We've already had a look at the animals of the Three Realms (land, sky, and sea) in Minoan art. But that doesn't cover all the creatures the Minoans depicted in frescoes, seals, and other works of art. The last place we'll find animals in Minoan art is the realm of myth and imagination. Though these creatures were all borrowed from other regions (Mesopotamia, Egypt), the Minoan artists depicted them in a way no one else could.
So, for instance, we have the exuberant griffin in the gold seal ring above, from the Minoan cemetery at Archanes Phourni. Here, there's an equally exuberant female figure - a priestess or perhaps the goddess Therasia, since the griffin is her animal. Though this is probably a scene from myth or ritual, some of us like to imagine the humorous caption "Fetch!" for this one.
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