The RAPTURE of EUROPE in Greek MYTHOLOGY

The Greek mythology It is possibly the best known of all the beliefs of the ancient peoples, with many of its elements in our day to day, a clear example being the use of names from mythology to call many elements current. An example is our continent, which was born from a character in Greek mythology, which is why it is interesting to meet this woman. For this reason, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to offer a summary of The Rape of Europa.

Europe was a greek mythology character of Phoenician origin, which is said to have lived in the city of Tire, located in what we now call Lebanon. Its roots are considered to come from the important Greek city of Argos, although there are not many sources that support this information.

The name of Europe is currently well known, since it has served to name several elements of our vocabulary, the greatest example being the Old Continent, but even with all the scholars do not agree on the origin of the word. The name of Europe is thought to come from the Greek words

"Euros" and "ops", being therefore the meaning something similar to "Broad face."

Like the great majority of the important Greek characters, Europe was related to a greater or lesser degree with figures of Greek mythology, both gods and mortals, being important to know these details to better understand the myth.

It is considered that the family of Europe came from Io, a princess of Argos who was turned into a calf by her love affairs with Zeus. Her parents were Agénor, king of Phenicia and son of Poseidon, and Telefasa of Tire, both having great importance in many of the Greek myths.

As for her brothers, we can speak of three, Cadmus being the one who took the alphabet to Greece, Cílix who was the cause of the name of the city of Cilicia, and Phoenix who was the founder of Phenicia, which owes its name to him.

Let's go into the summary of The Abduction of Europa to learn more about what the mythology says about this story. The reason for the importance of Europa in Greek mythology lies in the abduction of her, possibly being one of the most famous myths in which Zeus participated, and without a doubt one of his best-known love relationships.

According to the myth, Zeus fell in love with Europe he just saw her and he decided that he should have sex with her. The father of Europa had a huge number of bulls, so Zeus transformed into a great white bull and he hid among the bulls, being much more impressive than the rest of the animals. Europa seeing the huge white bull approached out of curiosity and as he approached she realized that he was meek, and decided to ride him. Zeus taking advantage of this took Europe to the city of Crete where he revealed his true identity and maintained relations with the young woman.

It is said that it was Europa's brother, Cadmus, who went to rescue his sister, being guided to do so by different oracles. But Cadmus did not understand the messages of the diviners and was about to die at the hands of Ares, being rescued and sent to Athens by Zeus.

Zeus fell madly in love with Europa, although her love was short, even so the relationship brought benefits to Europa who she became the first queen of Crete. In addition to the crown, Zeus gave three important gifts to Europa, these being a bronze giant called Talos which was an automaton that would serve to protect Europe of possible revenge, a dog named Lélape who was said to never let a press once caught, never let go, and a javelin that she always gave in the White. Zeus's love was so great that as a tribute to his beloved he placed a bull in the sky in her honor, being the constellation Taurus.

Europe is said to have had three children from her relationship with Zeus, being Minos, Radamantis and Sarpedon, and that shortly after the departure of Zeus she married the king of Crete, King Asterion. Even so, it must be taken into account that in some myths the three sons of Europa are spoken of as legitimate Asterion, instead of as descendants of Zeus.

To conclude this summary of The Rape of Europe we must talk about some curiosities about the figure of Europe, to understand the great importance that figures in mythology can have Greek. Some of these curiosities are as follows:

• Europe has been one of the Greek characters most represented in art, being painted by some of the greatest artists in history such as Picasso, Rubens or Titian.
• In many languages our continent she receives the name of Europe because of this character. It is said that the reason this happens is because the father of Europe went all over the continent looking for his daughter, shouting her name to call her, and that is why the inhabitants who heard him began to call the region So.
• Europe appears on Euro banknotes, of her existing a portrait of her in the watermarks.
• One of the Jupiter satellites she receives the name of Europa, since many of the satellites of this planet have a name related to the lovers of the god Zeus.