Europa, in astronomy, one of the 39 known moons, or natural satellites, of Jupiter. Magnetic-field data collected by the space probe Galileo in 2002 strongly indicates a liquid-water ocean—similar to oceans found on Earth and possibly capable of supporting simple life forms—beneath Europa's frozen surface.

Europa, in Greek mythology, daughter of Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus, enamored of her, appeared as a white bull, enticed her to climb on his back, and swam off with her to Crete. There she bore him Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. She married the king of Crete, who adopted her sons. After her death she was worshiped as a goddess in the festival of the Hellotia.

In Greek mythology, the daughter either of Phoenix or of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. Her beauty inspired the love of Zeus, who approached her in the form of a white bull and carried her off across the sea to Crete. After bearing Zeus three sons, she married the king of Crete, who adopted her sons. They grew up to become King Minos of Crete, King Rhadamanthus of the Cyclades, and Prince Sarpedon of Lycia. On Crete she was worshiped under the name Hellotis. The continent of Europe is named for her.

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Europa is a beautiful Phoenician princess in Greek mythology. Her name is the name for Europe in Latin and other languages.

Europa may also refer to:

• Europa Island, a small island in the Indian Ocean which is a possession of France, part of the Îles Éparses
• Europa (moon), the smallest of the Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter
• 52 Europa, the seventh-largest asteroid known

In entertainment:

• Europa Universalis, a strategy computer game released in 2000 by Paradox Entertainment
• Europa (film), a film by Lars von Trier
• Europa Europa, a 1990 film in German, Polish, and Russian about a young Jewish man who survived the war pretending to be a German war hero
• Europa Barbarorum, a "total conversion" modification of the PC game Rome: Total War, designed to improve the game's historical accuracy
• Europa (wargame), a series of board wargames launched in 1973
• Europa (album), by Covenant
• Europa (record label), a German record label
• "Europa" (song), a song from Carlos Santana's 1976 album Amigos
• "Europa" (Mónica Naranjo song), a song from Mónica Naranjo's 2008 album Tarantula
• "Europa and the Pirate Twins", a song appearing on Thomas Dolby's 1982 album The Golden Age of Wireless
• "Europa", the lead track on Blondie's 1980 album Autoamerican

In transport:

• Bizzarrini Europa, a small GT car produced by Bizzarrini between 1966 and 1969
• Europa rocket, an early expendable launch system project of the European Launcher Development Organisation
• , a number of ships and shore establishments of the Royal Navy
• Europa (ship), a traditionally rigged tall ship from the Netherlands
• , an ocean liner operated by the North German Lloyd in 1930–45
• , an immigrant ship on the Europe to North America route in 1950–51 (originally the SS Mongolia)
• , a combined ocean liner / cruise ship operated by the North German Lloyd in 1965–70 and Hapag-Lloyd in 1970–81
• , a cruise ship operated by Hapag-Lloyd in 1981–99
• , a cruise ship operated by Hapag-Lloyd since 1999
• , a cruiseferry operated by Silja Line since 1993
• Costa Europa, a cruise ship operated by Costa Cruises since 2002
• Europa Aircraft, a light-aircraft kitplane company based in the UK
• Lotus Europa, a sports car manufactured by Lotus Cars

In other uses:

• Europa (novel) by Tim Parks
• Europa, a novel by Romain Gary
• Europa (New Zealand), an oil company that operated in New Zealand until its purchase by BP in 1989
• Europa Hotel, a hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Europa, the name of the 3.3 release of the open-source integrated development environment Eclipse
• Europa Ferris Wheel, a 55-metre transportable Ferris wheel operated by Kipp & Sohn of Bonn
• Europa Coins, coins with a common theme issued by European countries
• Europa (web portal), the official web portal of the European Union

See also

• Europe (disambiguation)