2. 11
Europe, daughter
of the king of Tyre
Agenor and
Telefassa, was a
beautiful young
girl who lived in
her father’s
palace. Her family
loved her very
much because
she was the only
girl among four
brothers,
Phoenix,
Cadmus,
Cilix and
Thassos.
3. 22
One bright, sunny
day, the princess
went out with her
friends to pick
flowers. In the
field there were
also the flocks of
Agenor, the king-
father. She was
playing carefree,
she was singing
and dancing,
having a wreath
of flowers on her
head, when
Jupiter, the father
of gods and men,
saw her from
above. He was
struck by her
beauty.
4. 33
He fell in love with
her at first sight
and he decided to
conquer her.
5. 44
With his magic
powers he turned
into a golden-
white bull. Quietly
he went up to the
beautiful girl
bellowing
melodiously. He
knelt at her feet.
He was splendid
and charming. He
was like no other
bull in size and
figure. He had
something
special, divine
majesty. Even his
horns were small
and elegant as if
they had been
made by an artist.
Between them
there was
6. 55
Europe was
fooled by the
bull’s beauty and
gentleness. She
caressed him,
adorned him with
flowers and sat
on his back. Now
the bull-shaped
Jupiter had what
he desired. So he
sprang up on his
legs and stepped
away gently. But
Europe’s friends
could not catch
them up. When
Jupiter saw the
open sea before
him, he sped up
and jumped into
the water carrying
the precious load
7. 66
He started
crossing the open
sea with Europe
hanging on to
him. With the help
of his brother
Poseidon and of
Amphitrite, his
brother’s wife,
they arrived in
Crete, escorted
by Tritons and
Nereids who
calmed the
surface of the
water.
9. 88
Agenor and
Telefassa learned
about their
daughter’s
abduction. In
despair, they sent
their sons either
to find their sister
or never to return
to their
fatherland.
10. 99
The ships set sail
at once on long
but fruitless
journeys. So the
four sons were
forced to found
cities and
kingdoms in
different places.
11. 1010
After his father’s
death, Phoenix
went back to Tyre
and renamed it
Phoenicia. Cilix
founded Cilicia in
Asia Minor while
Thassos set up a
colony on the
island of
Thassos.
Cadmus left Tyre
with his mother to
search for
Europe. He
wandered for
years from city to
city bringing the
alphabet to the
Greek mainland.
When they
reached Thrace,
Telefassa died of
despair for her
lost daughter.
12. 1111
When Jupiter and
Europe arrived in
Crete, the bull
went up into the
sky as a cloud
and became the
star sign of
Taurus. Jupiter
took back his
divine form and
declared his love
to Europe
13. 1212
«I am Jupiter» he
told her, «If you
accept my divine
love, you will give
birth to sons of
glory who will rule
over many
people.
14. 1313
So the father of
gods and men led
Europe to a
spring of fresh
water. They sat
down under a
plane tree. There
the holy
matrimony took
place. From their
union were born
three mythical
kings: brave
Sarpedon, fair
Radamanthys
and the legendary
Minos, who ruled
Crete with
wisdom and
justice.
16. 1515
Jupiter gave
Europe great
gifts: the famous
copper giant
Talus, who
watched the law
all over the island
and protected
Crete by throwing
huge rocks at
enemy ships, a
golden dog that
never lost its prey
and a quiver
whose arrows
always met the
target.
17. 1616
However, the
most precious gift
of all was a whole
continent,
present-day
Europe, whose
name means
«The one with a
wide vision».
18. ELEFTHERIOS AMASIADIS
MARIA ANAGNOSTI
CHRISTINA ANDRIOTI
ISMINI ASPROULI
ANTONIOS VENTOURIS
MARIA VLASSI
PANAGIOTA GERODIMOU
ATHANASIOS GRASSOS
IOANNIS DELGAS
EVANGELOS ZACHARAKIS
ELEFTHERIOS IAKOVAKIS
DIMITRIOS KAKOKEFALOS
LEONIDAS KAPELES
PAVLOS KARAGIANNOPOULOS
MARIA CARLOU
ATHANASIA KAROUANA
PANAGIOTIS KONTOPOULOS
KONSTANTINA LANGOURETOU
MARIA LIGIROU
AMPTOUL MAZKOUMA
ANGELOS PAVLAKIS
The legend was translated into English by Vasileios Mprekas and was
narrated by the students of C1 Class.
