The Abduction of Europa

More about The Abduction of Europa

The beautiful Europa / Europé / was, according to Greek mythology, the daughter of the Phoenician king.
Zeus saw Europa picking flowers on the beach and fell in love with her. He transformed himself into a beautiful white bull and went down to the beach. The bull gracefully approached Europa and knelt at his feet. The bull's appearance and movements were so gentle that Europa decorated the bull's neck with flowers and sat on its back. Then the bull suddenly rushed across the sea, abducting Europa. The bull only revealed itself when they reached the island of Crete. Zeus then threw off the bull's form and took on human form, then embraced Europa under a cypress tree. Thus Europa became the first queen of Crete and bore Zeus three sons. Finally, Zeus, in memory of their love, placed the figure of the bull in the sky, creating the constellation Taurus.

(I think it's a little different today...)