Europe - Europa
- (Photo: EUobserver.com)
Ancient Greek geographical name for the European continent. As a political term it was applied originally to part of Greece itself, and later extended by the Romans to encompass the Roman Empire, or more particularly its European part.
EU integrationists commonly refer to the EU as “Europe,” even though there are many European states outside the EU. Today people talk about “Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals” when they wish to refer to geographical Europe, or debate whether Turkey is part of Europe. See Turkey.
Notes
- In the Greek myth, Europa is the daughter of Agenor, who was attracted by Zeus. He transformed himself into a bull and carried her off to Crete.
