Greek mythology
12. Iynx toy : Io, the cow
Among the many children of Hermes, one particular birth would lead to a chain of events affecting even Zeus himself. The child was born as a unique creature - a satyr, with the upper body of a human but the legs of a goat. More striking still were the horns that protruded from the infant's head, marking him as something truly extraordinary. Proud of his unusual offspring, Hermes wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes and brought him to Mount Olympus. The gods were greatly amused by this odd and peculiar appearance. They named him Pan, and he would grow to become the god of nature and shepherds.
As Pan grew older, he formed relationships with various nymphs, including Echo, a nymph of the forests and springs. From these unions came several children, including Iynx, who would become renowned for her magical abilities. Iynx became one of the most powerful practitioners of love magic. Her magic was said to be so powerful that it could influence even the gods themselves. She was the creator of a magical love charm known as the iynx—a spinning wheel with a wryneck bird attached. Iynx, eager to test her magical toy quickly, boldly set her sights on Zeus.
Meanwhile, there lived a beautiful priestess named Io, who served in the temple of Hera. She was the daughter of Inachus, the river god and king of Argos, and the Oceanid nymph Melia. Through Iynx's magic, the king of the gods fell completely under the spell of Io, a beautiful priestess in service to his wife, Hera. Knowing his wife Hera's jealous nature, Zeus attempted to hide his encounter with Io by covering them both in a thick cloud. However, Hera, ever suspicious of her husband's infidelities, noticed the unusual cloud formation and rushed to investigate. In his panic, Zeus transformed Io into a beautiful white heifer to conceal her true identity. Hera, who immediately saw through this deception, cunningly asked Zeus to give her the cow as a gift. Zeus found himself in a dilemma - refusing would confirm Hera's suspicions, while agreeing would place Io in Hera's possession. Reluctantly, Zeus handed over Io to his wife, knowing he had no other choice.
Hera, determined to keep Io under constant surveillance, assigned Argus, a giant with a hundred eyes, to guard her. Trapped in the form of a cow, Io could only moo, forced to sleep in the fields with nothing to eat. Pitying the unfortunate girl, Gaia, the goddess of the earth, created the violet (Ancient Greek: ἴον, romanized: ion). As days and nights passed, Io grew increasingly weary under the unyielding gaze of the relentless Argus, who never slept, and the miserable existence of living like a wretched beast. One day, her father Inachus and siblings came searching for her, but they couldn't recognize her in her bovine form. In desperation, Io wrote her name in the dirt with her hoof, revealing her identity to her grieving family. Her family recognized it too late and began to wail, but the sound of their cries attracted Argus, who then forcibly separated Io from her family. Their reunion was cut short by Argus, who drove her family away and continued his relentless watch.
Zeus, seeing Io's suffering but unable to act directly for fear of Hera, sent Hermes to rescue her. Hermes disguised himself as a shepherd and approached Argus. Hermes, tasked by Zeus to slay the hundred-eyed giant Argus, knew he needed to be clever rather than forceful. He had a pan flute with him. When Argus questioned his presence, Hermes offered to tell him a story – the origin of this magical instrument.
"This pipe," Hermes began, "was created by my son, Pan, who once fell deeply in love with a beautiful nymph named Syrinx. She was a devoted follower of Artemis, sworn to eternal maidenhood, and found Pan's advances repulsive. Day after day, Pan pursued her, and day after day, she fled from his advances."
"One day," Hermes continued, his voice growing softer, "Syrinx found herself cornered by Pan near the river. In desperation, she cried out to her fellow nymph friends for help. They answered her prayers by transforming her into a cluster of river reeds, forever changing her form to escape Pan's pursuit." "Pan, heartbroken but still determined, decided that if he couldn't have Syrinx as his love, he would at least keep her memory alive. He cut the reeds into different lengths and bound them together, creating this wonderful instrument. When he played it, the sweet, melancholic notes reminded him of Syrinx's voice. That's how the Pan flute came to be."
As Hermes told the story, he began to play the pipe softly. The melody was so enchanting that one by one, Argus's hundred eyes began to close, until finally, the giant fell into a deep sleep. Once Argus was asleep, Hermes swiftly killed him and freed Io, but her troubles were far from over. For Io to return to her original form, Zeus was needed, but he was captured by Hera. Additionally, when Hermes, sent by Zeus, killed her cherished servant Argus, Hera's anger intensified.
Hera sent a gadfly to torment Io, forcing her to wander the earth in constant agony.
Io's journey took her across vast distances, including crossing the Ionian Sea (named after her) and the Bosphorus (meaning "cow's crossing").
Finally, she reached Egypt, where Zeus sought forgiveness from Hera. Zeus swore by the River Styx to Hera that he would never meet Io again. To appease Hera, he placed the eyes of the deceased Argus on the tail of her beloved peacock, gaining her forgiveness and finally restoring Io to her original form. Hera was enraged and transformed Iynx, who had cast the love spell on Zeus, into a wryneck bird, mimicking the shape of the magical love charm she had created. Io gave birth to Zeus's son, Epaphus, and later married Telegonus, the king of Egypt. Her descendants would become some of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, including Perseus, Cadmus, and Heracles.
Ps. Because Greco-Roman mythology contains many versions of the same story of the same character, the story you see in Roy's Box may not be the story you know. In Roy's Box, we list the full episodes in chronological order, and where possible, we've adapted non-contradictory versions.