"Hellenic Mythology" _ Part 10 _" The abduction of Europe"

Hi all !
One more myth for today , "The abduction of Europe" .

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According to Hellenic Mythology , Europe was the sister of Cadmus , the founder of Thebes and daughter of Agenor(or Phoinix ,son of Agenor) and Tellephassa, rulers in Phœnicia.
Europe was very beautiful and when Zeus(Oh, This guy again..!) saw her , Love stroke him once again and wanted to have her.

The trick..

One day **Europe was gathering flowers near a coast in Phœnicia with her friends. Inn order to get close to her without frighten her, Zeus transformed in a beautiful white Bull. Europe noticed the Bull and as it looked peaceful ,she approached it and started caressing it. After been sure that the Bull was harmless ,she decided to sat on his back. This was Zeus's chance !

The abduction..

He immediately turned to the sea and swam until he reached the coasts of Crete.
Then he transformed back to God and made love to her. Together they had at least 3 children .
Minoas(the famous king of Crete and Minoan Civilization), Radamanthis and Sarpidonas.

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The gifts..

Zeus was so excited with Europe that made her 3 gifts.

• Talos (a watchful metal giant-guard who later protected Crete from any raid)
• a hunting dog who never missed his prey and
• a weapon that never missed the target.

The marriage..

After that Zeus decided to marry Europe with Asterion , King of Crete and as he never managed to have children with her he adopted the children of Zeus (I wonder if he had a choice..lol).

The end..

After her death , Europe was adored like a god with the name Ellotis and the Bull became the the homonymous constellation.

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Till next post , take care !