Prometheus, Io and Europa

Prometheus, Creator of Man

Prometheus and Epimetheus, two Titans, were spared imprisonment in Tartarus after

the Titanomachy, the War between the Titans and the Olympians, because they had not fought
alongside the other Titans. Instead, they were given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man
out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure.

Prometheus assigned Epimetheus with the task of giving the creatures of the earth their various

qualities, such as swiftness, cunning, strength, fur, wings. Unfortunately, by the time he got to
man, Epimetheus had given all the good qualities out and there were none left for man.
So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright just like the gods did and to give them fire.

Prometheus loved man more than the Olympians, who had banished most of his family to Tartarus. So
when Zeus decreed that man must sacrifice a portion of each food to the gods, Prometheus decided to
trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with bones wrapped in juicy fat, and another with the finest meat
hidden inside a hide. He then asked Zeus to choose one of the piles; Zeus, unaware, chose the bones
and since he had given his word, was forced to accept the bones as his share for future sacrifices. In his
anger over the trick, he took fire away from man. However, Prometheus lit a torch from the sun and
brought it back again to man. Zeus was enraged that man again had fire. He decided to inflict a terrible
punishment on both man and Prometheus.

To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods gave the mortal
many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This
creation was Pandora, the first woman. A final gift was a jar which  Pandora was forbidden to open.
Thus, Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus, who had decided to live amongst men.

Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus, but Pandora's beauty was too great;
so, he let her stay. Eventually, Pandora's curiosity about the forbidden jar overwhelmed her; she opened
it, releasing all evils upon the earth. Only one thing was left in the jar when Pandora managed to close
the lid again - hope.
Zeus was angry at Prometheus for three things: being tricked on sacrifices, stealing fire for man, and for
refusing to tell Zeus which of Zeus's children would dethrone him. Zeus commanded his servants, Force
and Violence, to seize Prometheus, take him to the Caucasus Mountains, and chain him to a rock with
unbreakable, diamond chains. There, he was tormented day and night by a giant eagle tearing at his
liver. Zeus gave Prometheus two ways out of this torment. He could tell Zeus who the mother of the
child that would dethrone him was. Or meet two conditions: first, that an immortal must volunteer to
die for Prometheus. And second, that a mortal must kill the eagle and unchain him.
Eventually, Chiron the Centaur agreed to die for him and Heracles killed the eagle and unbound him.

Io, the First Priestess

In Greek mythology, Io was a young woman who was loved by Zeus, king of the gods. His attentions
toward her aroused the jealousy of his wife, Hera *, and both deities used their powers in various ways
to try to gain control over Io.

The daughter of the river god Inachus, Io was a priestess at one of Hera's temples. Zeus fell in love with
her and seduced her. When Hera learned about Zeus's behavior, she turned the girl into a white cow. In
some versions of the myth, it was Zeus who transformed Io into the cow, to conceal her from Hera.

After tying Io the cow to an olive tree, Hera sent Argus, a giant with 100 eyes, to watch over her. Zeus
responded by sending the messenger god Hermes to rescue Io. Hermes put Argus to sleep by singing
and telling stories, and then he killed the giant.

Angry that Io was released, Hera sent a gadfly—a type of insect that bites animals—to torment her. Io
wandered distractedly until she reached Egypt. There, after Zeus turned her back into a woman, Io gave
birth to a son named Epaphus. Many of Io's descendants returned to Greece. Among them were
Cadmus, Perseus, and Hercules.

Europa, Grandmother of a Continent

This myth is about a beautiful girl that was abducted and then seduced by Zeus, the chief of the Gods.
This concept is pretty usual in Greek mythology. The remarkable thing is that this girl gave her name to
the whole continent of Europe. Her story has been particularly popular since ancient times and has been
depicted in many ancient pieces of ceramics and coins. Moreover, it touched the painters of the
Renaissance, who created many impressive and inspired pictures having the myth as their theme.

Nowadays, this lovely fable is depicted in the 2-euro coin of the European Union to pay attribute to the
Godmother of Europe. The story of Europa is interesting and the end is surprisingly good, in contrast to
the usual tragic endings of the Greek myths.

The name of Europa is mentioned in many contexts, most of which deal with the divine union between a
young girl and Zeus. The most popular myth about Europa says that she was the daughter of Agenor, a
Phoenician king, and later became a wife of Zeus, the King of Gods.

According to the legend, Europa was the epitome of feminine beauty on Earth. Zeus once saw her on the
seashore of Phoenicia playing with her friends. He was so captivated by her beauty that he fell in love
with her and developed a strong desire to possess her. Immediately, he took the form of a white bull
and approached her. The bull looked wonderful with its snow-white body and gem-like horns. Europa
looked at the extraordinary animal curiously and dared to touch and later hang him because he
appeared so calm to her. Later, she was somehow motivated to climb on his back.

As soon as she did so, Zeus ran to the sea and carried her all the way from Phoenicia to the island
of Crete. There he regained his human form and mated with her under an evergreen tree. This was the
abduction of Europa, who later gave birth to three sons of Zeus, Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon.
These men were known for their fairness and became the three judges of the Underworld, when they
died. In fact, Minos founded the town of Knossos and gave his name to an entire civilization, the Minoan
civilization.

Zeus loved Europa so much that he showered her with three priceless gifts. The first one was a bronze
man, Talos, who served as a guard to her. He was the bronze giant that the Argonauts met and killed in
their attempt to shore on Crete. The second was a dog, Laelaps, which could hunt anything she wanted.
The last one was a javelin that had the power to hit the target, whatever it was. Europa was later
married to one of the kings of Crete, Asterius, who adopted her sons and made her the first queen of
Crete.

In the meanwhile, her father, Agenor, had ordered her brothers to cross the whole world and not to
return if they hadn't found his precious daughter. Europa had four brothers. Cilix, his eldest brother, was
searching for a long time but with no success. He ended up in a region in Asia Minor, which he named
Cicilia after him and became a king there. Thasus eventually landed on the island of Thassos, also gave it
his name and reigned there. Phoenix went to Africa.

Cadmus, the youngest and most beloved brother of Europa, asked the Oracle of Delphi what to do. The
priests of the Oracle told him not to worry about his sister because she was safe. They also told him to
go to Boeotia, a region to the north of Athens and found a town there, which would become rich and
powerful in the years to come. Indeed, Cadmus founded a town in Boetia to which gave his name,
Cadmia. Later on, this town changed its name and was called Thebes.

It is said that when Europa died, Zeus transformed her into a star complex and he himself took again the
shape of the white bull to merge in the complex. The Taurus Constellation is believed to be the form of
Zeus. Today the name Europa has been given to one of Jupiter's 16 moons and in fact this moon is very
special, as it is believed to have water on its surface.

Prometheus and Io

One day, while Prometheus was serving his punishment for his kindness toward man, he had a strange
visitor. The visitor looked like a cow but had the voice of a girl who seemed mad with misery. As the
visitor, Io, approached, Prometheus recognized the visitor. He knew her story and he spoke her name.

When Io found out that the person chained to a rock with unbreakable adamant chains
was Prometheus, they started to talk to each other. Prometheus told Io his story and Io told him why
she, once a princess and a happy girl, was turned into a cow by Zeus.
After Zeus fell in love with Io, Hera grew jealous. When Hera found out about their relationship, Zeus
tried to hide himself and Io by wrapping a cloud around the earth. He hoped that this cloud would be so
thick that it would leave the place in darkness.

But Hera knew why this odd occurrence was happening. As Hera called off the cloud, Zeus quickly
transformed Io into a cow. He claimed that the cow had been born from the earth. Hera did not believe
this and she made Zeus give the cow to her. Zeus reluctantly handed Io, in the form of a cow, to Hera,
who had a plan to keep her away from Zeus.

She handed Io into the charge of Argus. Since he had a hundred eyes, he was able to sleep with some of
his eyes and guard Io with the rest. Zeus, unable to withstand Io's misery told Hermes to kill Argus.
Hermes, knowing of Argus' abilities, bored the Argus with stories and music. When Argus' eyes finally all
fell asleep, Hermes killed him but not before Hera took his eyes and placed them on her favorite bird,
the peacock.

Io thought she was free but once again, Hera sent to gad-fly to drive Io into madness.

Prometheus tried to comfort Io, but he could only tell her to look to the future. After speaking to
Prometheus, Io wandered on. One part of a sea which she wandered through was named after her
(Ionian Sea) but real consolation came when she reached the Nile. There, Zeus returned her to human
form. They would have a son, Epaphus, and live happily and in honor. Io's descendant in the future
would be Hercules. It is he that Prometheus would later owe his freedom to.