Tyre
The great Phoenician island-city whose princess Europa was abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull
The Story of Tyre
Tyre was the principal city of Phoenicia, built on an island off the coast of modern Lebanon and renowned throughout antiquity for its maritime skill, commercial enterprise, and production of the precious purple dye extracted from murex sea snails. In Greek mythology, Tyre was the home of Europa, the beautiful daughter of King Agenor, whom Zeus seduced in the form of a magnificent white bull. Zeus swam with Europa on his back across the Mediterranean to Crete, where she bore him Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon. Her brother Cadmus was sent to find her and, failing in his search, eventually founded the city of Thebes in Boeotia, bringing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece — a mythological reflection of the historical transmission of writing from the Near East. Tyre also featured in the myths of Heracles, who visited a great temple of Melqart there, the Phoenician god later identified with Heracles himself. The city's purple dye, produced in vast quantities, was the most expensive pigment in the ancient world and became synonymous with royalty and power.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
Tyrian purple dye required twelve thousand murex snails to produce just 1.5 grams, making it literally worth more than its weight in gold
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
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An island in the Saronic Gulf where the Greeks won a decisive naval victory over Persia and where Ajax was king
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One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major power in the Peloponnese, closely associated with the goddess Hera.
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