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depicts Europa holding a pen over the text of the Constitution Of Europe .]] Europa (, she was Kidnapped by Minoan s, who likewise were said to have taken her to Crete. The mythical Europa cannot be separated from the mythology of the Sacred Bull , which had been worshipped in the Levant . The Etymology of her name (ευρυ- "wide" or "broad" + οπ- "eye(s)" or "face") suggests that Europa represented a cow, at least at some symbolic level. Metaphorically, it could mean the intelligent or ''open-minded'', synonymous to ''glaukopis'' (''γλαυκώπις'') attributed to Athena . THE EUROPA MYTH The rape of Europa , c. 1869]] According to legend, Zeus was enamored of her and decided to seduce or , 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 . Some legends relate that this same bull was also encountered by Hercules , and that it eventually fathered the Minotaur . Europa's family Sources differ in details regarding her family but agree that she is , Rhadamanthus , and Sarpedon . She married Asterion ; and then later, Asterius . According to mythology, her children were fathered by Zeus. EUROPA IN LITERATURE Ovid The poet Ovid wrote the following depiction of Zeus' seduction: contemporary with Ovid]] :And gradually she lost her fear, and he :Offered his breast for her virgin caresses, :His horns for her to wind with chains of flowers :Until the princess dared to mount his back :Her pet bull's back, unwitting whom she rode. :Then—slowly, slowly down the broad, dry beach— :First in the shallow waves the great god set :His spurious hooves, then sauntered further out :Till in the open sea he bore his prize :Fear filled her heart as, gazing back, she saw :The fast receding sands. Her right hand grasped :A horn, the other lent upon his back :Her fluttering tunic floated in the breeze. His picturesque details belong to anecdote and fable: in all the depictions, whether she straddles the bull, as in archaic vase-paintings or the ruined metope fragment from Sikyon , or sits gracefully sidesaddle in a mosaic from North Africa, there is no trace of fear. Often Europa steadies herself by touching one of the bull's horns, acquiescing. Herodotus According to Herodotus , Europa was kidnapped by Minoan s who were seeking to avenge the kidnapping of Io , a princess from 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 rapine of a Phoenician aristocrat--later enunciated without gloss by Herodotus. EUROPA IN THE VISUAL ARTS , is the central attraction of the campus of The University Of Tennessee .]]
''EUROPA'' AS THE CONTINENT'S NAME The continent of Europe is called ''Europa'' in all Germanic Languages except English , in Hungarian (Európa) and in all Slavic Languages that use the Latin Alphabet , as well as in Greek and Latin . Her name appeared on Postage Stamp s commemorating the " United Europe ", which were first issued in 1956 . NOTES REFERENCES
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