Red-Figured Wine Server (Dinos) and Stand with the Abduction of Europa

This round mixing bowl, which was used for mixing and serving wine, sits on a tall stand. It is decorated with a beautiful marine procession that that runs around the body of the vessel. Participants include Eros (who is the god of love), an elegantly dressed woman seated on the back of a Bull, and a group of women riding sea animals. It is a loose representation of the story of the abduction of the Phoenician princess, Europa, by Zeus, who transformed himself into a Bull and carried her through the sea to the island of Crete. One of Zeus and Europa’s children was Minos, who became a legendary king of Crete.  

This depiction of the story is even more idealized than is typical; it is presented as a cheerful marriage procession. However, even in more standard representations, Greek artists did not present the harsh realities of mythological abduction stories. The violent and non-consensual aspects of the myth, which centers on the  kidnapping of a young woman, are disturbing. Seen today, the simplistic, romanticized version of the myth presented here seems to further reinforce harmful and misogynistic points of view.   

Troubling though stories like this are, it is nevertheless important to recognize that these myths were meant to explain different aspects of the Greek world. In the case of Europa, the story explains how Crete was settled. Such stories were not meant to be taken literally, nor do they condone violent behavior as socially acceptable. Nevertheless, attitudes towards women in ancient Greece were more restrictive than they are in contemporary American society. Women were excluded from many aspects of Greek life, such as athletics, and were frequently not given a voice in who they married. Stories represented on Greek pottery provide some insights into ancient attitudes toward women, and comparisons between the ancient and modern worlds are important, but also complicated.