| THE MYTH OF EUROPA |
| Europa was the beautiful daughter of Agenor and Telephasi the Phoenician King and Queen of Tyre. |
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| Zeus, the King of the gods according tο Greek mythology, saw Europa as she was gathering wild flowers by the sea and immediately fell in love with her. |
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| Overwhelmed by love for Europa, Zeus transformed himself into the form of a magnificent white bull and appeared in the seashore where Europa was playing with her maidens. The great bull walked gently over to where Europa stood and knelt at her feet. The appearance and movements of the bull were so gentle that Europa spread flowers about his neck and dared to climb upon his back overcoming her natural fear of the great animal. |
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| Βut suddenly the bull rushed over the sea abducting Europa. Only then the bull revealed its true identity and took Europa to the Mediterranean island of Crete. |
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| There, Zeus cast off the shape of the White bull, and back into his human form, made Europa his lover beneath a simple cypress tree. Europa became the first queen of Crete and had by Zeus three sons: King Minos of Crete, King RhadamanthoUs of the Cyclades Islands, and, according to some legends, Prince Sarpedon af Lycia. |
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| At last, ZeuS reproduced the shape of the whίte bull, used by Zeus to seduce Europa, in the Stars. Even today we can recognize its shape in the constellation Taurus. |
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| The name Europa was given to one οf Jupiter's 16 original moons. Europa is special, because it is one of the few moons in ουr solar system that may have liquid water. |
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