Europa

What is a myth? At its most straightforward, the Greek word mythos means "speech" or "story", and over time came to describe a genre of oral storytelling through which the ancient Greeks sought to understand and articulate their world, the gods, and what it meant to be human. No myth existed in a singular, canonical version, but in multiple variations and adaptations that could be endlessly nuanced and reinterpreted for different audiences. Myths of Europa focuses on the story of Europa, a Phoenician princess from Tyre (in present-day Lebanon) whom the Greek god Zeus abducted while disguised as a bull and raped on the island of Crete. In ancient Greek art and literature, Europa’s abduction was often romanticized as a metaphor for ideal marriage and even for colonization. Europa herself was glorified as an ideal woman: an exemplary bride and mother, who produced a lineage of heroes and kings, and gave her name to the continent of Europe. The exhibition brings objects from the Michael C. Carlos Museum’s Greek and Roman art and Ancient Near Eastern art collections into conversation with Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley’s film The Rape of Europa, which crafts an alternative mythos for the princess. Together, these works invite visitors to consider what this myth tells us about the roles, expectations, and realities of women in antiquity and today, and whether we can reconcile histories of misogyny, objectification, and sexual violence against women with parallel legacies of female authority, innovation, and agency.