Io

Family: Argos · Role: daughter of Inachos · First appears: Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound — Scene 1

Io is the daughter of Inachos and comes from Argos. After consulting Delphi, Inachos drove her from home, though unwillingly, while Zeus loved her and gave her the horns of a cow. Hera, hating Io because she was dear to Zeus, transformed her into a heifer, set Argos to guard her, and sent a gadfly that drove her across many lands: “And I, by gadfly stung, By scourge from Heaven am driven from land to land.”

During her prolonged wandering, Io encountered Prometheus, who identified her as Inachos’ daughter and explained that Zeus’s love and Hera’s hatred had caused her suffering. He spoke to her as a friend and mentor, warning her of the journeys still ahead, while Argos pursued her relentlessly. Prometheus also revealed that one of Io’s descendants would eventually free him from his bonds.

At Canôbos, Zeus would restore Io’s sanity and she would bear his child, Epaphus. After reaching Egypt, she gave birth to Epaphus, who was recognized as Zeus-born; Io and her progeny were then destined to found a distant colony in Neilotic land. In later Argive tradition, Danaus and Aegyptus were counted among her descendants, and Epaphus was said to spring from the ancestor Io.