Editing Europa (consort of Zeus) (section)

== Mythology ==
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - The Abduction of Europa - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Abduction of Europa (Rembrandt)|The Abduction of Europa]]'' by [[Rembrandt]], 1632]]

The ''Dictionary of Classical Mythology'' explains that Zeus was enamoured with Europa and decided to seduce or rape her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Penguin dictionary of classical mythology|author1=Pierre Grimal|date=1991|publisher=Penguin Books|author2= Stephen Kershaw|isbn=0140512357|edition=[Abridged ed.]|location=London, England|oclc=25246340}}</ref> He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her helpers were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity 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. Zeus gave her a necklace made by [[Hephaestus]]<ref name="Hesiod"/> and three additional gifts: the bronze [[automaton]] guard [[Talos]], the hound [[Laelaps (mythology)|Laelaps]] who never failed to catch his quarry, and a [[Pilum|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 (constellation)|Taurus]]. It should not be confused with the [[Cretan Bull]] that fathered the [[Minotaur]] and was captured by [[Heracles]]. Roman mythology adopted the tale of the ''Raptus'', also known as "The Abduction of Europa" and "The Seduction of Europa", substituting the god [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] for [[Zeus]].

The myth of Europa and Zeus may have its origin in a sacred union between the Phoenician deities [[Attar (god)|'Aštar]] and 'Aštart ([[Astarte]]), in bovine form. Having given birth to three sons by Zeus, Europa married a king [[Asterion (king of Crete)|Asterion]], this being also the name of the Minotaur and an epithet of Zeus, likely derived from the name ''{{'}}Aštar''.<ref name="West1997">{{cite book|author=M. L. West|title=The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC&pg=PA451–452|date=23 October 1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-159104-4|pages=452–|access-date=17 March 2022|archive-date=22 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222144030/https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC&pg=PA451%E2%80%93452|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[Herodotus]]' rationalizing approach, Europa was kidnapped by Greeks (probably Cretans), who were seeking to avenge the kidnapping of [[Io (mythology)|Io]], a princess from [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]. His variant story may have been an attempt to rationalize the earlier myth; or the present myth may be a garbled version of facts—the abduction of a Phoenician aristocrat—later enunciated without gloss by Herodotus.