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Title
Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes.
Names
Housselin, Alexis Louis Pierre (Engraver)
Fourquemin, active 1835-1853 (Lithographer)
Collection

Wonders: Images of the Ancient World

Mythology -- A

Dates / Origin
Date Issued: 1844 - 1861
Library locations
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection
Shelf locator: PC-WON MYT-A
Topics
Beards
Eye -- Mythology
Mercury (Roman deity)
Eyes
Hermes (Greek deity)
Greeks -- Clothing & dress -- To 499
Argos (Greek mythological character)
Genres
Prints
Notes
Content: Light foxing scattered over image. Written below picture: "Mercury kills Argus who is represented with his body covered with eyes. His savage air and heavy beard is characteristic of the guardian of Io transformed into a heifer. He has wounds on his head and breast. Panoptes crowned with laurel or myrtle holds a staff or crutch and shows his displeasure of [sic] the killing. Panoptes is the surname of Argus and means all-seeing from his possession of a hundred eyes some of which were always awake. William Hope Collection, London."
Content: Argus was appointed by Hera, queen of the gods, to be the guardian of Io, a lover whom Zeus had turned into a cow to protect her from his wife's wrath. Zeus sent Mercury (Hermes to the Greeks) to slay Argus to set Io free. He did this by playing his magic pipes to put all of Argus' eyes to sleep, then used a sword to cut off his head.
Source note: Elite des monuments céramographiques : matériaux pour l''histoire des religions et des moeurs de l''antiquité. (Paris : Leleux, 1844-1861) Lenormant, Charles (1802-1859), Author.
Physical Description
Lithographs
Extent: 1 print : b ; 34 x 49.5 cm.
Type of Resource
Still image
Identifiers
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 94ab4040-c5be-012f-d910-58d385a7bc34
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1844: Issued (Approximate)
  • 2020: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1844 - 1861. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6010-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Chicago/Turabian Format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6010-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

APA Format

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. (1844 - 1861). Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6010-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-6010-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (still image) Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes., (1844 - 1861) |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=March 28, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Mercury kills Argus, who is represented with his body covered with eyes.