In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess from Tyre, Lebanon and the mother of King Minos of Crete. The continent of Europe is named after her. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a bull was a Cretan story; as classicist Károly Kerényi points out, "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa."
Europa on the back of Zeus turned into a bull. A fresco at Pompeii, contemporaneous with Ovid.
Statue of Europa representing Europe at Palazzo Ferreria
The birthplace of Europa, Tyre, Lebanon
The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt, 1632
In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by the Minotaur. After his death,
King Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld.
Gustave Doré's illustration of King Minos for Dante Alighieri's Inferno
17th-century engraving of Scylla falling in love with Minos
A Roman mosaic from Zeugma, Commagene (now in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum) depicting Daedalus, his son Icarus, Queen Pasiphaë, and two of her female attendants
Amphora showing Theseus slaying the Minotaur, 460 BC. Ref:1837,0609.57 .
