Everyone is familiar with the classic fairytale archetype, “the damsel in distress”. Mythology and legends are filled with stories of beautiful maidens in bad situations, but one of the earliest of these was Io.
An Argive princess and daughter of the river god, Inachus, Io’s life was turned upside down when Zeus, the king of the gods, fell madly in love with her.
The problem was that Zeus’ wife, Hera was not amused and turned poor Io into a cow. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Hera forced the unfortunate damsel-turned-heifer, to wander the earth without rest, and even sent an immortal gadfly to follow her around, biting her constantly. Desperate, Io even tried to return home, to hide from Hera’s cruel punishment in her own room, but Io’s father turned her away, for fear of angering Hera any further.
But mythology has its share of tough maidens, and Io was definitely one of them. After a couple of extended trips around the world and some wild adventures, Io finally managed to free herself of her cow curse, and to find great happiness. In fact, in the end, it was her heir, Hercules, who eventually freed Prometheus - Zeus’ most powerful and persistent enemy. Once that happened, Zeus never fully regained his power again.
It took a long time for Io to prevail, but I guess it’s true what they say. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Look for Io in our new upcoming short film! #PrometheusBound
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