The Saffron Gatherer

[helens_daughter]

A charming young saffron gatherer from Akrotiri:

Apparently young girls on Thera shaved their heads until they reached a certain age.  This hairstyle is found only in this image from Akrotiri, and not at any other Minoan site, suggesting that the Therans had their own unique customs.

The saffron gatherer is part of a larger series of images in which women gather in the saffron harvest and make offerings to a seated goddess.  It's been suggested that only women were allowed to participate in saffron collection, which may or may not have been true.  Saffron does have certain uses in female reproductive health, and, like poppies, may have had some sacred significance.  There has been much debate over the meaning of the images in the Akrotiri frescoes.