Hermes and Argus

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There are two stories of how Hermes helps Io, the cow, to escape Argus.

One is that he takes the adamantine sickle with which his grandfather, Kronos, had castrated his great grandfather Outranos, and with this fearsome weapon, cut off Argus's head.

    I doubt the truth of this story. It is too brutal & direct. Hermes is more subtle than that.

    The other story begins with Hermes visiting the cave of Hypnos, God of Sleep. He brushes aside wreaths of blue webs, yawning heavily as he approaches the sound of snoring, he finds Hypnos asleep on a couch, an occasional snort shaking the branches of blue poppies festooning his room.

Hermes explains his dilemma. Without rousing from slumbers, Hypnos reaches out and hands him a posy of the blue poppies. 

    Meanwhile, Argus, guarding Io, is bored. He performs his duties conscientiously , but there is nothing for him to do. The cow seems reconciled to captivity. Her only response to his conversational overtures is to ignore him.  He suspects her of sulking.He has no idea how long the Goddess Hera wants him to stay on guard. Once again he tries to engage the cow in chat, but is silently rebuffed. He sighs.

    Sweet music is sounding from the edge of the forest. Argus looks out and sees a youth playing a pipe, and dancing. He beckons the youth to come closer and the musician dances round the hundred-eyed. In one hand, the boy holds a posy of blue flowers and as he dances nearer and nearer, the sweet scent of the flowers enters Argus's nostrils.

    The music changes..... No longer lively and toe=tapping but soft and rhythmical. More like a lullaby. Argus nods. Some of his eyes close and he yawns. More eyes close; then all of them close. Swiftly Hermes opens the stockade gate and slaps the cow on the rump. Io needs no further urging.

    Looking down from Mt Olympus, Hera sees a flash of black and white running through the Arcadian forest.

"First things first!', she says and she sends a gadfly to harass the unfortunate cow. The gadfly is like a March fly on steroids. Whenever the cow stops to graze, the ferocious insect stings her painfully, so she has to keep running.If she tries to drop her hot, froth-covered muzzle into the cool forest stream, again the vicious fly stings her until she runs on.

    Satisfied that Io is being tormented exquisitely, Hera turns her attention to how she escaped. She notes the open gate, the snoring Argus, the posy of blue poppies. "Every picture tells a story," she muses. "I detect the fine hand of Master Hermes in all of this, working of course for Zeus himself."

"Oh Argus, they have been too clever for you, but I will arrange it so no noe will ever close your eyes again." 

With that, Hera turns Argus into a splendid peacock, the first of its kind. Still, today he carries a magnificent tail, bearing one hundred eyes that never close.