142 i Flora Unveiled
“sacred grove,” possibly an olive orchard, while larger priestesses observe from beneath
the sacred tree. Again, the central role of women in Minoan religious life is evident,
especially in rituals involving trees and, as we shall see, f lowers. The West Court area
also contains two large lined circular pits that may have been used to store grain.^11
In contrast to the Grandstand fresco, the women in the audience (in white) are more
numerous and are seated closest to the trees, while the men (in red) are relegated to the
back rows.
Another illustration of the association between women and trees can be seen on the
North Wall frieze of the West House in Akrotiri on the island of ancient Thera,^12 an
important island within the orbit of the Minoan thalassocracy (Figure 6.3). The entire
frieze depicts a coastal settlement, but the detail shown here features men tending herds
of animals on the right, and women with vessels on their heads walking past an enclo-
sure with two fruit trees on the left. The fruit trees are almost certainly domesticated figs,
Ficus carica, which were an important food staple for both Minoans and Mycenaeans.
According to Lyvia Morgan, the fenced area is an animal pen, and the function of the
trees is to provide shade for the animals.^13 However, there is a visual coupling of the
two fruit- bearing fig trees with the two women, who appear directly below them. In
addition, the outstretched arms of the women, which parallel the curve of the fence, are
reminiscent of the dancers in the Sacred Grove fresco (Figure 6.2A), possibly indicating
that the scene has ritual as well as aesthetic significance.
As in the Bronze Age societies of the Near East, orchards, more than cereal crops,
came to symbolize the prosperity and spiritual well- being of the state in Minoan
Crete. Minoans also followed the Near Eastern Bronze Age tradition of associating
sacred trees with priestesses or goddesses. Among the cultivated fruit trees and ber-
ries were olives, figs, almonds, grapes, and possibly pistachios. Both figs and pistachios
are dioecious,^14 so the Minoans would certainly have been aware of the existence of
two sexes in these species, however they interpreted them. Whether or not they used
caprification— attaching a branch of the caprifig to supply pollen to the female trees
via the fig wasp (see Chapter 8)— is unknown. There is also some rather tenuous evi-
dence that the Minoans cultivated date palms and practiced artificial pollination.^15
But despite the frequent illustrations of palm trees in Minoan and Mycenaean art, we
are aware of none with hanging clusters of ripened fruit, as was typical in date palm
depictions of the Near East. Thus it seems likely that Aegean palm tree illustrations
represent the indigenous wild species of palm, Phoenix theophrasti, rather than the cul-
tivated date palm, P. dactylifera.^16
Ring Seal Images of Minoan Nature GoddessesSignet rings or seal rings bearing incised or carved images that can be pressed onto soft
wax or clay were used throughout Mesopotamia, the Near East, and the Aegean for identi-
fication purposes during the Bronze Age. In Crete, these ring seal images often portrayed
nature goddesses or their priestesses. The ring seal in Figure 6.4A, for example, which has
been called “Mother of the Mountain,” shows a goddess in a flounced skirt standing upon
a symbolic mountain. It is clear from her commanding pose, the shrine behind her, the