The White Bull
The story is based on the Greek mythological tale of Europa and the bull, where the white bull is the king of the Greek gods, Zeus, in disguise. Zeus, the sky and thunder god of the Olympic pantheon, often wore a disguise when romantically pursuing mortal women, so as to avoid the eye of his wife and sister, Hera.
Myrmidons
The pseudo-Apollodoran "Bibliotheca" (a collection of myths of the first or second century CE), gives a different account of Myrmidonian origins, identifying the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons as Myrmidon, a king of Thessalian Phthia, who was the son of Zeus and of Eurymedousa, a princess of Phthia. Zeus took the physical form of an ant and seduced Eurymedousa, hence their son's name.