Taurus
Taurus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Source.
The Constellation
Taurus is most prominent in the winter sky. By March, it sets with the sun, and it can be seen in the northern hemisphere between the constellations Aries and Gemini.
The constellation dates back to the Early Bronze Age, as well as the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) where it was used to mark the Suns location during the spring equinox.
Taurus has been represented as a bull in many mythologies, including: Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar sends Taurus to kill Gilgamesh for rejecting her. Gilgamesh's companion Enkidu tears the bull in half, and throws the two parts into the sky where they become Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. This legend also equates the constellation Orion as the figure of Gilgamesh, in stance to fight the bull.
Many associate the constellation with the story of Zeus abducting the princess Europa in the form of a bull.
The coastal city of Tyre was home to the royal family of Agenor. The king, Agenor had five children whom he loved dearly. Cadmus, Europa, Cilix, Phoenix, and Thasus — four boys, and one girl.
The princess, Europa, was beautiful, fair, and kind. Her people adored her, and her family immensely so. Walking through the streets of Tyre, Europa often engaged with the local girls her own age. They would walk along the beaches, or find flowers for their hair.
One day, she walked along the beach with her friends collecting seashells. Their laughter and jubilation carried away into the heavens, where Zeus took notice of the group. His attention focused on Europa, who he considered to be a divine beauty. He felt incredible lust for the girl, and decided he would have her.
Zeus knew it would be rash to appear to the girls in his true form. He thought about how he could approach, and decided on the form of a white bull.
He appeared on the beach, and slowly made his way to the party. Upon seeing the bull, many of the girls became apprehensive. Not knowing where the bull had come from, or whether it was aggressive, they expressed their fear to Europa, who suggested they leave the beach. As they turned to move away, the white bull neared Europa, and lay at her feet.
Surprised by the bull's docile action, Europa and her friends excitedly showered the bull with affection. The white bull flipped this way, and that way, loving the attention of the maidens.
After receiving all the adoration he could muster, the bull turned into a crouched position, staring expectantly at Europa. Encouraged by her friends, Europa climbed aboard the white bulls back. The bull jumped up, and began prancing around the beach — seemingly showing off his trophy. The laughter and cheers of the girls soon turned into cries of distress as the white bull leaped into the sea, carrying the princess into it's blue waters.
The news of Europa's abduction quickly spread throughout Tyre, and soon reached the ears of the king. The royal family were beside themselves with worry. For days there was no sign of Europa on the shores of Tyre.
Agenor was certain the bull was a facade, and that his daughter was alive somewhere. He called upon his four sons for council, and it was decided that the four men would set out in search of their precious sister. The men vowed never to return to Tyre until they brought Europa with them.
The brothers Cadmus and Thasus traveled together. They journeyed East, and up into the Aegean Sea. Arriving in Greece, Thasus enjoyed his time on the islands, and resigned himself to never finding his sister. He settled where they landed, and founded the town of Thasos.
Cadmus consulted the Oracle at Delphi for help finding his sister. The Oracle revealed she was taken by Zeus, and confessed his search was in vain. As he turned to leave, Cadmus was stopped by the Oracle who offered to reveal his true fate. She told Cadmus he would happen upon a cow with a half-moon flank. This cow would lead him someplace special. The Oracle instructed Cadmus to follow the cow until it lied down in exhaustion. In the spot the cow is laying, Cadmus must build a town.
Cadmus set off in search of this cow, and his fate would lead him to becoming founder and king of Thebes.
Phoenix and Cilix journeyed together West. Neither of the brothers were successful in their search, and resigned themselves to never returning home. Phoenix settled in a region in the West, and named it Phoenicia after himself. Cilix also settled in the West, and named his land Cilicia after himself.
Had the brothers only searched a while longer, they may have happened upon Europa's location. To the East of Tyre, and the South of Greece lay the island of Crete.
Zeus swam Europa to the island he was born and raised. Upon reaching the shore, Zeus revealed his true form to Europa. He promised to crown her Queen of Crete if only she would become his consort. She agreed, and the two became lovers. Zeus gifted Europa Talos, an automaton that would protect Europa and her island. He gave her the dog Laelaps, who never failed to catch his prey. And finally, he gifted her Pilum, a javelin that never missed its target.
As the years progressed, Europa bore Zeus three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. Eventually, Europa married Asterion who adopted her children by Zeus.
To honor this achievement, Zeus arranged the stars to form the constellation of a bull. This became known as Taurus.
Author's Note: I like this story. I didn't really change anything, except I think in the original myth Europa was technically raped. I didn't want to write that, so I made it seem kind of consentual. It's still pretty messed up. I read the original story, or someone's version of it. I then wrote my version. Most of the research I did was about the geological locations involved. When I was writing, I kept getting confused about where what took place, so I looked at Google maps as I typed it out to better visualize the locations, and hopefully make it less confusing for the readers. 3/22/2021