Fragment of a Relief, The Rape of Europa

This is a limestone fragment of a small sculpture depicting a bull with a young girl on its hide. The young woman, dressed in a chiton, clings with her right hand to the bull’s horns, while with her left she holds down her cloak that floats behind her – suggesting the bull is moving. The sculpture depicts The Rape of Europa, a very popular topic in ancient Meditteranean culture and neoclassical periods. In the myth, Zeus falls in love with Europa and takes the form of a white bull in order to impress her. As she pets the bull, Zeus captures her and carries her across the sea to the island of Crete, where she became the first queen of the island.