"The Peacock"
History:
Unlike other constellations that are new or modern compared with the classical
figures, Pavo is a mixture of a little of both.
Like many of the Southern Hemisphere constellations, this one was also
first described by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, who
mapped the stars of the Southern Hemisphere between the years 1595 through
1597. However, the peacock itself does have an origin in classical
mythology.
Like so many stories it classical mythology, this one starts with Zeus
being unfaithful to his wife, Hera. This time, Zeus' interest was
centered on Io, daughter of Inachus of Argus (Io is also the name of the
smallest of the Galilean Moons, in her honor). Hera, however, never
tolerated Zeus' infidelities well, and often took her rage out on the other
young lady involved. Poor Io is no exception -- Hera transformed
Io into a white heifer (one version of the story claims it was Zeus himself
who transformed Io to protect her from Hera). Hera placed the heifer
in the guard of the herdsman Argus to ensure that Zeus would have no further
contact with Io. Argus had 100 eyes spread out over his body, and
at no time were more than a few of them closed. As a result, Argus
was known as the All-Seeing.
Zeus was still compassionate for Io, so he sent Hermes to help him free
Io. Hermes, who is Zeus' son, disguised himself as a fellow shepherd
and befriended Argus. Hermes talked on and on, and then played a
soothing lullaby on his pipes, until, finally, the last of Argus' eyes
closed. Hermes then decapitated Argus and freed the heifer that was
once Io.
Hera's favorite bird was the peacock, known for its fantastic and unique
plumage. When Argus was slain, Hera felt she should honor him for
dying to protect the results of her anger. Hera collected the one
hundred eyes of Argus and placed them on the tail feathers of peacocks
(peacocks have many circular patterns on their tail feathers).