The story of Zeus in Greek mythology is often viewed in great contrast to the other tales of the Olympian gods. Greek gods and heroes are well known for their adventures and their battles with their enemies. The stories of Zeus though tell little of his ultimate leadership or his fights against strong enemies, stories that you would expect from the supreme god, and instead focus mainly on the love life of Zeus.
Zeus was the ruler of the Olympian gods, being the son of Cronus and Gaea, previous rulers of the world. Zeus though had overthrown the rule of his father through the Titanomachy, when Zeus, his siblings and his allies, had risen up against the rule of the Titans. Through countless generations the tales of Zeus have focused on his relationships with female gods and mortals. Zeus was married three times, although it is the marriage of Zeus and Hera that was the one to last. Despite being married though, it did not stop Zeus from striking up relationships with beautiful mortal women and goddesses, much to the displeasure of Hera.
The tale of Europa and Zeus is one many stories told of Zeus' relationships with a mortal. Europa is normally identified as being the beautiful daughter of Agenor, king of Tyre in Phoenicia, and his queen Telephassa (or Argiope). Agenor himself his said to have been descended from Poseidon. Europa was sister to Cadmus, Cilix and Phoenix.
Zeus was observing his domain when he caught site of her, and as often happened with Zeus, was instantly overwhelmed with her beauty. Again as was normal with the tales of Zeus, the supreme god decided to act upon his desires, and sought to seduce her. Zeus hatched a plan that saw him transform himself into a perfect white bull, and made his way to the shore where Europa was gathering flowers along with her female ladies in waiting.
Zeus, as a white bull, made sure that he appeared to be tame, and allowed the women to pet him. Zeus even laid down at the feet of Europa, and Europa eventually decided to see whether he was tame enough to ride. With Europa on his back, Zeus spots his opportunity and runs off with her into the sea.
The white bull, with Europa still on his back, eventually arrived on the shores of Crete, at which point Zeus changed himself back into his original form. Europa then readily agrees to be his lover, and went on to bore him three sons, Monos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthys.
Europa was left on Crete by Zeus, although she was not abandoned as she was provided with gifts to aid her. The first of these gifts was a decorative necklace as created by Hephaestus, the Olympian gods' blacksmith. There were also three other gifts that were more useful.
The first of these was Talos, a gigantic man made of bronze who would offer protection to the island of Crete by circling it three times every day. The second gift was that of a dog known as Laelaps. Laelaps was a magical dog that would always catch what ever it was chasing, it was though eventually turned to stone by Zeus as it was chasing the Teumessian Fox. The Teumessian Fox was also turned to stone as Zeus could not deal with quandary of the fox that could not be caught and the dog that could not miss its target. The third and final gift from Zeus to Europa was that of a javelin, that when thrown would never miss its target.
Europa though did well on Crete and went on to marry Asterion the king of Crete, and so she became the first queen of Crete. The story of Europa ends at this point although the tales of her sons, especially that of Minos, continue on through other stories of Greek mythology. Minos went on to become the king of Crete, and Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthys went on to become the three judges of the underworld after they had died.
The abduction of Europa though also saw other Greek tales established. King Agenor did not just allow the abduction of his daughter to go without an attempt to recover her, as such he sent out her brothers, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix to search for her. It was a hopeless search though but each of the brothers had their own adventures, Cadmus indeed founded the city of Thebes during his wanderings.
The name of Europa survives today, as the name of the continent of Europe is derived from her. Additionally the tales of Greek mythology also tell of how Zeus went on to create the constellation Taurus in remembrance of the original white bull. The white bull also appears in the adventures of Greek heroes, especially that of Theseus and Heracles, this though is not surprising with the Cretans worshipping bulls for hundreds of years.
In itself the story of Europa and Zeus is only a minor one in the whole world of Greek mythology; it does though play a linking role into the stories of many other central Greek mythological figures. Standing by itself it is also another example of the love that Zeus had for beautiful mortal women and the lengths that he would go to satisfy his desires.