In Ancient Greece, bulls were sacrosanct to Poseidon (Greek God of Sea and Storms), as well as to Dionysus (Greek God of Male Fertility) and there are a variety of myths associated with Taurus. In one such legend, Taurus represents the white bull which sired the famous Minotaur, whose mother was the wife of King Minos of Crete. This bull was sent to Minos as a sign that he was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Minos did not sacrifice the bull to Poseidon as he had been instructed to do, so the ever-vengeful Sea God caused Pasipha? Minos' queen, to fall in love with the creature. In a later myth, Theseus of Athens travels to Crete and (with the help of Ariadne) slays the dreadful Minotaur...a flesh-eating monster who had been locked in a Labyrinth and reported to have the figure of a man, but sporting a bull's head which could breathe fire. In yet another Greek myth, Taurus was one of a mighty pair of brazen-hooved bulls which could breathe fire and appeared to be untamable. These bulls were forged by Hephaistos, the lame Greek God of MetalWorkers, whose smithy lay beneath the crater of Mount Aetna in Sicily. In order to win the Golden Fleece, Jason of the Argonauts had to yoke the two bulls without aid from any other party. This task symbolized the hero's duty to curb the violence of his passions before acquiring this symbol of spiritual perfection.
Perhaps the most well-known Greek myth, however, is the one which tells of a white bull who was none other than the great God Zeus himself in disguise. This particular legend relates how Zeus became enamored with Europa, daughter of King Agenor of Tyre (a city in Phoenica) and his queen, Telephassa. Knowing that his appearance would both dazzle and terrify the lovely young maiden, Zeus cloaked himself as a white bull with horns of mother-of-pearl and a silver moon emblazoned upon his forelock. While Europa was playing one day by the waters edge, she espied a majestic bull grazing amid her father's herd. Upon approaching the animal, it knelt down before her and allowed the girl to climb upon its back. Once she had mounted, it sprang to its feet and rode the waves across the sea to Crete. There, Zeus made the beautiful Europa his mistress, informing her that all the land she could see from the island now belonged to her. This land became known as the Continent of Europe.
Europa eventually bore Zeus three sons...Minos (the future King of Crete), Rhadamanthys (who later became one of the Three Judges of the Dead) and Sarpendon (who founded the Greek city of Miletus in Asia Minor). The image of the bull was later placed into the heavens by Zeus, where the animal now roams the lush, heavenly pastures of late Spring and is extremely protective of the cows and calves in his herd.
背景故事: 古希腊有许多关于“金牛座”的传说,流传最广的当属天神宙斯向公主求爱的故事: 有一天,天神宙斯在人间游荡,经过某个国家时,突然看见这个国家的公主非常美丽,让宙斯不知不觉中看得出了神,回到天上之后,仍然对这位美丽的公主念念不忘。 而在这个公主所属的国家中,有一座很大很漂亮的牧场,里面有多到数不清的牛群在吃草、嬉戏,公主时常会来到这个牧场与这群可爱的牛群一起玩耍。 就在一个风和日丽的早上,公主又依往例的出现在牧场,当她正在与牛群玩得不亦乐乎时,突然发现在牛群之中,有一只特别会唱歌的牛,它的歌声非常悦耳动听,有如天籁一般,吸引着公主不自觉的朝他走去。 公主一看到这只牛,马上无法自拔的就爱上了他。因为他不仅歌声完美,就连外表也一样好的没话说。正当公主慢慢靠在牛的身上与他一起忘情的唱歌时,这只牛突然背起了公主朝着天空飞去。 经过了很久的飞行,这只牛终於在一个美丽的土地上停了下来,然后摇身一变成为人,向公主表达其爱慕之意。原来这只牛就是天神宙斯的化身,因为无法抑制服对公主的日夜思念,决定来向公主表白。 美丽公主於是接受了宙斯的爱,两人一起回到天上生活。而宙斯为纪念那表白的地方,就以公主的名字欧罗芭做为那块土地的名字。那土地正是今天的欧州大陆。金牛座的神话故事,是十二个星座的唯一描绘爱情的故事,打破了一般人认为金牛座缺乏浪漫的错误印象。
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