Europa (mythology)

The abduction of Europa, on the Greek €2 coin

In Greek mythology Europa was a beautiful Phoenician princess, daughter of Agenor and Telephassa or of Phoenix son of Agenor. (See Agenor and Phoenix). Zeus was enamored of her and decided to seduce her. He therefore transformed himself into a white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull and caressed his flanks and eventually got onto its back. Zeus took that chance and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity and Europa became the first queen of Crete. By Zeus, she mothered Trojan War contemporaries Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. After her affair with Zeus, she married Asterion, who raised her sons. Zeus gave her three gifts: Talos, Laelaps and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars which is now known as the constellation Taurus.

Europa later married Asterius, the King of Crete.

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A different woman named Europa was the daughter of Tityus and mother of Euphemus by Poseidon.

According to Herodotus it was traditionally this Europa who lent her name to the continent of Europe, which is called Europa in all Germanic languages (except English), and in all Slavic languages which use the Latin alphabet, as well as in Greek and Latin. Thus, for instance, its appearance on postage stamps commemorating a "United Europe" first issued in 1956.

Apollodorus. Bibliotheke III, i, 1-2; Ovid. Metamorphoses II, 833-III, 2.