Io and Zeus

In Greek Mythology Io was a mortal woman with whom Zeus, the Ruler of the Greek Gods, fell in love with.
To conceal Io from his wife, Hera, Zeus turned Io into a cow, but eventually he transformed her back into a human and sent her to Egypt where they had a son and a daughter.

Io is turned into a cow
- In order to conceal Io from his wife Hera, Zeus transformed Io into a cow.
- However, Hera realised who the cow was and requested Zeus give her the cow as a present.
Hera sends Argus to guard the cow
- When Zeus agreed, Hera selected Argus, a giant with 100 eyes, to guard over the cow, preventing Zeus from visiting her.
- So Zeus got Hermes to play music until Argus closed all his eyes, at which point Hermes killed him and Zeus was able to free the cow.
Hera sends a gadfly
- Hera reacted by sending a gadfly to continuously sting Io, forcing her to wander until she crossed the Bosphorus.
- She then rambled through Asia Minor until she found Prometheus at Mount Caucasus.
- Prometheus foretold that she would be the ancestor of the greatest Greek Hero, Heracles.
Io escapes to Egypt
- Io escaped across the Ionian Sea to Egypt where Zeus transformed her back into a human.
Zeus and Io’s descendants
- They had a son, Epaphus, and a daughter, Keroessa. Keroessa married the Egyptian King Telegonus and their grandson was Danaus whose fifty daughters were The Danaides.