The Rape Of Europa To The Judge Of Minos

The Rape of Europa to the Judge of Minos
In the story Oedipus, Levi -Strauss analyses and uses a structuralism approach to find the true meaning of the Greek myths in which he studied. He uses two techniques to find out the meanings, the chronological order of the events and the similar motifs that surround the story. In the story of Oedipus Levi-Strauss points out that there is killing of relatives and incest. But, he also sees the killing of a monster (a heroic act) which or pairs of opposite. In using these techniques he is capable of finding an underlying meaning to the story of Oedipus. When applying this method to the rape of Europa to Minos as a judge, we will be able to find the primary meaning to these stories as well. Europa was seduced by Zeus in the form of a white bull. White is supposed to represent good, but in being swept away by this white bull to the island of Crete she was ravished by Zeus. There she bared three of Zeus’ sons, Minos, Rhadmanthys and Sarpedon. After having the three sons of Zeus she later married Asterius (a local ruler). For taking Europa’s
virginity zeus gave Asterius a mighty bronze statue, Talos, to defend his realm.
One of the offspring, Minos, became the king of Crete. He was known as a lawgiver but also a cruel oppressor (Graves, 1955. p.292). Minos employed Daedalus, an Athenian craftsman, to build his own wonderful palace. Daedalus also created a wooden cow for the wife of Minos’ wife, Pasiphae. Pasiphae was overcome with the desire, (because of Poseidon’s spell he cast in order to make Minos step down as Cretan King) to mate with the bull so Daedaulus created this wooden cow so she could hide in the cow and mate with the bull which lead to the offspring called the Minotaur. Minotaur was a half man, half bull like creature who lived in a labyrinth built by Daedalus. Daedalus later left Crete and Minos tried to get him back on the island of Crete. Daedalus plotted with the daughters of Cocalos to kill Minos. They succeeded and in killing Minos and after his death he became a judge in the underworld. Now there are similatires in both of these stories. In applying the structuralist technique that Levi-Strauss used, one should be able to find the underlying meaning of these two mythological characters.
A reoccurring theme in the two stories is the uncommon relations that go on between Europa and the wife of Minos, Pasiphae. Both of the women were seduced by or put under a spell. In being put under this spell the two women had intercourse with beast like creatures. In Greek mythology creatures or monsters generally represent dark and unresolved forces (Cotterell, 1999. P. 56). Being seduced has relations with creatures represents the curiosity of the human nature and that in our most pure state we are primitive beings. They know that what they have done is not all normal but their curiosity is what overwhelmed them. Both stories are full of these unnatural relations between beasts and mortal.
When Zeus disguises himself as a white bull and the offspring that is created when Pasiphae has intercourse with a bull are definitely similarities. The offspring that is created when Pasiphae had relations with the bull the outcome was Minotaur. On the other hand, Minos and his two brothers were the offspring of the Zeus’ white bull and Europa. The emphasis is the pair of opposites on the two offspring. Like in the Oedipus story, where the killing of blood relatives is evident but also the killing of the opposites. There are many similarities but also pairs of opposite. The same events occur wherein a female has intercourse with a beast but, there is a different result for the two actions. A king is thronged (Minos of Crete), and a half man half bull creature is the result in the other incident. The first events are similar, but the outcomes are comepletely different. This is the underlying issue, what you put into something you may not always get exactly what you put into an effort.
The ideas of similarities are the on going issues in both of the stories. Taking a look at the differences may also help us better understand the meaning of the two characters/stories. In the story of Minos he is killed by Daedalus. The reason that Daedalus plotted to kill Minos was because Minos imprisoned Daedalus for the way he treated (the wooden cow) his wife Pasiphae. But, Daepalus was freed by the Pasiphae. In the other story of Europa, there is nothing in the story that relates to this. Europa was ravished by Zeus; she then barred his children without consequence. Zeus is the all mighty powerful and for taking her virginity he compensated them Asterius with a bronze man, Talos, to defend his realm. The offspring of Zeus and Eruopa were thriving and the offspring of Pasiphae were the complete opposite of a king. The Minotaur was to be hidden away in a labyrinth whereas the King of Crete and the other brothers of Minos were not hidden but lived good mythological lives.
The rape our Europa leads to the rise and fall of Minos.
He is the offspring of a God, and not just any god, the almighty powerful Zeus. He had all the power and important relationships a person growing up could have but, Minos ends up being the judge of the underworld. It could be because of the way he treated people and why he was killed by Daedalus. The judge of the underworld is the complete opposite of the king of Crete. He goes from a powerful ruler to being under the rule of Hades. This is an underlying issue to the way you treat others in your lifetime. He treated Daedalus without any respect and imprisoned him. Another issue could be the old saying of an eye for an eye. Daedalus killed because he did not want to be a slave to Minos anymore. He was there to create the palace of Minos but in the end he was to kill Minos because of the way he treated him and his son,
Icarus.
In using Levi-Strauss’ structural method of determining underlying issues in Greek mythology, we are able to see the similarities and differences during the two stories. The most evident thing between the two stories is the intercourse with “animals”. At heart we as human are primitive. This is reiterated throughout the stories with the way in which Pasiphae and Europa are intimate with two creatures and create offspring. It also represents our curiosity towards others species we as human have. It is clear that there are differences in the stories but the differences lead to meanings greater than the story itself. Minos treated Daedalus with little respect and in turn he murdered Minos. Moreover, it’s the underlying issues that Levi-Strauss aimed to discover, with his structuralism approach, the true meaning of the Greek mythological stories. In using his approach it is easy to see the issues between these two stories. The primitive nature and curiosity of the humans is the main idea of the rape of Europa and the story of Minos.

Bibliography

Cotterell, Arthur 1999. Mythology of Greece and Rome. Myths and legends of the classical World. London: Southwater Publishing Ltd.

Graves, Robert 1955. The Greek Myths. Colonial Hill: Moyer Bell Ltd.