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ArchivesRe: names of continents
in reply to a message by PriaposLovs
In Greek Mythology Europa was a beautiful Phoenician princess, the daughter of Agrenor and Telephassa. Zeus was enamored of her and decided to seduce her. He therefore transformed himself into a white bull and mixed in with Agenor's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull and caressed his flanks and eventually got onto its back. Zeus took that chance 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. By Zeus, she mothered Trojan war contemporaries Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. After her affair with Zeus, she married Asterion, who raised her sons. Zeus gave her three gifts: Talos, Laelaps and a javelin that never missed. Zeus later recreated the shape of the while bull in the stars which is now known as the constellation Taurus. Europa later married Asterus, the King of Crete.
A different woman named Europa was the daughter of Tityus and the mother of Euphemus by Poseidon. Europa has lent her name to the continent of Europs which is called Europa in all germanic languages except English, and in all Slavic languages which use the latin alphabet, as well as in greek and latin.
Asia or Clymene in Greek mythology, is a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, the wife of the Titan Iapetus, and mother of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius.
Hesiod gives the name as Clymene in his Theogony but Apollodorus gives instead the name Asia as does Lycophron. It is possible that the name Asia became preferred over Hesiod's Clymene to avoid confusion with what must be a different Oceanid named Clymene who was mother of Phaethon by Helios in some accounts. Herodotus (4.45.1) records the tradition that the continent Asia was named after Asia whom he calls wife of Prometheus rather than mother of Prometheus, perhaps here a simple error rather than genuine variant tradition. Both Acusilaus and Aeschylus in his Prometheus Bound call Prometheus' wife Hesione.
A different woman named Europa was the daughter of Tityus and the mother of Euphemus by Poseidon. Europa has lent her name to the continent of Europs which is called Europa in all germanic languages except English, and in all Slavic languages which use the latin alphabet, as well as in greek and latin.
Asia or Clymene in Greek mythology, is a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, the wife of the Titan Iapetus, and mother of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius.
Hesiod gives the name as Clymene in his Theogony but Apollodorus gives instead the name Asia as does Lycophron. It is possible that the name Asia became preferred over Hesiod's Clymene to avoid confusion with what must be a different Oceanid named Clymene who was mother of Phaethon by Helios in some accounts. Herodotus (4.45.1) records the tradition that the continent Asia was named after Asia whom he calls wife of Prometheus rather than mother of Prometheus, perhaps here a simple error rather than genuine variant tradition. Both Acusilaus and Aeschylus in his Prometheus Bound call Prometheus' wife Hesione.
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