Io was the daughter of a rivergod．She was loved，run after and won by Zeus．Hera became so greeneyed that she flew down from Olympus one day to pay her rival¹ back ．Zeus，however，had foreseen her arrival and changed Io into abeautiful white little cow．Seeing through the trick，Hera asked for the cow as a present and Zeus had to give in to her wish ．Then she left the cow to the care of a hundredeyed monster，Argus．Argus' eyes were ever open and no escape was possible．Unable to bear to see her so unhappy，Zeus sent Hermes down todestroy the monster．Dressed up as a shepherd，Hermes lulled² Argus to sleep with his sweet songs and long stories，then killed him and set Io free．But Hera's anger was not to be calmed downyet．She sent a gadfly to attack the cow and drive her from land to land．In her misery³ the cow passed over the strait which divides Europe and Asia．In this way the strip⁴ of water got itsname Bosporus ，the way of the cow．She wandered over thesea，which by chance got from her its name the Ionian Sea ．In the end she arrived in Egypt where she was turned back into hernatural form ．She settled down and gave birth to a son，Some of her children remained in Egypt and ruled as kings for a longtime．

伊俄是河神的女儿，宙斯爱她、追求她、并得到了她。赫拉对此嫉妒不已。一天她飞下奥林波斯山向情敌施加报复。然而宙斯早已预见到她的光临，就将伊俄变成了一头美丽的小白牛犊，赫拉看穿了其中的诡计，非要一头牛犊作为礼物。宙斯无奈，只得让她如愿以偿。赫拉便将牛犊托付给百眼魔鬼阿刚斯看管。阿刚斯的眼睛永远睁着，要想逃脱是不可能的。看到伊俄如此忧郁，宙斯简直无法忍受，便令赫耳墨斯将魔鬼铲除。赫耳墨斯乔装成牧羊人给阿刚斯唱悦耳动听的歌，讲冗长乏味的故事以哄他入睡。之后便寻机杀死魔鬼，释放了伊俄。但赫拉的狂怒并未消除。她派了一只牛虻去攻击牛犊，使她颠沛流离。在十分悲痛之中，牛犊穿越了分隔欧亚大陆的海峡。从此这片狭长的水域被称作博斯普鲁斯海峡，意为牛犊之路。她接着漫游过海，这片大海也就在偶然中有了名称——伊奥尼亚海，最后她到了埃及，并恢复了她本来的体态和容貌。她在那里落户并生了个儿子。她的一些子孙就呆在了埃及，当了很长时间的国王。