Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Argus Panoptes.
The gallery
Juno and Argus
Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1610
Rubens's Wallraf–Richartz canvas shows Juno claiming the eyes of the slain hundred-eyed watchman — Argus's gaze transferred to the peacock's tail.
Mercury and Argus
Diego Velázquez, c. 1659
Velázquez's Prado night-piece: Mercury pipes Argus to sleep before the killing stroke — the all-seeing guardian undone by music and a single blade.
Mercury and Argus
Peter Paul Rubens, 1636–1638
Rubens's Dresden painting catches Hermes lulling the many-eyed Argus as Io the heifer waits nearby — the spy of Hera about to lose every waking eye.