Argus Panoptes
Mythology: Greek
A hundred-eyed giant.
He was Hera's servant. His great service to the Olympian pantheon was to slay the chthonic serpent-legged monster Echidna as she slept in her cave. Hera's defining task for Argus was to guard the white heifer Io from Zeus, keeping her chained to the sacred olive tree at the Argive Heraion. She charged him to "Tether this cow safely to an olive-tree at Nemea". Hera knew that the heifer was in reality Io, one of the many nymphs Zeus was coupling with to establish a new order. To free Io, Zeus had Argus slain by Hermes. Hermes, disguised as a shepherd, first put all of Argus's eyes asleep with spoken charms, then slew him by hitting him with a stone, the first stain of bloodshed among the new generation of gods.
The myth makes the closest connection of Argos, the neatherd, with the bull. In the Library of pseudo-Apollodorus, "Argos killed the bull that ravaged Arcadia, then clothed himself in its skin."
The sacrifice of Argos liberated Io and allowed her to wander the earth, although tormented by a gadfly sent by Hera.
YOU ARE READING
Book of Shadows (MYTHICAL CREATURES A-Z)
RandomThis book is about all the mythical creatures around the world. I hope that you have fun exploring and learning about new creatures. I know its hard for people to find mythical creatures when writing a book or simply to read about, I tried. Finally...
