Editing Io (mythology)

{{short description|Mortal woman seduced by Zeus in Greek mythology}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Io
| image= Io Argos MAN Napoli Inv9556.jpg
| caption = Io wearing bovine horns watched over by [[Argus Panoptes|Argos]] on [[Hera]]'s orders, antique fresco from [[Pompeii]]
| alt = 
| god_of = 
| abode = {{ubl|[[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]|[[Egypt]]}}
| symbol =
| consort = {{ubl|[[Zeus]]|[[Telegonus]]}}
| children = {{ubl|[[Keroessa]]|[[Epaphus]]}}
| parents = [[Inachus]]
| siblings = 
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent =
}}
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Io''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|.|oʊ}}; {{langx|grc|Ἰώ}} {{IPA|el|iːɔ̌ː|}}) was one of the mortal lovers of [[Zeus]]. An [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argive]] princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes, such as [[Perseus]], [[Cadmus]], [[Heracles]], [[Minos]], [[Lynceus]], [[Cepheus, King of Aethiopia|Cepheus]], and [[Danaus]]. The astronomer [[Simon Marius]] named a [[Io (moon)|moon]] of [[Jupiter]] after Io in 1614.

{{anchor|Phoronis|Isis}}
Because her brother was [[Phoroneus]], Io is also known as '''Phoronis''' (an adjective form of Phoroneus: "Phoronean").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis & Short |title=A Latin Dictionary |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=Phoroneus&highlight=nis,phoronis,Phoronean |quote=Phŏrō-nis, ĭdis, f. '''adj.''', Phoronean, poet. for Argive [...] '''Subst.''': Phorōnis, ĭdis, f., Io}}</ref> She was sometimes compared to the Egyptian goddess [[Isis]], whereas her Egyptian husband Telegonus was [[Osiris]].<ref name=surnames>{{cite book |last=Lemprière |first=John|title=A Classical Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_asVAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP355 |year=1809|publisher=D. & G. Bruce|page=355|quote= Afterwards she married Telegonus, king of Egypt, or Osiris, according to others, and she treated her subjects with such mildness and humanity, that after death, she received divine honours, and was worshipped under the name of Isis. [...] She is sometimes called Phoronis, from her brother Phoroneus.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beauzée |first1=Nicolas |title=L'Encyclopédie |date=1751 |url=https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/L%E2%80%99Encyclop%C3%A9die/1re_%C3%A9dition/PATRONYMIQUE |language=fr |quote=On a étendu encore plus loin la signification de ce terme, & l'on appelle noms patronymiques, ceux qui sont donnés d'après celui d'un frere ou d'une sœur, comme ''Phoronis'', c'est-à-dire ''Isis Phoronei soror''.}} Summary/translation: "The term ''[[patronymic]]'' was expanded even further to include those named after a sibling, such as ''Phoronis'' to mean Isis, the sister of Phoroneus."</ref>{{Greek myth (nymph)}}

== Family ==
In most versions of the legend, Io was the daughter of [[Inachus]],<ref>Aeschylus, ''Prometheus Bound'', 590; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.3 2.1.3]; [[Herodotus]], ''Histories'', 1.1; Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', 1.583.</ref><ref name=OCD>{{cite book|editor-last1=Hammond|editor-first1=N. G. L.|editor-last2=Scullard|editor-first2=H. H.|title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary|date=1970|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0-19-869117-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordclassicald00hamm/page/549 549]|edition=2d|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordclassicald00hamm/page/549}}</ref> though various other purported genealogies are also known. If her father was Inachus, then her mother would presumably have been Inachus' wife (and sister), the [[Oceanid]] nymph [[Melia (consort of Inachus)|Melia]], daughter of [[Oceanus]].{{CN|date=June 2024}}{{efn|For Melia as wife of Inachus see
[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)]]}}
She had the patronymic Inachis (Ἰναχίς) as daughter of Inachus.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dinachis-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Inachis]</ref>

Io's father was called Peiren in the ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'',<ref>''Catalogue of Women''. fr. 124</ref> and by [[Acusilaus]],<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.3 2.1.3]; Acusilaus, fr.12</ref> possibly a son of the elder [[Argus (mythology)|Argus]], also known as Peiras, Peiranthus or Peirasus.<ref>M.L. West, ''The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women: Its Nature, Structure, and Origins'' (Oxford, 1985) 77</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 2.1.3; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'', 124.</ref> Io may therefore be identical to [[Callithyia]], daughter of Peiranthus, as is suggested by [[Hesychius of Alexandria]].<ref>Hesychius of Alexandria s. v. {{lang|grc|Ὶὼ Καλλιθύεσσα}}</ref>

The 2nd century AD geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] mentions another, later Io, descendant of [[Phoroneus]], daughter of [[Iasus]],<ref>Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D16 2.16.1]</ref> who himself was the son of [[Argus (king of Argos)|Argus]] and [[Ismene#Daughter of Asopus|Ismene]], the daughter of [[Asopus]],<ref name="2.1.3">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.1.3 2.1.3].</ref> or of [[Triopas]] and [[Sose (mythology)|Sosis]]; Io's mother in the latter case was Leucane.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Euripides]]' ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'', 932</ref>

== Mythology ==
[[File:Pieter Lastman - Juno Discovering Jupiter with Io - WGA12485.jpg|thumbnail| ''[[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] Discovering Jupiter with Io'' by [[Pieter Lastman]]|left]]

=== Io and Zeus ===
Io was a priestess of the goddess [[Hera]] in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]],<ref name=OCD /><ref name="2.1.3"/> whose cult her father Inachus was supposed to have introduced to Argos.<ref name="OCD"/> [[Zeus]] noticed Io, a mortal woman, and lusted after her. In the version of the myth told in ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' she initially rejected Zeus' advances, until her father threw her out of his house on the advice of oracles.<ref name=OCCCL>{{cite book|last1=Howatson|first1=M.C. L.|last2=Chivers|first2=I.|title=The Oxford Concise Companion to Classical Literature|date=1993|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0-19-282708-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordcom00mcho/page/288 288–9]|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordcom00mcho/page/288}}</ref> According to some stories, Zeus then turned Io into a [[Cattle|heifer]] in order to hide her from his wife;<ref name=OCD /> others maintain that Hera herself transformed Io.<ref name=OCCCL /><ref>[[Aeschylus]], ''[[The Suppliants (Aeschylus)|Suppliants]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-suppliants/2009/pb_LCL145.325.xml 291&ndash;9 (pp. 324, 325)].</ref>

In the version of the story in which Zeus transformed Io, the deception failed, and Hera begged Zeus to give her the heifer as a present, which, having no reason to refuse, he did. Pitying the unfortunate girl, [[Gaia]], the goddess of the earth, created the [[violet (plant)|violet]] ({{langx|grc|ἴον|ion}}), so the cow could eat, thus growing "from her from whom it has its name", based on incorrect [[folk etymology]]. The various colours of the violet (red, purple, white) changed on account of Io's life, red for the blushing maiden, purple for the cow, white for the stars.<ref>''[[Geoponica]]'' [https://archive.org/details/Geoponica02/page/n113/mode/2up?view=theater 6.22]</ref><ref>Severus, ''Narrations'' 1</ref>{{sfn|Ascherson|1884|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pQLj-Zg9UdYC&pg=PA18 18-19]}} Hera then sent [[Argus Panoptes]], a giant who had 100 eyes, to watch Io and prevent Zeus from visiting her, and so Zeus sent [[Hermes]] to distract and eventually slay Argus. According to Ovid, he did so by first lulling him to sleep by playing the panpipes and telling stories.<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', I.650-730</ref>  Zeus freed Io, still in the form of a heifer. In some myths, Hera uses Argus' eyes to decorate her peacock's feathers to thank the giant for his help.

[[File:Jupiter and Io (Paris Bordone) - Gothenburg Museum of Art - GKM 0715.tif|thumbnail|[[Paris Bordone]], ''Jupiter and Io''. [[Gothenburg Museum of Art]]|left]]

In order to exact her revenge, Hera sent a [[Gadfly (mythology)|gadfly]] to sting Io continuously, driving her to wander the world without rest. Io eventually crossed the path between the [[Propontis]] and the [[Black Sea]], which thus acquired the name [[Bosphorus|Bosporus]] (meaning ''ox passage''), where she met [[Prometheus]], who had been chained on Mt. [[Caucasus]] by Zeus. Prometheus comforted Io with the information that she would be restored to human form and become the ancestress of the greatest of all heroes, [[Heracles]] (Hercules). Io escaped across the [[Ionian Sea]] to [[Egypt]], where she was restored to human form by Zeus. There, she gave birth to Zeus's son [[Epaphus]], and a daughter as well, [[Keroessa]]. She later married Egyptian king Telegonus. Their grandson, Danaus, eventually returned to Greece with his fifty daughters (the [[Danaïdes|Danaids]]), as recalled in [[Aeschylus]]' play ''[[The Suppliants (Aeschylus)|The Suppliants]]''.

The myth of Io must have been well known to [[Homer]], who often calls Hermes ''Argeiphontes'', which is often translated as "Argus-slayer", though this interpretation is disputed by [[Robert Beekes]]. [[Walter Burkert]]<ref>Burkert, ''Homo Necans'' (1974) 1983:164 note 14, giving bibliography.</ref> notes that the story of Io was told in the ancient epic tradition at least four times of which we have traces: in the ''[[Danais (epic)|Danais]]'', in the ''[[Phoronis (epic poem)|Phoronis]]''—[[Phoroneus]] founded the cult of Hera, according to Hyginus' ''[[Fabulae]]'' 274 and 143—in a fragment of the Hesiodic ''Aigimios'', as well as in similarly fragmentary Hesiodic ''[[Catalogue of Women]]''. A mourning commemoration of Io was observed at the [[Heraion of Argos]] into classical times.

The ancients connected Io with the Moon,<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]] commentary on ''[[Dionysius Periegetes]]'', 92; the Byzantine encyclopedia [[Suda]] ''s.v.'' "Io", [[Ancient Macedonian language|Hesychius]], ''s.v.'' "Io".</ref> and in [[Aeschylus]]' ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'', where Io encounters Prometheus, she refers to herself as "the horned virgin". From her relationship with Phoroneus, as sister (or descendant), Io is sometimes called Phoronis.<ref>Tsagalis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lL0vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409 p. 409], Peck, [https://books.google.com/books?id=WQhKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA200 p. 200]; e.g. [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-metamorphoses/1916/pb_LCL042.49.xml?rskey=r5Ud7G&result=1&mainRsKey=f4g7xg 1.668], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-metamorphoses/1916/pb_LCL042.97.xml?mainRsKey=f4g7xg&result=1&rskey=r5Ud7G 2.524].</ref>

According to the [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] by [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], Io at some point landed at [[Damalis (town)|Damalis]], and the [[Chalcedon]]ians erected a bronze cow on the spot.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DD%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Ddamalis-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Damalis]</ref><ref>The source wrongly  quotes Symeon Mag. de Constant. Porphyr. p. 729, ed. Bonn; comp. Plb. 5.43. As a source but it is actually Plb.4.43.)</ref>

=== Io as Isis ===
{{Multiple image
|total_width=400
|image1=Fresco of the goddess Isis receives Io at Canopus.jpg
|image2=Pompeii - Temple of Isis - Io and Isis - MAN.jpg
|footer=The goddess Isis receives Io at [[Canopus, Egypt|Canopus]]. Antique frescoes in [[Pompeii]]}}
Lygdus and his wife, [[Telethusa]], were a poor couple living in [[Crete]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ovid Metamorphoses|at=book 9, verse 666–797}}</ref> When Telethusa becomes pregnant, her husband tells her that they cannot afford to have a daughter, and that they have no other option than to kill the child if it is a daughter. Eight months later Io, later in the story mentioned as [[Isis]], comes in a vision to Telethusa telling her that she should keep her daughter when it is born and must tell her husband that it is a boy named [[Iphis]].

Later in the story, Isis (Io) changes Iphis' sex when she is supposed to marry her fiancée, Ianthe.{{Argive genealogy in Greek mythology}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery> 
File:Antonio Allegri, called Correggio - Jupiter and Io - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Jupiter and Io]]'' by [[Antonio da Correggio]]
File:Victor-Janssens Io-recognized-by-her-father.jpg|''Io Recognised by Her Father'' by [[Victor Honoré Janssens]] (second half of 17th century)
File:Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem the Younger - Hera and Io, 1669.jpg|''Hera and Io'' by [[Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem|Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem the Younger]] (circa 1669)
File:Jupiter and Io) by John Hoppner, RA.jpg|''Jupiter and Io'' by [[John Hoppner]] (1785) at [[Denver Art Museum]]
File:Io changed into a cow, Mercury cuts of Argus's head.jpg|''From Neueröffneter Musen-Tempel'' by [[Bernard Picart]] (1733), University of Heidelberg
File:Francesco de Mura – Giunone affida Io ad Argo.tiff|''Juno (Hera) commits Io to Argus Panoptes'' by [[Francesco de Mura]] (1740–1750) at [[Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto]], Italy
File:Giovanni Ambrogio Figino - Jupiter, Juno and Io.jpg|''Jupiter, Juno and Io'' by [[Giovanni Ambrogio Figino]] (1599) at [[Pinacoteca Malaspina]] Parent institution	Musei Civici, Pavia
File:Italian School - Jupiter and Io, espied by Juno (1600-1699).jpg|''Jupiter and Io, espied by Juno'' by [[Andrea Sacchi]] and [[Pier Francesco Mola]] (1600 - 1699) at [[Kedleston Hall]], Derbyshire (Accredited Museum)
File:Gerbrand van den Eeckhout - Juno, Jupiter and Io.jpg|''Juno, Jupiter and Io'' by [[Gerbrand van den Eeckhout]]
File:Arnold Houbraken - Jupiter, Juno and Io.jpg|''Jupiter, Juno and Io'' by [[Arnold Houbraken]]
File:Jacob Symonsz. Pynas - Jupiter and Io.jpg|''Jupiter and Io'' by [[Jacob Pynas]] at [[The Fitzwilliam Museum]], UK
File:Jupiter and Io LACMA M.71.76.16.jpg|''Jupiter and Io'' by [[Hendrik Goltzius]] (1589) at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* [[Aeschylus]], ''[[The Suppliants (Aeschylus)|Suppliants]]'' in ''Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound'', edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 145, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99627-4}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL145/2009/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* {{cite book | author = Anonymous | title = Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits | volume = II | translator = Thomas Owen |date=1805 | location = [[London]]}}
* {{cite book | title = Berliner Studien für classische Philologie und Archaeologie | publisher = Calvary | date = 1884 | last = Ascherson | first = Ferdinand | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pQLj-Zg9UdYC | location = Berlin, Germany}}
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Ovid]]. ''[[Metamorphoses]], Volume I: Books 1-8''. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]], 1916. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL042/1916/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* Peck, William Thane (editor), ''The First and Second Books of Ovid's Metamorphoses'', Ginn & Company, 1900.
* Tsagalis, Christos, ''Early Greek Epic Fragments I: Antiquarian and Genealogical Epic'', Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2017. {{ISBN| 978-3-11-053287-6}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Io (mythology)}}
{{NSRW Poster|Io}}
* [http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheIo.html Theoi.com: Io: naiad nymph of Argolis and Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930191728/http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheIo.html |date=2007-09-30 }} Assembles the essential references in Greek and Latin literature, in translation.
* [http://www.colecciondeverda.com/search/label/Metamorfosis%20seg%C3%BAn%20Goltzius%20%28serie%20I%29 Io engravings by Goltzius from the De Verda collection]
* [http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/subcats.php?cat_1=5&cat_2=246 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 250 images of Io and Argus)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217044354/http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/subcats.php?cat_1=5&cat_2=246 |date=2013-12-17 }}

{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Io (Mythology)}}
[[Category:Greek mythological priestesses]]
[[Category:Mortal women of Zeus]]
[[Category:Mythological bovines]]
[[Category:Children of Inachus]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Isis]]
[[Category:Mythological Argives]]
[[Category:Mythological rape victims]]
[[Category:Egyptian characters in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Egypt in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hermes]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into flowers in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Deeds of Gaia]]