endure on the way, the compilers of the legend are silent, allowing the readers themselves to imagine it. However, it is definitely reported that on the banks of the great African river, the romance between the goddess Io and Zeus received an unexpected and happy continuation.
The fruit of love ripened on the banks of the Nile
Yearning for his former passion, the Thunderer tensed up pretty much and managed to break the spell with which the insidious Hera had entangled her with the power of sorcery. The vile gadfly died, and the cow skin, which had hidden the delicate girlish skin under it for so long, suddenly melted and revealed to the world the former Io, shining with its unearthly beauty.
Zeus, weary without female affection (the wife was in no hurry to return her former favor to him), hastened to wrap her in his arms - so hot and passionate that after a certain period she gave him the son of Epaphus. To this fruit of love that broke out between the goddess Io and Zeus, the myths of ancient Greece attribute the honor of being the first king of Egypt. He, according to the generally accepted version, is the founder of a mighty and glorious tribe of heroes, the most famous representative of which was the legendary Hercules.
Two versions of the same event
And where did the jealous Hera look? In this matter, the opinions of later commentators differ. For example, the ancient Roman poet Ovid stated,as if he knows for certain that she herself lifted the curse from Io, and did this after her husband repented and swore never to commit adultery again. Oh, I can't believe in his sincerity, oh, I can't believe it! In addition, Zeus appointed a meeting with his beloved, which ended in the birth of a son, not in his native Athens, but in Egypt, which was alien to him, that is, away from his wife.
There is another version of the event that took place on the banks of the Nile. She was never particularly popular with the Greeks for this reason: evil tongues claimed that Zeus conceived the unborn child even before his girlfriend acquired a human form. In other words, he made an act of love not with a woman, but with a cow. Hera, on the other hand, found out about such a strange fantasy of her husband and, in order to avoid publicity and shame, hurried to return her horned rival to her former appearance. However, some believe that she did it solely out of compassion for the unborn child, while she gave up on Zeus a long time ago.
Afterword
It is curious that after the “happy ending” crowned the story described in our article, the young mistress of Zeus began to be identified by the Greeks with the moon goddess Selena. The reason for this was the two-horned form of the earthly satellite, visible at certain periods, forever wandering through the sky, surrounded by countless stars, so similar, according to the ancient Hellenes, to the eyes of the giant Argus. The name of the goddess, according to researchers, comes from the ancient Egyptian word "iw" (io), which means "cow" in translation.
Herlove affairs, which became the plot of one of the most famous and popular ancient Greek myths, acquired a new sound in the works of the classics of ancient drama. So, the love story of the almighty thunderer and the young priestess formed the basis of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Chaeremon and Action, and also inspired Plato, Anaxilaus and Anaxandrides to create comedies that were very popular in their time. The name of the goddess Io is not forgotten even today. It is worn by the closest of Jupiter's four largest moons.
