Europa

In Greek Mythology a Phoenician princess. As Zeus saw her he fell in love with her. He assumes the guise of a bull and kidnapped her to Crete. She bore him some children, Minos, Rhabdamanthus?, and Sarpedon?.

The smallest of the Galilean Moons of planet Jupiter is named after her: see /Moon. There is also an Asteroid named Europa; catalogue number 52, diameter 289km, discovered in 1858. The asteroid Europa is the ninth largest known.

Europa is also the spelling of Europe in all Germanic languages (except English), and in all Slavic languages which use the latin alphabet, as well as Greek and Latin. Thus, for instance, its appearance on [postage stamp]?s commemorating a "United Europe" first issued in 1956.

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