Correggio (Antonio Allegri) (1489-95), Jupiter and Io (1520-40)
My name is Iona. I used to be a helpless, weak human being. Today, I am the most famous immortal there is. Years ago, that was Jupiter. He ruled over heaven and earth, and none could overpower him. Or really, they didn't try because that's how powerful he was. He wasn't a terrible ruler, per say, but he took and did whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted.
And that included me. And my friend Semalia. Both of us were just innocent young girls when he raped us. It's not like we were the first ones this had happened to. There was nothing special about us that made him choose to take our innocence. It was just what he did, in his spare time I suppose.
I was 16 and wandering in my father's field on that fateful day when suddenly mist took over the entire field. I couldn't see anything further than an arm's length away. I was so scared, my breaths started coming heavy and tears pricked at my eyes. What was happening made no sense.
Suddenly, the most beautiful man I'd ever seen was standing before me, a shining smile on his face.
"Hello, beautiful maiden," he said in a silky voice, his eyes twinkling.
"Who are you? Are you responsible for the mists? Are you some sort of god?" I asked, trembling slightly and debating whether or not I should back away.
"Why, don't you know who I am? I am Jupiter, of course. I have watched you from afar and I think you the most beautiful woman I've laid these heavenly eyes on."
"Oh," I gasped as I took in the fact of who was before me. I wasn't sure how I should pay my respects, I'd never encountered a celestial before. "Why, thank you, Jupiter. To what do I owe this visit though? And why must we be surrounded in mists? My father will be worrying for me."
"Why, Iona," Jupiter purred, "you needn't worry. Your father and sisters are in a deep sleep caused by me. They will only wake when I am gone and will not know what has transpired here. No one can know."
"I don't understand," I said, this time backing away a step.
"I am Jupiter, god of the sky and thunder," he said with pride and a mischievous look on his face. "I come to do what I please with you."
No, I thought. No, he can't mean what I think he means.
He meant exactly what I thought he did. That day something was stolen from me that I could never get back. And not only that, but Juno, Jupiter's wife, was furious with me. She showed up at our house the next day and threatened me if it ever happened again. I sobbed at her feet, telling her that it wasn't my choice, that I didn't want it. I begged her to protect me from her husband's advances in the future.
She left in a huff, saying she couldn't promise it.
Though Jupiter never came to touch me again, I was pregnant with his child. And, as it turned out, so was a girl named Semalia in the next village over. We learned of it through gossip, and took her in as her family had disowned her. We went through our pregnancies together, and were occasionally visited by various gods and goddesses who gave us advice and to assure us that Jupiter didn't know about the pregnancies.
We didn't want him to come anywhere near us, let alone our children. Through our talks with each visitor, we gathered that there was much animosity towards Jupiter. Perhaps enough to overtake him.
So, Semalia and I began plotting. Slowly, we tested out the waters with the gods and goddesses, to see how far they would go in admitting if they wanted Jupiter dethroned. It took some time and a lot of trust building, but eventually everyone was on board. We just had to convince Juno. Even though her husband was an adulterous tyrant, everyone knew she loved him.
Somehow, she caught wind of our idea and came to visit me only days after I gave birth to a son that I named Domitor.
"Iona, mother of my husband's child, and plotter of his death," she said in a sulky voice.
"Juno," I acknowledge, not denying her accusation. "It has been so long since you visited me. What brings you here?"
"I want to help you," she said.
"With what?" I asked, trying not to sound shocked.
"Your plan. I have heard the rumblings of rebellion and I know that you will never be able to accomplish this without me. So," Juno said with a sigh, "I commit myself to your cause. I have spent too many years in his shadow, letting him walk all over me and every other woman. But, I have one requirement. When all is said and done, I will take his place. I will rule over all. And to thank you, I will make you and your friend immortal, and your children legitimate."
And so the plan began to form as we met in secret. It amazed me what could be kept from Jupiter when so many immortals came together to plot against him.
A few months later, our plan came to fruition. Using the combined powers of so many gods and goddesses, Jupiter was held down and sent to an eternal prison. I made sure I was there at the end, so that he would know who caused his downfall. I looked into his stormy eyes, that were full of rage and confusion. I looked into them with vengeance and let a wicked grin upon my face.
Semalia and I weren't the first women he had wronged, but we made sure we were some of the last.
And Juno kept her promise. Semalia and I ascended to the heavenly realm, along with my son and her daughter Praelia. We were granted with powers and eternal life, and made our mission to help women in need of escaping the clutches of men across the globe.
Author's Note: This is a retelling of parts of Ovid's Metamorphoses stories, specifically the Io and Semele sections, found
here. In the original story, Jupiter rapes Io and then to hide what he's done from Juno he turns Io into a cow. Juno claims the cow as her own, and Io is watched over by a man named Argus. Jupiter sends his son Mercury to kill Argus, which he does, and then Jupiter returns Io to her human form and she is returned to her family. A few stories later, Jupiter again rapes a girl named Semele and she then becomes pregnant with his child. Juno is so furious that she convinces Semele to ask Jupiter to prove his "love" for her by coming to her in all of his power, knowing that this will kill Semele. Semele asks Jupiter for a gift, and before knowing what she will ask he swears he will give her whatever it is. She asks, and because he can't unswear it, he does as she asks. She is killed and her child is torn from the womb and sewed into Jupiter's thigh to finish his term.
