Semele was a mortal mother of the god of wine, Dionysus. Semele Dosso Dossi, Jupiter and Semele, 1520s, private collection Finally she escaped to Egypt, where she was restored to human form by Zeus. In order to exact her revenge, Hera sent a gadfly to sting Io continuously, driving her to wander the world without rest. Zeus freed Io, still in the form of a heifer. According to Ovid, he did so by first lulling him to sleep by playing the panpipes and telling stories. Hera then sent Argus Panoptes, who had 100 eyes, to watch Io and prevent Zeus from visiting her, and so Zeus sent Hermes to distract and eventually slay Argus. But the deception failed, and Hera begged Zeus to give her the heifer as a present, which, having no reason to refuse, he did. According to some stories, Zeus then turned Io into a heifer in order to hide her from his wife. Then Zeus enveloped himself in a dark cloud in order and seduced her. She initially rejected Zeus’ advances, until her father threw her out of his house on the advice of oracles. Zeus noticed Io and of course began to desire her. She was a priestess of the Goddess Hera in Argos. Io Antonio da Correggio, Jupiter and Io, c. He took her to Crete, where he had been raised, and promised her that she would bear him many famous sons – among them was also the infamous Minos. Zeus spoke to her and explained his love. From this, she realized that the bull must be a god and she pleaded to pity her. Europa saw that a whole procession had joined them: Nereids riding dolphins, Triton blowing his horn, and even Poseidon, the ruler of the waters. Instantly, the bull charged off, plunging into the sea, and began to swim rapidly away from the shore. He laid down in front of her and she slid onto its back. Zeus noticed them, fell in love with Europa and changed himself into a white bull that smelled of flowers (that must have been interesting). One day Europa with her friends went off gathering flowers by the sea. 1560-62, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, BostonĮuropa had an affair with Zeus when he was married to Hera. Soon after, their child Perseus was born, and of course couple of years later, he killed King Arcisius – accidentally, but efficiently. However, Zeus desired her, and came to her in the form of golden rain which streamed in through the roof of the subterranean chamber and down into her womb. So, Acrisius shut poor Danae up in a bronze chamber who was buried in this tomb, never to see the light again. The oracle announced to him that he would never have a son, but his daughter would, and that he would be killed by his daughter’s son. At the time she was childless and the King asked the oracle of Delphi if this would change. Danae Titian, Danaë with Nursemaid or Danaë Receiving the Golden Rain, 1553–1554, Museo del Prado, Madridĭanae was a daughter of King Acrisius. This guy was married for four times (that subject deserves a separate post) but he also couldn’t resist the charms of other women – both mortal and immortal ones. He was famous of couple of things and infamous of others – like his erotic escapades. His name is cognate with the first element of his Roman equivalent Jupiter. The Almighty Zeus was the god of skies and thunders in the ancient Greek religion, who ruled as the king of the gods of Mount Olympus.