Jupiter was the king of all the gods. Ably assisted by his two brothers, Pluto (who Jupiter put in charge of the underworld) and Neptune (who Jupiter put in charge of the seas), Jupiter ruled the heavens, the earth, and all life. No god was more powerful than Jupiter. And no major decision was made without Jupiter's approval.
It was nice being in charge, but sometimes Jupiter found things a bit boring.
Jupiter thought about what he could do.
He could turn himself into an octopus and visit his brother Neptune under the sea, but he didn't feel much like a swim.
He could visit Pluto under the earth, but Pluto was such a gloomy fellow.
He could hurl thunderbolts, but it wasn't much fun without a target.
He could hunt up one of the other gods. But the truth was, all the other gods were terrified of Jupiter. He did have a terrible temper, but only when someone lied to him. Since the gods often lied, they mostly avoided Jupiter.
He could call for his wife, Juno. But the truth was, Juno was very busy. It was nearing the day of her festival (March 1st), when all the married women in Rome celebrated her and thanked her for all she did for them. Juno was busy whispering suggestions in many a matron's ear.
Jupiter almost never visited earth. But he did watch over it. From the heavens, Jupiter spotted two men walking along a lane. Jupiter threw his voice down to earth, making it sound like someone speaking. He was very good at that.
"Hey stupid," Jupiter cast his voice loudly, hoping to start a fight.
One man turned to the other angrily. "What did you say?" And before you could say Jupiter, the two men were fighting. Jupiter found that very funny.
A glint on the river caught his eye. It was Io, a lovely river nymph.
"What a lovely young woman," Jupiter said.
Jupiter covered heaven and earth with some really thick clouds and brought Io up to visit him. The thick coat of clouds made Juno suspicious.
Jupiter looked up. "It's Juno!" he blinked.
Quickly, Jupiter changed Io into a cow. When Juno appeared by his side, all she found was an innocent looking Jupiter standing next to a little white cow.
"This little cow appeared out of nowhere," he told his wife, acting surprised.
advertisement
Juno wasn't fooled. "What a beautiful cow," she gushed admiringly. "May I have it as a present?"
Jupiter had to agree. Juno sent the cow away under guard.
Jupiter arranged for Io to be rescued and set free. He sent his son Apollo to sing the guard asleep. When the guard closed his eyes, Apollo flew Io back to her river. But he forgot to change Io back into human form.
When Juno heard that Io had escaped, she sent a gadfly after Io. A gadfly is a fly that bites.
"Moo moo," Io screamed, when the gadfly found her.
Io swam awkwardly to the mouth of the river, where it joins the sea, hoping the gadfly would not follow her. (Cows are not the best of swimmers.)
"Moo moo," Io screamed, when the gadfly found her again.
Feeling very sorry for herself, a dispirited Io traveled next to Egypt.
Egypt was a dismal place for a river nymph. There are no crocodiles in the Tiber as there are in the Nile. When Juno heard about it, she flew to Egypt and changed Io back into human form.
"Thank you, Juno!" Io cried humbly.
"Yes, well," mumbled Juno, her mind on her festival. "Find a husband, child." She flew quickly away, leaving poor Io in Egypt.
Io, after all, was a river nymph. Sighing heavily all the way, Io swam home.
No comments:
Post a Comment