Taurus.
Taurus
Zeus disguised as a white bull, carrying Europa across the sea.
Apr 20 – May 20
Taurus · 797 sq° of sky, brightest star Aldebaran
Taurus (Taurus) is one of the 88 constellations recognised by the International Astronomical Union, covering 797 square degrees of the northern sky in quadrant NQ1. It hosts both the Hyades and the Pleiades open clusters, and its brightest star is Aldebaran. The IAU standardised all constellation boundaries in 1930.
Taurus is one of the oldest documented constellations, its V-shaped Hyades cluster and the Pleiades having served as agricultural calendars for millennia.
In Greek myth Zeus took the form of a snow-white bull and mingled with the herds of King Agenor in Phoenicia. The princess Europa, charmed by the bull's gentleness, climbed onto its back — at which Zeus rose and swam with her across the sea to Crete.
"Zeus, in the shape of a white bull, carried Europa across the sea to Crete."
Europa bore Zeus three sons in Crete, including King Minos. The bull's form was placed among the stars; only its forequarters appear, as if the rest is still submerged in the sea.
Where this comes from.
Mythology
- Ovid Metamorphoses 2.833-875
- Aratus Phaenomena 170-178
- Apollodorus Bibliotheca 3.1.1
Paintings & illustrations
- The Rape of Europa — Titian (1560–1562) · Wikimedia · PD
- Taurus — Sidney Hall (engraver), Jehoshaphat Aspin (text) (1825) · Wikimedia · PD
For fun · sources cited. We don’t publish horoscopes, personality readings, or compatibility takes — just astronomy + classical mythology, with public-domain art where available. See all 88 constellations.