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The presence of numerous small seed- like dots within the lower, swollen halves of the fig-
ures suggests the idea of fruits, perhaps pomegranates. The inclusion of multiple lilies in the
design may indicate that this is a spring ritual.^37 The “bird- masks” have comb- like structures
reminiscent of chickens. According to Rodney Castleden, chickens may have been intro-
duced into Crete as early as 1500 bce, around the time they were introduced into Egypt.^38
Alternatively, the curly headdress could represent feathers or even hair. The blending of bird
and fruit features in these dancing figures may have been intended as a dual metaphor for
fertility. Birds lay eggs, while plants produce abundant seeds. The rows of small dots within
the figures may represent both seeds and eggs. The pre- Socratic philosopher Empedocles,
writing in the fifth century bce, employed the same metaphor: “so first tall trees lay olive
eggs,” a famous quotation cited by both Aristotle and Theophrastus.^39The Bowl of Phaistos: A Minoan Persephone
A scene related to that of the three dancing bird- maidens was painted onto the inside of
a ceramic bowl, also found in Phaistos (Figure 6.14). Once again, there are three female
figures with bird- like heads, but only the two smaller figures resemble the dancing flower
maidens from the offering table (see Figure 6.15A). The large central figure lacks arms and
legs and is lower than the two smaller dancers.^40 Some scholars believe the scene depicted
in the Phaistos bowl may represent an early version of the Greek myth of Demeter and
Persephone.^41 Walter Burkert offers the following description:[T] wo female forms dance on either side of a similar, but armless and legless, figure
who seems to grow out of the ground. ... Her head is turned towards a large stylized
flower. ... The association with the flower- picking Persephone and her companions
is compelling.^42The myth of Demeter and Persephone opens with a calamity. While picking flowers in
a field with her friends, the maiden Kore, daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and
the harvest, is suddenly seized by Hades, the god of the underworld, and dragged down into
the earth. This traumatic experience— represented by the “sinking” figure in the Phaistos
bowl— transforms Kore, the maiden, into Persephone, the wife of Hades. Eventually, with
the help of the other gods, Demeter tracks down Persephone and frees her, but just as
Persephone is leaving the underworld, Hades tricks her into tasting a pomegranate seed.
Tasting the fruit of the underworld forces her to spend part of each year (4– 6 months)
underground with her husband. The identification of the dancing figures in the bowl with
pomegranates could reflect the crucial role that pomegranate seeds play in the myth, which
ends on a joyful note with Persephone’s rescue and return to the surface.
In classical Greece, Demeter and Persephone were strongly identified with grain. In
Homer’s Iliad, “blond Demeter” is the one who “separates fruit and chaff in the rushing
of the winds.” The myth of Demeter and Persephone was the basis for several important
religious festivals concerning grain, the most renowned of which was performed at Eleusis.
According to Burkert, the myth of Demeter and Persephone was understood by the Greeks
“as a piece of transparent nature allegory.” Kore’s descent into the underworld has been