Ancient Greek Orientalist Painters. The Rape of Europa

At the beginning of his Histories, Herodotus quotes the view of Persian scholars, according to which the causes of the conflict with the Greeks date back to a series of mutual abductions: the Phoenicians were the first to abduct Io, the daughter of Inachus, from her native Argos, while the Cretans retaliated by abducting the princess Europa from Tyre; later on, the Greeks opened up a second cycle by snatching Medea, the daughter of the king of Colchis, while Alexander, Priam's son, carried on with the abduction of Helen, which resulted into the Greek expedition against Troy. In the literary representation of abductions of this sort, it would not be paradoxical for Hellenocentrism to give way to patterns in which "Greeks" and "barbarians" are treated equally and indiscriminately, or even in which the evaluative relationship between the two groups is overturned. Especially since, in the civilization later shaped by the conquests of Alexander the Great and the Romans, the known world is being unified, while the earlier contradictions based on identity are minimized or altogether disappear and are being replaced by newer ones. A typical example are the prose and poetic narratives about the abduction of Europa. The relevant myth was known to Homer and was popular in antiquity, from Hesiod's Catalogue of Women down to Nonnus' Dionysiaca. The first surviving poetic narrative is the epyllion Europa by the poet Moschus from Syracuse (c. 150 BCE), which influenced almost all subsequent ancient Greek versions. Moschus' inventions involve key issues, such as the Europe-Asia "encounter," the "reciprocity" surrounding the abductions, and the nature of the abduction itself. Europe and Asia are treated equally, or there are successive reversals involved, before reaching the ideal unity that assumes the form of a wedding ritual. Starting with Moschus, the chapter will briefly examine all Greco-Roman versions of the myth up to the Virgilian cento Europa, mapping out the "fortunes" of older ethnocentric stereotypes-the absolute hold of which has, of course, been challenged in recent years. At the beginning of his Histories Herodotus quotes the view of learned Persians, according to whom the Persian Wars originated from a series of reciprocal abductions: first Phoenician sailors abducted Io, the daughter of Inachus, from Argos; then unidentified Greeks, probably from Crete, retaliated by abducting

2009

Modern Greek Studies Journal of Australia & New Zealand, 2004

“The Greeks of Art and the Greeks of History,” Modern Greek Studies Journal of Australia & New Zealand 11-12: 66-74

This chapter considers one element in the problematic relationship between ancient artistic conventions and modern interpretations of them. The scholarly understanding of ethnicity has increasingly been framed in nuanced terms, yet historians still sometimes see ethnicity as fixed in relation to Greek art. I here survey several examples of the unstable nature of ethnicity and representation in Greek art, before turning to the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus to show how interpretation of that work's visual conventions in ethnic terms that are believed to be particular to Greek art and Hellenic audiences is problematic, in several respects that miss or misconstrue its expression of Sidonian identity. This chapter closes by underscoring the value of ethnic-ity as a heuristic tool that goes beyond identifying the costume or action of figures shown in ancient art. Ethnicity allows us to ask with sensitivity who is represented by a work of art. Revisiting the topic of representation and ethnicity in an expressly theoretical context has strengthened my conviction that art history has much to offer to the larger enterprise of interpreting classical antiquity. 1 It is with art historical methodologies in mind that I offer a necessarily brief reconsideration of ethnicity, naturalism, and representation, to help refine our expectations of what images can tell us and how imagery contributed to the expression and construction of identity. In juxtaposing representation and ethnicity, we gain valuable insights into the largest source of data that we possess, material culture. I believe that representational strategies in ancient art have striking

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2010

Reviews haps Härke's most enlightening judgement on the subject, exists at the heart of all the contributions, if more explicitly in some than in others. As the flyleaf claims, the book will undoubtedly provide a wide range of accessible case studies for students of the early Middle Ages (the continental studies being especially welcome). Whether it sets a new agenda for mortuary archaeology might be more questionable, but it certainly engages with and showcases a wide and inspiring range of current debates.

Selected Papers 33rd ICANAS, Toronto, August 15-25, 1990

inV.Karageorghis (ed.), The Civilizations of the Aegean and their Diffusion in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, 2000 - 600 B.C, Proceedings of the International Symposium at the Pieridis Foundation Larnaca 1989 , 1992

2024

The myth of The Abduction or Rape of Europa tells that a Middle East aristocrat (princess) was abducted by Zeus (gods father in Greek mythology) disguised as a white bull. The Bull-Zeus took Europa to Crete (Zeus birth place) and Europa became as the the first Creta Queen. Minos was one of the Zeus and Europa sons. He was a legendary Cretan King who kept the Minotaur a monster man with a bull head in a labyrinth. Some authors maintain that the Minotaur was a direct son of Europa and the Bull-Zeus. Crete was imposing Athens to offer young people that were left in the labyrinth and eaten by the Minotaur. Finally, Theseus, founder of Athens and Attica killed the Minotaur and freed Athens from being submitted. On the other hand, Cretan Lineal B was later discovered as Greek language; Cretan Lineal A (Minoan) is possible a Lineal B and Greek language precursor. Also, laws from Crete were taken to continental Sparta by Lycurgus. Crete genetics and bull culture are closer to Iberians than to other Europeans. This Europa myth was very popular all along classical Mediterraneans. We interpret this myth as the Saharan people climate displacement which carried out cultural elements (lineal writings, usko-mediterranean languages) to Europe, mainly coming through Crete and Iberia, both of them having many prehistoric bounds with North Africans in language, genetics and cultural manifestations.