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Vol. 10 : Zeus and Io

The blind storyteller began: "The princess Io was a beautiful woman, and Zeus lusted after her. He went to her, covering the land with a thick, black smoke to hide what he was about to do with Io from his jealous wife, Hera. But he had used this trick before and Hera was suspicious.

She started clearing away the smoke, looking for her husband. Zeus heard her coming. He put Io down and quickly turned her into a white cow.

"Hera asked him why the cow was there. He said he had never seen the cow before. Hera did not believe him. She guessed that the cow was a woman, but nevertheless she told Zeus that it was a beautiful cow and asked him if she could have it. He could not say no, so she took it and put it under the guard of Argus, a terrifying monster with 1,000 eyes that slept at different times so it was never completely asleep.

"Zeus wanted Io back, so he sent Hermes to steal the cow. Hermes tried to get past Argus, but he could not avoid his eyes. Finally, clever Hermes sat down nearby and started telling Argus a long, long story in many, many chapters. As Hermes spoke, Argus became sleepier and sleepier, until all of its eyes were closed. Hermes then took out his sword, cut off the monster's head and set the cow free.

"Hera saw this, and she sent a huge blow fly to chase after the cow and sting her, not once but hundreds of times. Io ran until at last she reached Egypt. There Zeus found her, killed the fly and turned Io back into the beautiful woman she used to be. Nine months later, she gave birth to his son."

"Ah, a fine story," said Menelaus with a great laugh. "But tell us, old man, why the peacock has that pattern on its tail?"

"Hera was sorry that Argus had died for her, so she took his eyes and put them on the tail of her favorite bird."

"Yes, very good," said Menelaus with a yawn. "And now, friends, I think we should get some rest."