Raunak Singh
Student Number: 7817259

Dr. Efharis Kostala
February 14, 2016

Judgment Of Io and Callisto

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Judgment of Io and Callisto
The uncompassionate nature of the mighty Olympian Gods leads to the hardships of two maidens; Io and Callisto as described in Ovid’s Metamorphosis. The struggles of both maidens; one a mortal and the other a divine nymph are fairly similar but have subtle differences. Bothwere victims of a sexual violence committed by Jupiter; were punished by his jealous wife Juno; were changed into animals by the Gods. The terrible treatment by the Gods and the uncompassionate attitude of the divine towards them is a theme shared in the two stories. Helpless, Io and
Callisto suffered as the Gods determined their fates. Both Io and Callisto endure a violent sexual assault by Jupiter. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses Io, was a priestess of Juno. Her beauty was so radiant that it caught the attention of Jupiter.
Unable to resist the feeling of lust, Jupiter attempts to seduce her. When Io rejects Jupiter’s advances he shrouds the entire world within a dark cloud and rapes her “She was already in flight.
She had left behind Lerna’s pastures, and the Lyrician plain is wooded fields, when the God hid the wide earth in a covering of fog, caught the fleeing girl, and raped her”. Callisto, a nymph and a devout follower of the virgin Goddess Diana was one day laying down in the grass. Noticing that she was alone Jupiter took on the form of Diana and approached the huntress and kissed her. Callisto tried resisting, however she ultimately fails when Jupiter reveals his true identity
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and she is overpowered. As a result, she too was raped by him: “She fought him, but how could a girl win, and who is more powerful than Jove? Victorious, Jupiter made for the furthest reaches of the sky…” After the assault, the two maidens were transformed into animals. To avoid being caught, Jupiter transforms Io into a heifer and reluctantly gifts it to his wife when she requests to keep it. “When she could not find him in the skies, he quickly changed Io into a heifer and gave the creature as a gift to Juno after she requested the cow be given to her”. Callisto suffered a similar fate. When Diana discovered that Callisto was pregnant she banishes her. Diana cried
“Go, far away from here...” After she gives birth to a son, Juno decides that this is the appropriate time to punish her for her husband’s infidelity and transforms her into a bear. “Those arms began to bristle with coarse black hairs: her hands arched over and changed into curved claws to serve as feet: and her face, that Jupiter had once praised, was disfigured by gaping jaws”. In addition to being turned into a bear, an indirect consequence of Juno’s actions was that Callisto was unable to be united with her son, as opposed to Io who was later on able to be with her son.
Another similarity between the two myths, is Juno’s divine punishment on the two women. For
Io’s “affair” she unleashes the furies (children of Gaia and Uranus, who act as a guilty conscience) and the ghost of Argus (who is killed by Mercury on Jupiter’s orders while guarding Io).
These spirits drove Io mad and caused her to roam the world as a heifer. Callisto was also faced with a divine punishment by Juno for her unintentional disrespect to the goddess and for committing the act of adultery. The two maidens did not remain in their animal forms forever. When
Juno who grew calmer, she transforms Io back into a human. Callisto, is turned into a constellation by Jupiter, along with her son Arcas, to become the Great and Little Bear: “caught up

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through the void on the winds, he set them in the heavens and made them similar constellations, the Great and Little Bear”.

Throughout the two myths it is clear that the Gods have no regards for these two maiden’s lives and morals. They have an uncompassionate attitude towards Io and Callisto. As leader of the Gods and having no one to hold him accountable for his actions, Jupiter rapes both maidens with no regard to what the consequences his actions will have on Io and Callisto. Jupiter, seeing her there weary and unprotected, said “Here, surely, my wife will not see my cunning, or if she does find out it is, oh it is, worth a quarrel!?” (prior to the rape of Callisto). However,
Jupiter is not the only one who displays that same attitude toward the maidens. Juno’s jealousy and frustration in her inability to control her husband’s infidelities leads her to alter Io and Callisto’s fates by punishing them for her husband’s actions. She is vengeful with no regard to those she punishes. The Gods, Jupiter and more specifically Juno display a cruel mind-set toward these women. When Jupiter transforms Io into a heifer, she is still able to remember her former life as a human: “she licked her father’s hand and kissed his palm, could not hold back her tears, and if only words could have come she would have begged for help, telling her name and her distress”. Although Callisto was also able to remember her past prior to being transformed into a bear, Juno refused to acknowledge Callisto’s plea for mercy. None of the other Gods involved in both stories, for example Diana’s role in Callisto’s fate, show any empathy toward them. All of them are swift in their judgment and decisions. They use their power and authority to decide the fates of Io and Callisto without considering the circumstances of their situation. They act the judge, jury and executioner in these two women’s lives. For instance, Juno decided that both
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these women are guilty of infidelity, she consults with nobody and decides on her own that they are guilty, and she alone decided their punishment.

The stories of Io and Callisto are very similar in their themes and their story lines however, have very subtle differences. Both maidens were victims of a violent sexual act by hands of
Jupiter; one through deception, and the other through entrapment. Both were punished by Juno due to her jealousy and frustration with her husband’s infidelity. She drives Io mad whereas Callisto was unable to unite with her child until she was turned into a constellation. Furthermore, both women were transformed into animals by the Gods. Io is transformed into a heifer by
Jupiter to avoid the wrath of his wife, while Callisto is turned into a bear by the wrath of Juno.
Neither, Io or Callisto had any control over or say in the outcome of their fates. The Gods were uncompassionate, uncaring and selfish in the two maiden’s plight. They used their power and authority to their favour for their own personal gain.

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Works Cited:
1. Fantham, Elaine. Ovid's Metamorphoses. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
2. Toliver, Hazel M. "Review: The Metamorphoses." Latomus T. 15.Fasc. 3 (1956): 378-80.
Web. 14 Feb. 2016. .By,
3. Translated. AESCHYLUS PROMETHEUS BOUND (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.
.
4.

Conacher, D.J. 1980. Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound: a Literary Commentary. Toronto

5. Revisiting the Hesiodic Catalogue in the Prometheus Bound (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 14 Feb.
2016.
6. "Mythology Guide - Io and Callisto." Mythology Guide - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Myths. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. .
7. Magee, Bruce R. Louisianna Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2016. .

Images:
1. Correggio, Antonio Allegri. Giove E Io. 1532. Kunsthistorisches Museum,, Vienna, Austria.
Correggio Complete Works. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. .
2. C5th B.C. Kunsthistoriche Museum, Vienna. Theoi.com. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. .
3. Castiglione, Giovanni Benedetto. Juno Seeking from Jupiter the Gift of Io Transformed.
1637. Cumberland Art Gallery, Bedchamber, Hampton Courtplace. Royal Collection Trust.
Web. 2016. .

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4. Vecell, Tiziano. Diana and Callisto. 1556. The National Gallery, London. The National
Gallery. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. .
5. Magee, Bruce R. Louisianna Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2016. .

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