Rhadamanthys

Rhadamanthys Europe
A pre-Greek name of unknown meaning. In Greek mythology he was the son of Zeus and Europa, the brother of Minos and Sarpedon. His obscure origin may account for his unusual end: unlike the twittering shades who descended to the realm of Hades, Rhadamanthys was translated to Elysium, a paradise which Homer placed in the far west, on the banks of the encircling river Oceanos. In the Aeneid, Virgil says that he presides over Tartarus, a misty gulf deep below the earth. Like Minos, Rhadamanthys was regarded as a wise judge; he was also credited by the Greeks with bringing into Boeotia a tough cane excellent for making javelins and flutes.