The Abduction of Europa - Ancient Greek Myth

(Enlèvement d'Europe by Nöel-Nicolas Coypel, c. 1726)

In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story:

"The mythographers tell that Zeus was enamored of Europa and decided to seduce or ravish her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth. He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete. Zeus gave her a necklace made by Hephaestus and three additional gifts: Talos (a bronze statue), Laelaps (a dog) and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later re-created the shape of the white bull in the stars, which is now known as the constellation Taurus."

I think this story would make a fantastic basis for a set of characters within my own drawings. I could hint towards this stories, its characters, its ideas, but at the same time still retain that sense of ludicrousness my drawings seem to entail.

I kind of like this whole idea of hinting at stories that could exist between my characters, and illustrating stories i have read, researched, created myself and heard about. I also like the way the stories I hint at are understood by some people, and connections and comparisons are made, but at the same time, someone who doesn't know can create and concoct new stories and new ideas. This in a way captures this continual flux of mass marketing of information we are subjected to everyday in our lives. But whether we know the story, or make up our own, we can all enjoy the images.