16. Hera Tormented Her Hubby’s Mistress Nonstop
In order to lull Argus to sleep, Hermes resorted to a simple but effective approach. He shot the breeze with the many-eyed giant, played the flute for him, and told him stories. In that way, he got Argus to shut his eyes one by one. When Argus was finally zonked out, Hermes grabbed a stone, smashed his head in, and freed Io from her tether so Zeus could get some loving time with his bovine mistress. In response, the livid Hera sent a gadfly to torment the white heifer, and sting her nonstop.
The incessant gadfly drove Io mad with pain, and forced her to wander the earth in an attempt to escape the irritant. Io swam the straits between Europe and Asia, which were known thereafter as the Bosporus (Greek for “ford of the cow”). She crossed the sea southwest of Greece, which became known as the Ionian Sea. Io eventually swam to Egypt, where Zeus finally restored her to human form. There, she bore Zeus a son and daughter, who gave rise to a line of legendary descendants, whose numbers include Hercules.
