Lot Essay
Depicted is the story of Mercury and Argus (Ovid's Metamorphoses 1:668-721): One of Jupiter's many loves was princess Io, a princess of Argos. The affair however was discovered by Jupiter's jealous wife Juno who changed Io into a white heifer, she then asked the hundred-eyed giant Argus to guard the heifer. Deprived of his mistress, Jupiter send Mercury to kill the giant, which Mercury did after first lulling the giant to sleep with music.