Flora Unveiled

150 i Flora Unveiled

corollas rather than collecting whole flowers. Either this reflects the actual way the stig-
mas were harvested in Minoan times, or the artist chose to emphasize the symbolic aspects
of the scene rather than the agricultural details. The Theran frescoes were meant to be
visual poems of sacred themes, with mythic figures set in dream- like landscapes, caught
in moments of high drama and portent. Perhaps the labor- intensive preparative phase of
stigma removal from harvested blossoms was omitted for aesthetic/ dramatic reasons.

Processions

The gathering and preparation stages were followed by a procession of women, richly
dressed and bearing the flowers. Such a procession involving many participants is symboli-
cally represented by the lone woman carrying a basket of flowers on her shoulder, on the
wall adjacent to the Crocus Gatherers fresco in Xeste 3 (Figure 6.9A). In the background
one can see the hills and precipices from which the blossoms were collected. The ring
seal from Mycenae (Figure 6.9B) shows three women approaching a shrine. According to
archaeologist Bogdan Rutkowski, the women are part of a procession taking place inside
a sacred enclosure:

The cult ceremonies, especially the processions and dances, were held in the sacred

enclosures, as we know from the iconographic finds. A  gold ring from Mycenae,

for instance, shows three women attired in skirts and short- sleeved bodices [see

Figure  6.9B]. They are making their way, probably barefoot, in the direction of the

sanctuary, and each of them has one hand held high, holding a flower, while in the

other hand each is carrying a branch. The scene is meant to represent part of a ceremo-

nial procession in which a large number of worshippers are taking part.^27

Figure 6.9C shows two small faience robes and girdles from the Temple Repositories at
Knossos. Their ornate floral patterns— again, featuring crocuses— suggest that robes such
as these may have been worn by priestesses during flower processions. Their location in the
Temple Repositories further suggests that they functioned as votive offerings and indicates
the high, and possibly sacred, value placed on both the flowers and the textiles they adorn.
Yet another example of a ritual flower procession is a stately Mycenaean fresco from
Thebes (Figure 6.10).^28 The reconstructed wall painting, which is more than 40 meters long,
shows a procession of women wearing Minoan- style dresses, carrying offerings of flowers
(lilies, papyrus, and either roses or rockroses), sealed ivory boxes (pyxis, pl. pyxides), and
a serpentine jar. The background consists of wavy bands of color, which, in Minoan art,
represents a mountainous terrain, but which may mean something different to Mycenaeans.
The depiction of a Mycenaean flower procession is suggestive of descriptions of the
Eleusinian Mysteries during the Greek Classical Period, especially the processions hon-
oring the grain goddess, Demeter. The day before the official opening of the Eleusinian
Mysteries, priestesses of Demeter carried kistai, or sacred cists,^29 from Eleusis to Athens.
Along the way they stopped at a Sacred Fig tree.^30 The kistai were returned to Eleusis as
part of the grand procession, which was the high point of the festival for the general public.
After arriving at Eleusis, the initiates spent several more days taking part in processions,
sacrifices, fasts, and purification rites. At a crucial point in the initiation process, the priest