Prometheus And Io 6511l

PROMETHEUS AND IO Two of the earliest heroes were Prometheus and Io. Two poets first wrote about these heroes, The Greek poet Aeschylus and the Roman poet Ovid. Prometheus had been bound to a rock by Zeus in order to serve a punishment for giving fire to men. It was then that a strange creature approached him. This creature looked like a wild beast but had a voice of a young girl who seemed mad with misery. Prometheus recognized the voice. He had heard of her story and he called her by her name. The creature was amazed at the sound of her voice. She stood as still as a statue and started asking Prometheus many questions : ‘Where am I?’ ‘Are you being punished?’ ‘Did you do wrong?’ ‘Why are you bound to this rock?’ When he answered that she was looking at Prometheus who had given fire to mortals, she realized that she knew him and had heard his story before. They then spoke freely to one another. He told her how Zeus had treated him and she told him that Zeus had also been the reason that she had been transformed from a beautiful young girl into a wild starving beast. Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife was the cause of her misfortunes. Zeus had fallen in love with Io but Hera’s jealousy was stronger than Zeus’ love. When Hera had found out about Zeus falling in love with this young girl, he had denied it. Hera asked him to give her the young maiden that he had immediately transformed into a beast and Zeus, having no other choice but to please his jealous wife had agreed. He handed over Io in the form of a beast and watched her misery and unhappiness but he could not do anything to help her. Hera then gave Io to Argus in order for him to take care of her. This was a good arrangement since Argus had 100 eyes. Zeus ordered Hermes to kill Argus and so as soon as Argus went to sleep Hermes obediently killed him not knowing that Hera knew the plan and had already taken off Argos’ eyes and placed them in to her favourite bird, the peacock. It seemed that Io was free but no, Hera sent a fly after her to plague and sting her to madness. Prometheus listened to her story and tried to comfort her by telling her to look at her future. Io said goodbye and continued on her way. One of the seas she crossed was named after her, the Ionian Sea but she was truly comforted when she reached the Nile and then Zeus appeared once again this time as a human. He informed her that she was to give birth to a child which she would name Epaphus, and he would live happily in honour. Io’s descendant in the future would be Hercules and it is he that Prometheus will later owe his future to.

http://www.abettergreece.com/the%20earliest%20heroes.html

IO was a Naiad nymph of the Argive River Inakhos loved by the god Zeus. When Hera came upon their rendeavous, Zeus transformed the maiden into a white heifer. The requested it as a gift, and set the hundred-eyed giant Argos Panoptes to guard her. Zeus despatched Hermes to slay this warden, however Hera then inflicted the heifer-shaped Io with a gladfly driving her to wander miles across the expanse of Europe and Asia. She eventually reached Aigyptos (Egypt) where Zeus restored her form with a touch of his hand and she gave birth to their son Epaphos. Her descendants later returned to Greece from Egypt and Phoenicia, Kos founding the royal house of Thebes, and Danaos that of Argos. Io was identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis and her son Epaphos with the sacred bull Apis.

http://www.theoi.com/Heroine/Io.html