Red-figure krater
OBJECT NARRATIVES
DESCRIPTION
On the surface of this red-figure krater, dating to 400 – 375 BC, the abduction of Europa is depicted.
The main side of the vase depicts Zeus, who, smitten by Europa’s beauty, is transformed into a bull to seduce her as she, along with her friends, picked flowers near the Phoenician shore.
Enchanted by the beautiful animal, the princess mounted its back and suddenly found herself flying over the sea. The couple’s sacred union will take place at Gortys, on Crete, near a spring, in the shadow of a sycamore.
