For centuries, worship of the bull has been prevalent in many nations of the ancient world...Greece, Egypt, Assyria and Persia, for example...and Taurus is related to many of the great bulls of antiquity. Even today in India, Nandi (the Sacred White Bull of Siva) continues to remain the object of much veneration. The symbolism of the bull is synonymous with strength, vitality and male impulsiveness. It is also linked to storms, hurricanes, thunder and the Crescent Moon.

In Ancient Greece, bulls were sacrosanct to Poseidon (Greek God of Sea and Storms), as well as to Dionysus (Greek God of Male Fertility) and there are a variety of myths associated with Taurus. In one such legend, Taurus represents the white bull which sired the famous Minotaur, whose mother was the wife of King Minos of Crete. This bull was sent to Minos as a sign that he was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Minos did not sacrifice the bull to Poseidon as he had been instructed to do, so the ever-vengeful Sea God caused Pasiphaë, Minos' queen, to fall in love with the creature. In a later myth, Theseus of Athens travels to Crete and (with the help of Ariadne) slays the dreadful Minotaur...a flesh-eating monster who had been locked in a Labyrinth and reported to have the figure of a man, but sporting a bull's head which could breathe fire. In yet another Greek myth, Taurus was one of a mighty pair of brazen-hooved bulls which could breathe fire and appeared to be untamable. These bulls were forged by Hephaistos, the lame Greek God of MetalWorkers, whose smithy lay beneath the crater of Mount Aetna in Sicily. In order to win the Golden Fleece, Jason of the Argonauts had to yoke the two bulls without aid from any other party. This task symbolized the hero's duty to curb the violence of his passions before acquiring this symbol of spiritual perfection.

Perhaps the most well-known Greek myth, however, is the one which tells of a white bull who was none other than the great God Zeus himself in disguise. This particular legend relates how Zeus became enamored with Europa, daughter of King Agenor of Tyre (a city in Phoenica) and his queen, Telephassa. Knowing that his appearance would both dazzle and terrify the lovely young maiden, Zeus cloaked himself as a white bull with horns of mother-of-pearl and a silver moon emblazoned upon his forelock. While Europa was playing one day by the waters edge, she espied a majestic bull grazing amid her father's herd. Upon approaching the animal, it knelt down before her and allowed the girl to climb upon its back. Once she had mounted, it sprang to its feet and rode the waves across the sea to Crete. There, Zeus made the beautiful Europa his mistress, informing her that all the land she could see from the island now belonged to her. This land became known as the Continent of Europe.

Europa eventually bore Zeus three sons...Minos (the future King of Crete), Rhadamanthys (who later became one of the Three Judges of the Dead) and Sarpendon (who founded the Greek city of Miletus in Asia Minor). The image of the bull was later placed into the heavens by Zeus, where the animal now roams the lush, heavenly pastures of late Spring and is extremely protective of the cows and calves in his herd.