Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Asterius.
The gallery
The Abduction of Europa
Rembrandt, 1632
Rembrandt's Europa on the bull — the princess Asterius of Crete will marry after Zeus leaves her, raising Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon as his foster-sons.
The Rape of Europa
Titian, c. 1560–1562
Titian's poesie: Europa carried to Crete — the island where Asterius (Asterion) becomes her mortal husband and the boys' foster-father. Not Asterius the Minotaur, nor the Thessalian Argonaut.
In play
Asterion (king of Crete)
Cretan prince who marries Europa and raises Zeus' sons — carefully distinct from Asterius/Asterion as a name of the Minotaur.
Europa (consort of Zeus)
Asterius' wife after the bull-ride — mother of Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon in the house he fosters.
Minos
Asterius' most famous foster-son — the Cretan lawgiver whose mortal stepfather holds the throne until the boys quarrel and leave.