| Among many questions during our workshops and repetitions, we’ve asked ourselves: what is Europe, exactly? Is it its political borders? Its history? We searched, lately, the etymology of the word and we found out a few interesting theories, although the exact origin of the word Europe is uncertain. One suggests it comes from the Phoenician word EROB, meaning where the sun sets. The Phoenicians considered Europe to be everything west of them. Another link it to the Greek myth of Europa, which was carried off by Zeus as a white bull and became the mother of three sons. Some sources suggest it was named after Europus, a town in Macedonia. The Greek word for shoreline or mainland might be a root of the word Europe, but the words for wide and face could also be related. This makes us think a lot about what Europe is and was. We’ll continue asking new questions. And answering them our way: performing. |
“Europe” is where an ancient sun sets
