What was europe named after

The mythology makes the effort to locate Kadmos not just in Greece but also further inland and northward in Illyria, where later misadventures end him up. While Europa's eldest child Minos remained on Crete Island as its king, his daughter Phaidra [Phaedra] became queen of Athens, his brother Rhadamanthys became king of Okaleia in Boiotia [Boeotia] and his sister Alagonia moved to Peloponnesos [Peloponnesus] where the town of Alagonia in Lakedaimonia [Lacedaemonia] was named after her.

The idea is, additionally, that the abducted princess Europa is the "mother" of these cities and their peoples. There is a much less dramatic version, by the way, in which all the continents or rather major regions with which the Greeks were familiar—Europe, Africa and Anatolia—were named after daughters of the Titan Okeanos [Oceanus]: Europa, Libya and Asia respectively.

John Tzetzes' commentary on Lycophron expounds upon Libya in this context. Herodotus might be the only ancient mythographer to write explicitly about the Oceanid Asia giving her name to Europe's adjacent continent.

Europa is an Oceanid in Hesiod's Theogony. This Oceanid, says Stephanus of Byzantium, bore Zeus a son called Dodon, after whom the city of Dodona, with its famous oracle, was named. Zeus kidnapped Europa and took her from Greece, to an island across the sea in lust.

The people of her kingdom she was a princess freaked out and tried to find her but they never came across the particular island. Eventually they gave up, and called the general area where she had been Europa, which over time, became Europe.

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Erebo: I go under. Ereba: The land where I go under. Morningland-Eveningland, seen by the Phoeniciers That's why Bosphorus always has been the geographical border between Europe and Asia. East of European Greece! Like everything else that is important! After her, the region in Thracia, river, towns and about 20 mortal and immortal Europa's mentioned in the Greek Mythos, have been named. In the 5th c. BC it was suggested that the continent's name came from a seanimf, daughter of Oceanus, or from Zeus' partner Europe, who had been given later a Phoenician descent together with a new family.

Gotta love that Swedish big haired pomp rock!! Could that be a forerunner of the word,Europa? It is claimed that Harappa is a name derived from Hariupia which Sanskritic scholar Umesh Chandra Vidyaratna did not indicate.

Samir, kolkata india The earlier answers provided are true in myth and sadly, true in recent fact. However, the union between Miss Europa and Zeus is coming to its end. Europa now speaks in a new slavic language, Euro-rip-ov'. The new translation being 'Euro-Rip-Off'. The poor old Greek god Zeus still thinks he should be able to retire at 50 and have the old and now demented Europa pay for his retirement?

He ended up in a region in Asia Minor, which he named Cicilia after him and became a king there. Thasus eventually landed on the island of Thassos, also gave it his name and reigned there. Phoenix went to Africa. Cadmus, the youngest and most beloved brother of Europa, asked the Oracle of Delphi what to do. The priests of the Oracle told him not to worry about his sister because she was safe.

They also told him to go to Boeotia, a region to the north of Athens, and found a town there, which would become rich and powerful in the years to come. Indeed, Cadmus founded a town in Boetia to which gave his name, Cadmia. Later on, this town changed its name and was called Thebes. It is said that when Europa died, Zeus transformed her into a star complex and he himself took again the shape of the white bull to merge in the complex.

The Taurus Constellation is believed to be the form of Zeus. Today the name Europa has been given to one of Jupiter's 16 moons and in fact this moon is very special, as it is believed to have water on its surface.

Contact us Contact us. Sign In. Discover the myth of Europa, the godmother of a continent The abduction from Zeus The name of Europa is mentioned in many contexts, most of which deal with the divine union between a young girl and Zeus. Searching for Europa In the meanwhile, her father, Agenor, had ordered her brothers to cross the whole world and not to return if they hadn't found his precious daughter.

The end It is said that when Europa died, Zeus transformed her into a star complex and he himself took again the shape of the white bull to merge in the complex. Things to see in Heraklion. Things to do in Heraklion. How to get to Heraklion? Beaches in Heraklion. Heraklion Photos.