glory of his divine power and majesty. As he had sworn to grant whatever
she asked of him, he was compelled to comply with her wish; he therefore
revealed himself as the mighty lord of the universe, accompanied by thunder
and lightning, and she was instantly consumed in the flames. {36}

IO, daughter of Inachus, king of Argos, was a priestess of Hera. She was
very beautiful, and Zeus, who was much attached to her, transformed her
into a white cow, in order to defeat the jealous intrigues of Hera, who,
however, was not to be deceived. Aware of the stratagem, she contrived to
obtain the animal from Zeus, and placed her under the watchful care of a
man called Argus-Panoptes, who fastened her to an olive-tree in the grove
of Hera. He had a hundred eyes, of which, when asleep, he never closed more
than two at a time; being thus always on the watch, Hera found him
extremely useful in keeping guard over Io. Hermes, however, by the command
of Zeus, succeeded in putting all his eyes to sleep with the sound of his
magic lyre, and then, taking advantage of his helpless condition, slew him.
The story goes, that in commemoration of the services which Argus had
rendered her, Hera placed his eyes on the tail of a peacock, as a lasting
memorial of her gratitude. Ever fertile in resource, Hera now sent a gadfly
to worry and torment the unfortunate Io incessantly, and she wandered all
over the world in hopes of escaping from her tormentor. At length she
reached Egypt, where she found rest and freedom from the persecutions of
her enemy. On the banks of the Nile she resumed her original form and gave
birth to a son called Epaphus, who afterwards became king of Egypt, and
built the famous city of Memphis.

DANAE.--Zeus appeared to Danae under the form of a shower of gold. (Further
details concerning her will be found in the legend of Perseus.)

* * * * *

The Greeks supposed that the divine ruler of the Universe occasionally
assumed a human form, and descended from his celestial abode, in order to
visit mankind and observe their proceedings, his aim being generally either
to punish the guilty, or to reward the deserving.

On one occasion Zeus, accompanied by Hermes, made a journey through
Phrygia, seeking hospitality and shelter wherever they went. But nowhere
did they receive a {37} kindly welcome till they came to the humble cottage
of an old man and his wife called Philemon and Baucis, who entertained t