One of the many transformations of Zeus was that which he took as a white bull, to approach and abduct Europa, daughter of Agenor and Telephasis, from Tire or Sidon in Phoenicia, today’s Lebanon, and take her to Crete , where with her he had three sons, Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthys.
This composition was based on the miraculous union of a mortal woman with the king of the gods. Europe gave its name, after the Ionians and the Phoenicians, to Europa, that is, the dark geographical space, Europe. As with most myths, there are many and completely different versions of this one. This composition is apparently based on some tender moment of Jupiter with Europa.