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Therapy with Saffron and the Goddess at Thera
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DOI: 10.1353/pbm.2004.0026 · Source: PubMed
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Therapy with Saffron
and the Goddess at Thera
199
ABSTRACT This paper presents a new interpretation of a unique Bronze Age
(c. 3000–1100 BCE) Aegean wall painting in the building of Xeste 3 at Akrotiri,Thera.
Crocus cartwrightianus and its active principle, saffron, are the primary subjects at Xeste
3. Several lines of evidence suggest that the meaning of these frescoes concerns saffron
and healing: (1) the unusual degree of visual attention given to the crocus, including
the variety of methods for display of the stigmas; (2) the painted depiction of the line
of saffron production from plucking blooms to the collection of stigmas; and (3) the
sheer number (ninety) of medical indications for which saffron has been used from the
Bronze Age to the present.The Xeste 3 frescoes appear to portray a divinity of healing
associated with her phytotherapy, saffron. Cultural and commercial interconnections
between theTherans, the Aegean world, and their neighboring civilizations in the early
2nd millennium BCE indicate a close network of thematic exchange, but there is no
evidence that Akrotiri borrowed any of these medicinal (or iconographic) representations.The
complex production line, the monumental illustration of a goddess of medicine
with her saffron attribute, and this earliest botanically accurate image of an herbal
medication are all Theran innovations.
Dawn in her saffron robe rose from the River of Ocean
to bring daylight to the immortals and to men.
—Homer, Iliad 19.9
*Department of Art History,Temple University, Philadelphia.
†Department of History, University of Pennsylvania.
Correspondence: Gordon Bendersky, M.D., 623 Anthony Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027.
E-mail: sferrenc@temple.edu.
The authors are indebted to P. P. Betancourt for his valuable suggestions, sensitivity, and thoroughness
in reading earlier drafts of this paper; his contributions provided significant clarification of the
Aegean Bronze Age issues.The authors also wish to thank J. S.Adelman for her remarkable judgment
in solving problems and formulating counterarguments, and N. Picardo and S. Budin for their critiques
of other versions of the paper.
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, volume 47, number 2 (spring 2004):199–226
© 2004 by The Johns Hopkins University Press
Susan C. Ferrence* and Gordon Bendersky†
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200
Susan C. Ferrence and Gordon Bendersky
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION today relies almost exclusively
on natural phytotherapy as a chief source of symptom prevention or
disease treatment (Zava, Dollbaum, and Blen 1998).Through thousands of years
of human experimentation, specific herbs have been recognized for treating a
remarkable variety of symptoms as well as sex-related ailments. Frescoes at
Akrotiri, Greece, suggest that the Therans of ancient Akrotiri developed saffron
as a versatile medicine more than 3,600 years ago.
At approximately the mid-17th century BCE, the town of Akrotiri on the
Greek island of Thera was destroyed by the devastating eruption of the island’s
volcano, which buried the two-, three-, and four-story buildings with all their
contents under a vast layer of pumice and ash.1 This prehistoric archaeological
site resembles the much later Roman city of Pompeii in having very high levels
of preservation resulting from the volcanic burial.Akrotiri lies on the southeastern
coast of Thera (today also called Santorini), which itself is part of the Cycladic
archipelago located north of the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea (Figure
1).Akrotiri’s prosperity probably resulted from its trade network with other seafaring
civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean, including dynastic Egypt
(Doumas 1992, 17).
Spyridon Marinatos began excavating the town in 1967 under the auspices of
the Archaeological Society of Athens, and the project has continued to this day
under Christos Doumas, Marinatos’ successor (Doumas 1992, 11; S. Marinatos
1968). These excavations have revealed that the inhabitants probably escaped
with their lives, as no human bones have yet been discovered (Doumas 1983).
Extremely well preserved wall paintings have been found throughout the town,
and many frescoes that were found still adhering to the walls have been carefully
cleaned, reassembled, and conserved. New discoveries are still coming to light.
This essay is an attempt to reinterpret one of the first frescoes excavated at
Akrotiri, in a building known as Xeste 3.2
1The date for the Late Bronze Age eruption of the Theran volcano is a hotly debated topic among
archaeologists and art historians.The high chronology is followed here. It places the beginning of
the Aegean Late Bronze Age at c. 1700–1675 BCE, with the eruption at c. 1648 BCE, based upon
various scientific analyses including dendrochronology and ice core correlations to Theran ash and
pumice (Manning et al., 2002, 742).The low chronology dates the beginning of the Aegean Late
Bronze to c. 1600–1580 BCE, based strictly upon artifactual synchronisms between the Bronze Age
Aegean and contemporary cultures such as dynastic Egypt (Warren and Hankey 1989).
2There are two kinds of fresco: buon fresco, or “true fresco,” in which pigments are applied to the
damp plaster surface resulting in a chemical bond at the molecular level as the painting dries; and
fresco secco, or “dry fresco,” in which pigments are mixed with a bonding agent such as egg whites
and then applied to the dry plaster surface.Buon fresco,which lasts significantly longer than fresco secco,
was invented in the late 3rd millennium BCE on lime plaster in Crete and was almost unknown in
the ancient Near East (Cameron 1978). Both buon fresco and fresco secco were used to create the paintings
at Akrotiri (Doumas 1992, 18).The murals at Akrotiri were painted on lime plaster, which was
applied over a mud and straw mixture affixed to the stone walls, and the pigments used were mostly
made of mineral components: ferrous earths, hematite, yellow ocher, and copper oxide.
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Interpretation of the Akrotiri frescoes must be largely a matter of subjective
reasoning. No documentation has yet been found in which Xeste 3 is described:
the contemporaneous writings in the Minoan script called Linear A remain undeciphered,
and no later Aegean texts refer to the frescoes. However, the Akrotiri
frescoes and the Theran culture as a whole bear strong resemblances to the
Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, most importantly exemplified at the
site of Knossos. Many scholars have suggested varying degrees of cultural interaction
to explain Akrotiri’s similarities to Knossos ranging from governed colony
to community colony to emulation of style (Branigan 1983, 49–53; Hood 1984,
33–37;Wiener 1990, 128–61).3 Thus, clues to the meaning of the Akrotiri frescoes
are likely to be found through reference to Minoan culture.
Therapy with Saffron and the Goddess at Thera
spring 2004 • volume 47, number 2 201
Figure 1
Map of the East Mediterranean with Akrotiri,Thera, in relation to other sites mentioned in the text.
3Wiener (1990) is often cited for his interpretation of this complex relationship, which he suggests
reveals a kind of “Versailles effect.” He proposes that Minoan Knossos was central in the Aegean
world at this time and that other towns, such as Miletos on the Anatolian coast,Trianda on Rhodes,
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The Xeste 3 Frescoes
The painting on the upper level of the building of Xeste 3 spans two adjacent
walls and depicts an elevated central female figure, almost life-size, surrounded by
animals and young girls in a crocus-filled landscape (Figures 2 and 3).4 This beautifully
dressed and coifed woman is seated on a stack of cushions on a multicolored
elevated tripartite platform. She wears many pieces of jewelry, including
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Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
Figure 2
Reconstruction drawing of the Xeste 3 frescoes in relation to their floors and the recessed area below the
lower floor level.
SOURCE: AFTER IMMERWAHR 1990, 60, FIGURE 20.
Akrotiri on Thera, Phylakopi on Melos, and Ayia Irini on Kea, fell under the Minoan sphere of influence.
In light of these theories and for the purposes of this article, we follow Wiener’s considerations
on the “Versailles effect” as it pertains to Knossos and Akrotiri.
4Excellent color plates clearly showing the details discussed in this paper can be found in Doumas
1992.
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necklaces of beads in the shape of waterfowl and dragonflies, and a bodice decorated
with crocus flowers (Figure 4).To the right of the woman, a leashed griffin
stands with its forepaws on the upper level of her platform, expands its decorative
wings, and gazes up toward her head. On her left, a blue monkey steps up to
the lower level of her platform while it extends a mass of crocus stigmas (taken
from the basket in front of it) toward the woman, who reaches her right hand in
the direction of the cluster.A young girl looks directly at the elevated woman as
she empties crocus blooms from her small hand basket into a much larger basket
on the ground to the left of the monkey.Another young girl to the right of the
griffin strides toward the woman while she carries a hand basket on her shoulder.
On an adjacent wall, two more young females converse with each other as
they delicately pluck blooms from crocus clumps in an uneven rocky landscape.
Frescoes also extend across two contiguous walls on the lower floor of Xeste
3 (see lower level of Figure 2).These paintings are located directly above a small
area below floor level with steps descending into this recess. On one wall, three
female figures in a rocky landscape with crocus clumps face toward the adjoining
wall, which depicts an architectural structure crowned by a set of Horns of
Consecration streaked with blood or decorated with crocus stigmas.The figure
on the left wears a diaphanous blouse ornamented with crocus flowers. She extends
a necklace in her left hand as she walks in the direction of the architectural
structure.The central figure is seated on a rocky outcrop with her left hand
holding her head or adjusting the leafy spray in her hair as she reaches with her
Therapy with Saffron and the Goddess at Thera
spring 2004 • volume 47, number 2 203
Reconstruction drawing of the segment of the Xeste 3 fresco, in which the monkey
offers stigmas to the goddess.
SOURCE: AFTER PORTER 2000, 620, FIGURE 10.
Figure 3
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right hand down toward her bleeding left foot. Two crocus stigmas are falling
next to her foot.The younger female figure on the right is wrapping herself in
a full-length veil as she steps away from the architectural structure, and turns her
head backward to face it.
The frescoes of this building are among the best preserved and most debated
paintings in all of Bronze Age Aegean art history. In these distinctive wall paintings,
the artist has focused on isolating the female reproductive part of the crocus
flower—the stigma—in elaborate detail. Scholars have interpreted these frescoes
as representing various activities including fertility rituals, initiation and/or marriage
ceremonies, autumnal rebirth, and local industry.5 Many archaeologists also
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Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
Figure 4
Left: Detail of the goddess in the upper-level painting of Xeste 3. Right: Reconstruction drawing of
the goddess grasping a cluster of saffron.
SOURCES: AFTER DOUMAS 1992, 162, FIGURE 125; PORTER 2000, 622, FIGURE 11.
5Doumas (1992) suggests that the upper scene shows that the economic activity of gathering crocuses
possibly results in the offering of stigmas to a Nature Goddess. According to Doumas, the
lower level depicts an initiation ritual in which female adorants are associated with an altar/shrine
topped by bloody sacred horns. S. Marinatos (1976) thought the primary female figure might also
be the Great Goddess or the “Mistress of Animals” (Potnia Theron). N. Marinatos and R. Hägg
(1986) indicate that the crocuses in the upper story could be connected to the initiation scene on
the lower floor, with each girl representing a stage in the crocus picking process, which yields saffron
for use as a drug, flavoring, or dye. Marinatos (1984a) emphasizes saffron’s importance, noting
that it requires 60,000 stigmas to make one pound of saffron; saffron was an extremely valuable
commodity, used especially as a medicine for anxiety, menstrual cramps, labor pains, and uterine
hemorrhages. Porter (2000) believes the frescoes depict the peak blooming season for crocuses in
the Aegean, and he feels the crocus must be a symbol of the goddess’ autumn rebirth. Gesell (2000)
regards saffron as an economically important crop worthy of presentation to the goddess, suggesting
that the Therans propitiated her for abundant fertility. Gesell also associates the stigma—as the
female organ of the flower—with a female puberty or marriage ritual, possibly depicted in the
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regard the Xeste 3 building as a cult center because of the identification of the
beautifully dressed seated woman on the upper level as a goddess.6 However, most
researchers agree that crocuses and saffron are at the heart of the matter.An examination
of data from the different perspectives of mythology and science, along
with the utilization of cultural, biological, and chemical analogies, may yield new
insights into the meaning of these paintings.We propose that the program of Xeste
3 does not merely include the secondary medicinal value of saffron as a secondary
element, but, in fact, emphasizes its primary therapeutic function, and exhibits
the production sequence in cultic recognition of its precious curative value.
Crocus Botany
The Xeste 3 frescoes depict the Aegean Crocus cartwrightianus (Figure 5), an
autumn-blooming flower with three large crimson stigmas that can be picked,
Therapy with Saffron and the Goddess at Thera
spring 2004 • volume 47, number 2 205
Author’s rendering of C. cartwrightianus as depicted in Figure 4.
lower fresco. Davis (1986) feels the lower scene symbolizes the loss of virginity, with the wounded
girl representing the loss of hymenal blood and the startled veiled girl symbolizes the loss of innocence,
and proposes that the scene possibly depicts a prenuptial initiation rite, a marriage rite, or
even consummation of a marriage.In contrast,Morgan (1990) believes the scenes focus on the economic
activity of dying cloth yellow with saffron, and the presentation of stigmas to the goddess
symbolizes Theran prosperity. Similarly, Sarpaki (2000) interprets the crocus gathering scene strictly
as a female-dominated economic and social activity, and she completely divests the fresco of any
religious meaning. Koehl (2001), on the other hand, interprets the lower level of paintings not
as an initiation rite, but a re-enactment of the hieros gamos or sacred marriage; he suggests the
wounded girl in the center is the bride and the standing youth holding a cloth on the wall in the
adjoining room is her younger consort.
6A deity is usually recognized by his or her larger scale in comparison to other human figures, by
his or her elevated position, and by the nature of accompanying figures or objects.Analogous representations
from the Near East (where explanatory texts survive) are considered divine because
they indicate enthroned figures receiving gifts and attended by mythological animals.
Figure 5
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dried, and ground to make saffron (Porter 2000, 614; Sarpaki 2000, 661). The
exceptional rendition of the crocus clumps in the paintings suggests that the
ancient Therans may have had an intimate knowledge of the crocus plant.The
remains of organic paint on the frescoes give a generally mauvish color for the
crocus petals, which is within the range of pale to deep lilac purple for C. cartwrightianus
(Porter 2000, 616).The clumps of crocus blooms in Xeste 3 are rendered
quite naturally in comparison to other Aegean paintings illustrating crocuses:
they are randomly spaced in the rocky landscape around the goddess,
while the flowers and buds are taller than most of the leaves, as in nature (Porter
2000, 617).
Other Crocus- and Saffron-Related Frescoes in the Minoan Culture
Thera and Crete had a close trade and cultural exchange in the Late Bronze
Age, and they shared many artistic similarities, including the depiction of crocuses
in wall paintings.The Palace of Minos and its surrounding town of Knossos
in north central Crete housed some of the most beautiful frescoes of the Minoan
era. One of the rooms in the House of the Frescoes, northwest of the palace, was
decorated with the Blue Monkey Fresco, also known as the Saffron-Gatherer
Fresco (Immerwahr 1990, plates 10 and 11).This painting depicts a blue monkey
wearing a red harness (perhaps a palatial pet or an attendant to a goddess like
the monkey of Xeste 3 at Thera?) in a field of saffron crocuses surrounded by a
rocky landscape on a red background.The monkey is plucking the crocuses and
placing them into vases.
The Minoan villa of Hagia Triadha in south central Crete also had affinities
with Knossos and Akrotiri. The villa housed three fresco panels in Room 14
(Immerwahr 1990, 101–2, 109, plate 18; Kontorli-Papadopoulou 1996, plate 52).
One of these fresco panels depicts a kneeling female figure picking crocuses.
Significance of the Xeste 3 Frescoes: The Hypothesis
Crocuses—the primary plants depicted in the Xeste 3 frescoes—and women
seem to be the governing factors in these wall paintings, and they are linked by
the healing qualities inherent in the saffron. Of the numerous plant medicinals
developed in the ancient Near East and East Mediterranean, saffron has had the
largest number of applications over almost 4 millennia, with the widest geographic
distribution as well as continuous and safe therapeutic application down
to the present. Its safety, availability, effectiveness for a large variety of symptoms,
and long pedigree of experience may explain why saffron is portrayed so prominently
in Xeste 3.Another factor may be a belief in saffron’s divine provenance.
The depiction of the goddess in Xeste 3, with the griffin in attendance while a
blue monkey delivers the crocus stigmas, is like no other scene in ancient art.
We hypothesize that the frescoes express a divinely encouraged concept: the
medicinal healing that is the major function of the crocus/saffron.This hypothesis
is based on three observations: (1) that the crocus and its stigma are the dom-
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inant motif at Xeste 3; (2) that the medicinal phytoactivity in crocuses is concentrated
in the stigma; and (3) that the proximity of the basket of saffron to the
goddess, as well as the saffron cluster grasped in her hand, demonstrate the importance
of this treasured product. As a corollary, the fresco may promote the
belief that the goddess has bestowed curative power upon the saffron or has
given humans the gift of saffron.This suggests another hypothesis: that the introduction
of stigmas as medicine may have originated at Akrotiri, rather than being
derived from a foreign template, although the concept may have received some
inspiration from Crete.
The History of Saffron and Its Therapeutic Use
Herbal medicinal products have been widely used since time immemorial, and
specific plant remedies eventually became described in ancient written pharmacopoeias.These
texts frequently imply an earlier empirical and/or magical application
of particular herbal therapeutic materials. The oldest known pharmacopoeia
is a Sumerian medical tablet from the 3rd millennium BCE that contains
15 prescriptions (Kramer 1963, 93–97). Although the tablet includes fermented
“pine” tree, plum tree, powdered fir, undistilled resinous turpentine, thyme, mustard,
and willow, the medical use of saffron is not mentioned.
The first mention of saffron—azupiranu (saffron) from C. sativus (azupiru)—
appears in an Assyrian dictionary of botany written during the reign of Ashurbanipal
(668–633 BCE) (Pritchard 1969, 294;Thompson 1949, 66, 157–63). It
was used as an aid in dyspnea, painful urination, childbirth, menstrual disorders,
and “diseases of the head” (Thompson 1908, 1924).This Assyrian text follows a
tradition of plant therapy dating to Old Babylonian originals more than a millennium
prior to Ashurbanipal (Oppenheim 1977, 289–91), and it thus places
the medicinal use of saffron in the 17th century BCE or earlier.
Subsequent to the Bronze Age, saffron continued to be used in medicine for
three millennia (until the modern era) over a wide geographic area for many and
varied indications. In addition to those mentioned above, it was also used for
such ills as cutaneous ulcers, wounds, acute diseases, infant thrush, palpitations,
abortion, contraception, smallpox, measles, jaundice, and constipation (see Tables
1 and 2). Saffron was among the 257 drugs in the Hippocratic Corpus from the 5th
to 4th centuries BCE, and it was used topically for purulent eye infections,
watery and violently painful eyes, pains elsewhere, skin ulcers, and open wounds,
and as a styptic; saffron also orally ameliorated acute diseases (Adams 1939, 99;
Hirschberg 1982,221–22; Jones et al.1923–31,2:317,4:119,8:325–27,357).The
reference to “wounds” is immediately pertinent to the fresco at Thera: the lower
register of the wall painting (Figure 3) depicts a young woman possibly applying
crocus stigmas to the injured and bleeding great toe of her left foot. In c. 300
BCE, Erasistratus suggested saffron could be used locally for throat inflammation,
earache, and ulcers of the mouth and genitalia (Hirschberg 1982, 322). In
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the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, Herophilus of Alexandria prescribed saffron with
opium orally for hemoptysis and topical saffron for diseases of the anus (von
Staden 1989, 423).
In the first century CE, the Materia Medica of Dioscorides includes saffron for
local application to the eyes (corneal disease and cataracts) and ears, topical treatment
of erysipelas, and otherwise as a soothing ointment (Gunther 1934, 22–23;
Hirschberg 1982, 190, 194; Manniche 1989, 50–51; Riddle 1985, 62, 66–67).
Saffron was also taken orally as an aphrodisiac; Dioscorides stipulates that 12
grams or more can cause death (Riddle 1985, 62, 66–67).
Many other authors from antiquity, including Pliny, Galen, and Oribasios,
continued to utilize the previous prescriptions in new compilations.The ancient
Romans delayed intoxication by wine with the use of saffron (Toussaint-Samat
1992,519–20).In the 1st century CE,the physician Scribonius Largus prescribed
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Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
table 2 PHARMACOLOGICALLY TESTED (1980–2002) AND FEASIBLE USES
OF SAFFRON
Used as To treat
analgesic premenstrual syndrome
antiatherosclerotic asthma
antihypertensive hypercholesterolemia
antineoplastic chronic uterine hemorrhage
antioxidant dysmenorrhea
table 1 LEADING EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF SAFFRON
AS A FOLK MEDICINE
soporific treat superficial wounds
contraceptive dyspnea (as in asthma)
aphrodisiac eye infections
abortifacient sore throat
induction of labor ear ache
promotion of lactation abdominal pain
enhance fertility dysmenorrhea
sedative hangover
antiemetic migraine
eye wash fever
expectorant constipation
antidepressant chronic uterine hemorrhage
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saffron for acute and chronic eye inflammations (Hirschberg 1982, 258–59).
Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) refers to an eyewash (collyrium) containing saffron
for blurred vision and excess tears; he also mentions the use of saffron for cataracts,
throat ulcers, bladder inflammation, cough, pleurisy, pruritus, erysipelas, to
induce sleep, restore hair growth, and postpone intoxication by wine (Jones
1951, 6:261–63; Nielson 1974, 10).The 2nd-century physician Soranus used saffron
for infant thrush and obstetrical indications (Temkin 1956).Also in the 2nd
century, Celsus’ De re medicina claims effective treatment with saffron for blepharitis,
proptosis, purulent infection and ulceration of the eyes, scabies, and wound
cleaning (Page 1935). From the 2nd to the 5th centuries, Galen, Oribasius, and
Marcellus Empiricus employed topical saffron for similar ophthalmic conditions
(Nielson 1974, 12–16).
In c. 400 CE and continuing in practice to the early 20th century, theTibetan
book of Four Treatises (originally a Sanskrit medical text) treated liver and pulmonary
diseases, joint pains, nervousness, diarrhea, indigestion, and menorrhagia
with saffron (Rinpoche and Kunzang 1973). In the 6th century, the Greek physician,Aetius,
prescribed a saffron collyrium for cataracts and poor vision (Nielson
1974, 15).The 7th-century text, Fundamentals of Medicine by Paulus of Aegina,
contains a prescription of a saffron-containing collyrium for conjunctivitis and
corneal ulcers, corneal pus, deep injuries to the eye,lid swelling, and abscess adjacent
to the eye (Hirschberg 1982).
Written in the 8th century, the Syriac Book of Medicines (partially based on
Hippocrates and Galen) describes the use of crocus and saffron for palpitations,
abortion, contraception, “throbbing migraine” (hemicranial) headaches, delirium,
eye and torso pain, earaches, abscess within the ear, throat abscess, hoarseness,
dyspnea, diarrhea, hemoptysis, vomiting, anal ulcers, and dog bite (Budge
1976; Riddle 1992, 104–5). From the 9th to the 11th centuries, Arabic indications
for saffron in Baghdad included eye conditions, gingivitis, canker, stomatitis,
and sore throat (Levey 1966).
In the 12th century CE, saffron was developed for abdominal pain or to “settle
the stomach” as an appetite suppressant (Basker and Negbi 1983;ToussaintSamat
1992, 519–20). In the 13th century, Roger Bacon claimed that it delayed
aging (Toussaint-Samat 1992, 519–20). In the later Middle Ages, it was used as
an eye wash, to induce labor and abortion, to ameliorate jaundice, and to prevent
vomiting (Nixon 1909, 35–39; Rowland 1981).
The English herbalist and surgeon John Gerard (1545–1612) recorded saffron’s
ability to cause euphoria or act as an antidepressant, to induce alertness (“Shaking
off a heavie sleep”), and to relieve smallpox, measles, jaundice, constipation, dyspnea,
pain, ergotism (St. Anthony’s fire), and pestilence, as well as its efficacy as a
diuretic (Johnson 1975, 153–54; Nixon 1909, 35–39). However, a recent text,
Narcotic Plants, states that among the ancients, saffron was used not for alertness but
to induce sleep (Emboden 1972). In the 17th century, it was used as an appetite
stimulant, and in the 18th it was applied topically for eye inflammation and orally
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to quell vomiting (Basker and Negbi 1983; Estes and Kuhnke 1984, 123, 151). In
colonial America, saffron was consumed for dyspnea, asthmatic wheezing, pain,
palpitations, fainting, jaundice, and melancholia (Weaver 2001, 270).
In the early 20th century, death occurred when saffron was utilized as an
abortifacient (Basker and Negbi 1983). The toxic symptoms are severe gastric
pain, blood-stained vomit and diarrhea, hematuria, vertigo, severe metrorrhagia,
bradycardia and tachycardia, convulsions, and coma (Arena 1973, 463; Blacow
1972).The lethal dosage of saffron is approximately 12 to 20 grams, while the
abortifacient dosage is approximately 10 grams (Walsh 2000, 654). During the
mid-20th century, saffron was used for fever, melancholia, hepatomegaly, diabetes,
splenomegaly, asthma, hemorrhoids (topically), bruises (topically), and to
induce abortions as well as prevent miscarriages. It also remedied venereal condylomata,
common warts, colds, snake-bites, cholera, hematomas, convulsions, a
large variety of cancers, headaches, hangovers, dysmenorrhea, and to induce
uterine contractions for early labor (Basker and Negbi 1983; Duke 2001,
148–49; Rios et al. 1996; Tang and Eisenbrand 1992, 187, 395–97). Both the
Chinese and Indian pharmacopoeias officially list saffron, and in India it is considered
“a fine aphrodisiac,” diuretic, and effective in rheumatism and neuralgia
(Lewis and Elvin-Lewis 1977, 329; Nadkarni 1976, 310–11;Tang and Eisenbrand
1992, 187, 395–97).Among the North African Arabs and Berbers, saffron is used
to ease pertussis, asthma, and hysteria, and to induce sleep (Boulos 1983, 97).
Occasionally over the past two millennia, saffron has been prescribed as an emmenagogue
(a drug promoting menses), but it is difficult to make a distinction
between emmenagogues and abortifacients; remedies to provoke menstruation
probably were intended to abort or to prevent conception.
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, saffron or its derivatives, such as
crocin and crocetin, have been found to exhibit in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor
activity for different malignancies in humans and other animals and to prevent
chemical carcinogenesis (Duke 2001, 148–49; Molnar et al. 2000; Rios et al.
1996). It improved ethanol-induced memory and learning impairments, as well
as alleviated gingival pain, back pain, asthma, premature ejaculation, antibacterial
and antiviral actions, oxygenating capacities, and dental analgesic benefits
(Kazuho and Hiroshi 2000; Rios et al. 1996; Seyde et al. 1986; Zarghami and
Heinz 1971). It acted as an antioxidant and a free-radical scavenger, and it
reduced atherosclerosis progression (by virtue of the flavonoid, quercitin, contained
in the crocus flower) (Hayek et al. 1997; Kazuho and Hiroshi 2000;Wiseman
et al. 1997). Crocetin acted as a chemopreventive drug in acute hepatic
damage, and it also lowered cholesterol levels, controlled hangovers and
migraines, and alleviated measles, chronic uterine hemorrhage, diarrhea and nasal
polyps (Chau-jong, Song-Jui, and Jen-Kun 1991). Saffron was also effective in
lowering blood pressure and remedying both hemoptysis and pertussis (Leung
1980). Moreover, the Japanese have demonstrated the in vitro suppression of
neuronal cell death, concluding that crocin should be included in studies regard-
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ing the prevention or treatment of degenerative brain disease (Soeda et al. 2001).
To this day,saffron is used medicinally in the Aegean for menstrual ailments (Barber
1992; N. Marinatos 1984b). Forsyth (2000) has detailed numerous ophthalmologic
indications for the prescription of saffron, demonstrating saffron’s efficacy
in treating a range of eye diseases. However, she is mistaken when she states
“that saffron is rarely included in non-ocular remedies (only 4.5%)” (163). At
least 80% of the conditions for which saffron has been used are non-ocular.7
Saffron has been used both in ethnomedicine and in experimental studies for
treatment of 90 distinct medical indications.Among this group, there are at least
20 individual symptoms or diseases with a demonstrable biochemical, pharmacological,or
physiological basis for saffron’s effectiveness.Unfortunately,randomized
controlled clinical trials have not been performed to corroborate saffron’s efficacy.
Only in the last few decades have phytochemical studies and experimental evidence
confirmed the potential success of some of the above saffron therapy.
Otherwise, for the more than 30 centuries of herbal therapy with this substance,
the rationale for the reported effectiveness of saffron or the crocus flower in many
of the non–gender-related conditions was founded in what would now (in modern
efforts subjectively and retrospectively) be called the undeveloped techniques
of folkloric belief, accidental discovery, quasi-empirical trial, and placebo effect.
Placebos have been reported to be subjectively and objectively effective in up
to 30 to 40% of patients with anxiety, palpitations, pruritus, pain, and asthma, etc.
(Beecher 1955).Therefore,these ailments and some other targets for saffron therapy
would have been expected to improve merely by the authority of the healer.
The mechanism of this occult treatment may be simple imagination, “sympathetic
magic,” or some form of unintended hypnosis. It has already been suggested
that the Bronze Age Aegean peoples would most likely have conflated
ideas of magic, religion, and medicine in their day-to-day lives (Arnott 1999, 1).
Thus,“suggestion and expectation of cure” would have enhanced the outcome
when a particular medicinal product was taken either in ancient or modern
times. On the other hand, it is not the absolute verification of pharmacological
action with which the Theran population would have been impressed; it is preTherapy
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7Rehak (1999, 2002) has discussed some medical applications of saffron.We do not address the riboflavin
and vitamin A precursors known to be among the phytochemicals in saffron because there
is no convincing evidence of riboflavin or vitamin A deficiency in theTheran population. If indeed
the conjunctival red-streaking seen among the women portrayed in Xeste 3 does represent a disease,it
is very unlikely that this is caused by a vitamin deficiency,because cereals,peas,beans,lentils,
the liver of ruminant animals, and some seafood were readily available at Thera and/or Crete at
the time of the frescoes (Sarpaki 1992;Tzedakis and Martlew 1999, 264, 266). However, the Ebers
Papyrus attests to the recognition of “bloodshot” eyes at least in Egypt (Walker 1996, 141).
Chlamydia trachomatis can cause oculogenital infections as well as trachoma; the oculogenital infections
may manifest as conjunctivitis. C. trachomatis infections of the eye and of the female genital
tract may have been the target of saffron treatment, by collyrium and ingestion, in Thera and
other cultures.
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sumed that saffron’s wide range of medical functions would have been appealing
to this ancient island people.
Additionally, the Xeste 3 painting contains a feature that could reinforce saffron’s
effectiveness,namely the goddess almost touching the stigmas from the offering
basket. In the ancient East Mediterranean, healers or worshippers frequently
invoked the aid of a deity to potentiate a medicine. For example, the Egyptian god
Re enhanced an ointment’s effect when the folk healer incanted the revelation that
Re had invented the treatment or that the ointment derived from Re’s sweat or
eye. In the Levant, a mineral-type medicine met with heightened success because
it was “discovered” by Ishtar (Jayne 1925, 133–34). Elsewhere, the physician or
magical-expert derived his authority from gods like Ea,Marduk,Nabu,or Ninurta
for pain relief or a soothing eye-bandage saturated with plant drugs (Ritter 1965,
310–21).Conversely,a physician’s treatment might fail until the name of the“Great
Goddess’” was invoked.This interaction between the human patient and the spiritual
influence of the divine god provided a cure through supernatural force.
Despite the fallacy of such medicinal omnipotence (from the viewpoint of the
modern observer) and the illusory nature of divine reinforcement, the success of
plant therapy lay in the conviction that healing would truly take place.That is,
the magic of the fresco and its goddess possibly had real validity in human life
by enhancing saffron therapy at Akrotiri. Saffron’s strength was not only in its
pharmacological effect (in some cases), but also in the spiritual belief that the
desired response would actually manifest.The goddess inspired the confluence of
human and divine effort to ward off disease.
Regardless of the potential influence of this divine immanence, there is no
evidence that the Therans directly borrowed stylistic or iconographic elements
from Egyptian, Anatolian, or Levantine images of any specific goddesses. If the
idea of a goddess of medication was not imported from foreign sources, it may
be concluded that the Therans originated it independently.
While saffron’s expense may explain its omission from most modern pharmacotherapeutic
texts, even minuscule doses of saffron may exhibit powerful effects.
For example, very low microgram quantities of crocetin are known to augment
the motility of green algae gametes in its reproductive activity (Grisolia 1974; Sastry,
Srinivasan, and Subrahmanyan 1955).8 Regardless of the inordinate expense,
the Martindale Pharmacopoeia cites saffron as being included in the official pharmacopoeias
of the following countries: Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Chile, France,
Germany, Japan,Yugoslavia, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and
Switzerland (Blacow 1972). However, irrespective of their efficacy, the dosage of
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8Fieser and Fieser (1944) described the dilution (to the degree of Avogadro’s 6.02 ϫ 1023) of
crocin required to obtain “one molecule . . . to render 1 gamete motile”; the addition of crocetin
esters resulted in copulation of this chlamydomonas.The extreme chemical potency of saffron is
also reflected in the very small dosage used in some formularies.This extraordinary phenomenon
could confirm the conviction that saffron is a very active biological agent.
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saffron and its constituents has not been standardized.The “usual” dosage of powdered
saffron (or its equivalent) for the majority of indications mentioned above
ranges from 10 to 2,000 milligrams per day—even though more than two grams
has been used as an abortifacient and may cause serious side effects.
The traditional medicinal use of saffron has continued for almost four millennia
and is also currently enjoying popularity in investigational pharmacology.
The ancient Therans’ extraordinary preoccupation with saffron and the crocus
flower may have been caused by the apparent universal utility of the crocus plant.
In support of this contention, other civilizations contemporaneous with the
Therans and having cultural affinities with Thera used saffron medically; however,no
culture outside the Aegean invested the degree of artistic effort concerning
saffron as is displayed at Akrotiri.
Are There Interconnections?
The ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus displays a notion of pathogenesis constituting
the earliest empirical and comprehensive disease theory in history and provides
a physiology, explaining the onset of disease, aging, death, the rationale for
diet, and the effectiveness of medicine (Ritner 2001, 2:354). Similarly, the Mesopotamian
sources (and the Edwin Smith Papyrus) discuss diagnoses, prognoses, and
treatment including surgery (Ritter 1965;Thompson 1923, iii–iv;Wilson 1996).
Contemporaneous with these ancient written sources are the Egyptian sculptures
of people suffering from various ailments, such as emaciation, dwarfism,
tuberculous kyphosis, leg atrophy, and hyperlordosis (Filer 1995). Although the
achievement in these depictions does not rise to the level of scientific medicine,
the images do reveal a sophisticated degree of close observation and an interest
in abnormalities.This may have contributed to a growing body of medical information
and insights to which the Therans were exposed. In at least one respect,
however, the Theran artist may have surpassed the Egyptian regarding the use of
reasoned illustration: regardless of the extensive number of images of plants in
ancient Egypt, the Theran depiction of C. cartwrightianus is an example of superior
Aegean expertise in artistically rendering botanical detail in therapeutic
plants (Manniche 1989, 160; Porter 2002;Vlachopoulos 2000, 646).
Furthermore, although no human skeletal remains have been found at Akrotiri,
ossuaries and cemeteries in Crete have disclosed significant paleopathological
information about the Bronze Age (McGeorge 1988). Studies of more than
8,000 human bones, including Early and Middle Minoan cave deposits (2600–
1700 BCE) demonstrate an orthopedic phenomenon unusual for such an ancient
culture: successfully healed extremity fractures, which are difficult to treat
by manipulation.9 Healing of the fractures without appropriate reduction and
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spring 2004 • volume 47, number 2 213
9Osteological analysis of remains in Minoan Crete has revealed a mean life expectancy of 31 years
for men and 28 years for women.There were a few septuagenarians. Bone metastases were found,
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prolonged immobilization would have been impossible, thus revealing the existence
of outstanding medical skill. In addition, there is evidence of non-trephination
cranial surgery, as well as dental extractions associated with excellent healing
of the jaws (McGeorge 1988). In contrast, based on a study of almost 1,200
individuals from the single burial site at Qubbet el Hawa that spans the 6th to
the 26th Dynasties, there is no evidence of dental extractions performed at comparable
times in Egypt (Rösing 1980).
Saffron: A Medicine Specifically
for Women?
Whether or not the crocus fresco depicting women can be interpreted as a gynecentric
medical cult linked with saffron, one can infer that a significant percentage
of the indications for saffron have been devoted to obstetrical and gynecological
concerns.Were there medical specialties in existence in the Bronze Age?
Egyptian and Mesopotamian medicine in the Middle and Late Bronze Age,
was characterized by specialized practice (Bardinet 1995, 302, 361; Ghalioungui
1983, 77–78; Oppenheim 1977).The medical papyri, including the gynecological
Kahun Papyrus (c. 1900 BCE) and the Ramesseum Papyri III–V (18th to 17th
centuries BCE), list the most dominant specialties as gynecology, surgery, and
ophthalmology (Oppenheim 1977; Redford 2001; Reisner 1905). Peshet, an
Egyptian female physician, was mentioned in the 5th or 6th Dynasty, as an overseer
of female physicians (Ritner 2001, 353).Women in Mesopotamia were also
allowed to train to become physicians (asû) (Wallenfels 2000, 3:84).The remarkable
variety of gynecological and obstetrical symptoms and diseases suffered by
women as well as the numerous remedies specifically for them described in these
ancient medical texts show that the distress and well-being of women received
particular medical attention. Also pertinent in the preceding detailing of the
therapeutic uses for saffron, 14% of the indications are obstetrical-gynecological.
The risks of disability and death from gynecological conditions,concerns for fertility,
and the threat of death in childbirth and among neonates would represent
a strong motivation for women to search for prophylactic and therapeutic medicines
in addition to protection from a deity.
The female illnesses referenced in the above ancient texts (Kahun, Ebers, and
Ramessium Papyri) include vulvitis, pains in the vulva, pruritis, leukorrhea, uterine
prolapse, metrorrhagia, uterine cancer, pelvic pain, infertility, dystocia, and
diseases of the breasts such as mastitis (Bardinet 1995, 437–41; Civil 1974, 331).10
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indicating that the Minoans did indeed suffer from malignancy; therefore, the antineoplastic activity
of saffron would theoretically have been therapeutically relevant at the time of the fresco painters.
In addition, two vitamin deficiencies were uncovered: rickets (vitamin D) and scurvy (vitamin C)
(McGeorge 1988).
10Medications described in the above ancient texts were used to promote lactation, contraception,
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There is mention of a female idiot, hermaphroditism, venereal disease, the birth
of infants with congenital anomalies, such as conjoined twins; and the performance
of Caesarian section carried out in a dying mother or post-mortem by
Egyptian female surgeons (Biggs 1969; Graham 1951, 16; Leichty 1970; Leonardo
1944, 20; Powell 1993, 62; Stevens 1975).
Regarding the reproductive specialty, the Edwin Smith Papyrus, Kahun Papyrus,
and Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar demonstrate that the Egyptian physician was
aware of the diagnoses and/or terminology of amenorrhea, placenta, prolapse,
pessary, obstruction above the vulva, pregnancy, birthing, coitus, pelvic region,
suckling, wife, widow, and measures for a successful childbirth following a prior
miscarriage (Douskos 1980, 141–43; Gardiner 1957, 492; Stevens 1975;Walker
1996, 40, 119, 145, 243). One devastating example is the postpartum complication
of vesicovaginal fistula, which is recognized in the Kahun Papyrus; a paleopathological
and historical instance of this birth injury is that of the 11th Dynasty
mummy of Princess Hehenhit (Reeves 1992, 19).Although nothing from the
Minoans comparable to the Egyptian or Assyrian medical texts has as yet been
found, this extensive interest in medical and medicinal phenomena to the south
and east of the Aegean created the potential zones of influence on the Therans
that may have resulted in the unique artistic ethnomedical manifestations at
Xeste 3.
However, the evidence for an actual link between saffron and gynecentrism at
Thera is unclear. In addition to the Xeste 3 scene of women strongly associated
with saffron, there are other scenes elsewhere of Theran women without saffron
and saffron without Theran women. Also, neither Linear A nor Linear B scripts
reveal any symbolism connecting women to saffron.There are no consistent data
favoring the concept of a gynecentric medicinal crocus cult at Akrotiri.Thus, the
large number of obstetrical-gynecological indications for saffron’s use (14% of
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spring 2004 • volume 47, number 2 215
and abortion, to enhance fertility, to prevent miscarriages, to induce labor, and for transurethral
therapy (Biggs 1969; Ghalioungui 1983, 200, 212; Jacob and Jacob 1993, 62, 64;Walker 1996, 39).
Pinene and castor oil were utilized topically for increasing scalp hair growth in women, ostrich egg
was used for scalp rash and bad body odor, dried liver of swallow was employed as an abortifacient,
cannabis seed was engaged for menstrual disorders, and phytochemically treated vaginal tampons
were generally prescribed (Bardinet 1995, 290; Biggs 1969; Ghalioungui 1983, 84, 130). Some of
the preparations were spermicidal, and some were antiperspirants (Ghalioungui 1983, 181; Stevens
1975, 951;Walker 1996, 39). Chronic inflammation of the uterus was treated with a vaginal douche
containing Cannabis sativa or celery; douching was also prescribed for cystitis, and an acacia-containing
douche was used for vaginitis (Bardinet 1995, 437–43; Kamal 1967, 204–10). The Ebers
Papyrus had a remedy for the expulsion of the placenta (Walker 1996, 40). Mental depression (“a
woman who likes to sleep, she does not get up”) was attributed to contraction of the uterus (hysteria?)
and treated with emetics (Biggs 1969). One woman’s illness was contagious (Biggs 1969;
Oppenheim 1977, 104, 286, 304). Her name was Nanname and she had been at the Mari palace
of Zimri-Lim c. 1700 BCE. She developed a febrile illness and was described as having “come into
contact with many other women.” Isolation techniques were implemented while her fever was designated
as “contagious” (Dalley 1984, 121).
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the total, from the 2nd millennium BCE to the beginning of the 3rd millennium
CE) signifies that saffron may have contributed to a female reproductive specialty,
but this specialization did not necessarily occur at Akrotiri.
Phytoestrogens and Women’s Use
of Saffron
While there are questions concerning the existence of a gynecentric cult at
Akrotiri, the continued interest in associating women with saffron can be seen
in the long post–Bronze Age history of this ethnomedicine. The impetus for
concentrating on this history lies in both the fruitful practical experience with
saffron and the revealing pharmaco-chemistry of the drug, as well as its prevalence
in the fresco.Also, saffron has long been valued for its effectiveness in treating
many gynecological conditions. Recent chemical analysis of saffron sheds
light on its pharmacological value for gynecological diseases.
Since the early 20th century CE, there has been an effort to investigate those
plants to which folklore attributes value in regulating menses, fertility, and childbirth.These
studies have demonstrated the existence of active herbal principals
estrogenically or anti-estrogenically affecting the female reproductive system;
some are steroidal estrogens, and some non-steroidal substances mimicking
female sex hormones. Both of these groups are found in C. sativus.
The birth control pill, employed for nearly 50 years, is among the most profitable
pharmaceutical products. The ultimate popularity of oral contraceptives
resulted from the successful mass production of progesterone, which was developed
from yam research (Hatcher et al. 1976, 37). Not only does this example
provide insight into the importance of medicinal phytochemicals, but, in addition,
the plant origin of progesterone (which is metabolized in humans to estrogen)
was the initial step for the now generally recognized presence of estrogens
and progestins in the plant world. Also, there have been innumerable examples
of other plant products that contain human female sex hormones.These plant
products have components that mimic the actions of the hormones or have a
biochemical influence on the diverse physiological or pathological aspects of the
female reproductive system (Guerre and Andrade 1978; Harbonne 1988, 122–
28). One of these ethnopharmaceuticals is saffron.
Convincing evidence of saffron having a specific pharmacological action on
the female reproductive system resulted from modern studies of crocus preparations
stimulating the uteri of several mammals (Pei-Yen et al. 1964). It was concluded
that C. sativus extracts myogenically and neurogenically affected isolated
uteri, while the vaginal epithelium (from intact animals given oral crocus extracts)
exhibited endocrine-like changes.
To biochemically confirm saffron’s authenticity, note that both the vaginal
suppository (dinoprostone) and oral preparation (misoprostol) of prostaglandins
currently used to terminate pregnancy have chemical configurations closely
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analogous to crocin (Grisolia 1974).11 Evidently under certain conditions, the
phytoestrogens, terpenes, and prostaglandin-like chemicals in C. sativus and saffron
exhibit properties which potentially control metrorrhagia, induce labor or
abortion, etc. This phytochemistry may partially explain the utility saffron has
enjoyed for 4,000 years in treating gynecological and obstetrical indications
(Duke 2001, 148–49; Graham 1951, 16; Hartwell 1982, 248–50; Lewis and
Elvin-Lewis 1977, 329; Rios et al. 1996; Tang and Eisenbrand 1992; Temkin
1956, 56, 78, 122, 161, 239). Therefore, it should not be astonishing that the
Therans appear to have focused upon saffron. The Therans knew nothing of
estrogen, but they may have recognized saffron’s estrogen-based utility for the
maladies of women.
Significantly, the ancient Egyptians used turpentine and other pinene sources
for the induction of labor and relief of menstrual and urinary disorders (Bardinet
1995, 61, 437–43; Ghalioungui 1983, 201, 205). Pinene is present in the crocus
stigma (Duke 1992, 203); remarkably, the chemical structure of pinene closely
approximates that of safranal (one of the terpenes in saffron).The word terminthos
(“turpentine tree”) is believed to be of Aegean (non–Indo-European) origin,
and probably from late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BCE Minoan Crete (Renfrew
1998, 244, 261). If this Egyptian gynecological practice of prescribing terpenes
was successful, as implied by the Ebers Papyrus, it suggests that the saffron
(containing these terpenes) may indeed have been used for the same reasons in
women at Thera.
Therapy at Thera
The earlier chronological listing of 90 medical indications for saffron has no
direct impact on 17th-century BCE Theran herbal practice, because most of the
prescriptions for this phytotherapy appear after the Bronze Age. Nonetheless, a
corollary can be made from these extraordinary therapeutic observations.
Considering saffron’s palliative success for many forms of human suffering, the
Therans’ dominant display of saffron may imply that they, too, had discovered
one or more of the dozens of medical uses of this plant.Additionally, the continuity,
number, and varied uses of saffron make it a candidate for one of the few
“panaceas.”Also, saffron’s consistency in imputed effectiveness has been linked to
specific symptoms and diseases over many millennia which, in turn, may have
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11The hormonal prostaglandins are oxidized eicosanoids used in inducing abortion. In their chemical
configuration, the resemblance of the carotene glycosides (and crocin) in saffron to the eicosanoids
is based on the mutual similarity to trihydroxy fatty acids which exhibit prostaglandin-like
clinical activity (Bundy 1985). The main difference between prostaglandin and carotene (or
safranal) is that the former is a cyclopentane and the other a cyclohexane; there is a consensus that
the five-membered ring (the cyclopentane) is not necessary at the prostaglandin receptor (Panossian
1980).
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supported saffron’s place among the most useful of all ethnomedicines. The
Therans may have discovered the same therapeutic versatility with the consequent
full commitment to floral protection as seen in the fresco.
The women participating in the sacred saffron activities in the Akrotiri frescoes
clearly range in age from young girls to older women (as demonstrated by
their clothing, hair style, and breast development).This multi-generational spectrum
is consistent with the age range appropriate for diseases extending from
menstrual disorders to malignancy. On the other hand, based on both modern
pharmacology and ancient medical texts, saffron therapy was also generally efficacious
for large numbers of non-reproductive problems; certainly male patients
would not be excluded from the benefits of saffron.
Many of the recommendations made for saffron as a crude drug in the ancient
formularies correspond to the recommendations in the 20th and 21st centuries
CE, providing substance to the main premises of this research.Therefore, this article
further hypothesizes that the possession of a potentially effective medication
probably motivated the Therans to express their devotion to therapeutic success
through the monumental painting of a goddess as she controlled this floral product.
From this study of but one beneficial and adaptable pharmacobotanical substance,
we may surmise that the goddess of Xeste 3 was a healing deity.
It is ordinarily quite difficult to arrive at a single convincing interpretation of
enigmatic prehistoric symbolism expressed in paintings such as those at Xeste 3.
Prior interpretations of the frescoes included perfume, condiment, or dye production
from saffron. Emphasizing the medical function of saffron might better
justify the fresco’s meaning.
Possible Influence of the Theran
Neighbors
Catalogs of ancient deities contain numerous goddesses of health from around
the world including Germany,Africa, Babylonia, India, Sumer, and China (Leach
1992).This suggests a common recognition by ancient peoples of the need for
protection and healing by a female divinity. Furthermore, there were female
deities involved in healing during the 2nd millennium BCE in the Eastern Mediterranean
region, including goddesses specializing in medicinal plants, divine
female physicians, sorceresses skilled in herbs, nurse goddesses, and medicinal
plants represented as goddesses (Hastings 1928, 6:545–53, 12:609). However,
there is no evidence that a foreign goddess of medicine was imported by the
Therans.
In addition, modern scholarship based on archaeological, metallurgical, geographic,textual,trade
route,artistic,and linguistic evidence supports the idea that
there were widespread overseas connections between Thera and her neighbors.
The evidence attests to innumerable contacts, but there are no grounds for the
idea that saffron’s primacy in healing was imported by the Therans.
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There may have been multiple foreign influences in the creation of the
Theran wall painting, but there are no Bronze Age texts that explain the source
of the figures and themes.Yet the role of the Cycladic and Minoan people in
navigation, trade, and the transmission of art is well established, indicating the
cultural interweaving in the Eastern Mediterranean during the early 2nd millennium
BCE (Watrous 1994). Reviews of these interrelationships have identified
Anatolia, the Semitic peoples, and the Aegeans as potential influences on religion
and art (Rehak andYounger 1998;Winter 2000).
The cultural links between Crete and Thera in the 2nd millennium BCE are
integral to the concept of Anatolian and Canaanite-Syrian influences on Thera.
The vast majority of the Aegean connections with these foreign civilizations are
known for Crete rather than for Thera; however, it is generally agreed that
Akrotiri came under the Minoan sphere of influence. Crete-Thera contacts
range from artistic themes to architecture and pottery. For example, Crete and
Thera both have images of crocus-gathering women, the same picture of the
“concentrated clump” from which the crocus stalk splays out, the connection
between monkey and crocus, and the Horns of Consecration (Morgan 1988,
50–51).
Ancient texts reveal early 2nd millennium BCE commerce between Anatolia,
Syria, and the Aegean in silver, gold, tin, textiles, and ceramics (Albright 1940;
Carbet 1998; Cosmopoulos 1991; Kupper 1973, 13; Niemeier 1991, 199; Rehak
and Younger 1998; Schiering 1984).Additionally, theTel Kabri frescoes in northern
Israel show seascape events, landscape, architecture, and a swallow very close
toTheran style, content, and technique (Niemeier 1991; Niemeier and Niemeier
2000). Contemporaneously,Yarim-Lim’s palace at Alalakh contains murals that
exhibit Aegean influence (Niemeier and Niemeier 2000). But despite these documented
interrelationships, there are no foci of therapeutic elixirs, no illustrations
of crocus stigmas, and no signs of a healing deity with her materia medica
outside of the Theran world—nothing that might suggest an alien genesis of saffron’s
importance in medical treatment.
Conclusions
As suggested by ancient and modern pharmacognosy, the chief function of the
crocus stigmas in Xeste 3 probably was for medicinal properties.Admittedly, this
assessment may be flawed.Parallels between chemical structures,regardless of their
extreme similarity, do not necessarily translate as similar pharmacological action.
And despite the numerous conditions for which the successful use of saffron has
been corroborated, some ailments referred to in ancient texts have no known
pharmacological efficacy for saffron. Furthermore, the past efforts in translating
hieroglyphic and cuneiform pharmaceutical inscriptions and identifying diseases
may have been inaccurate. Also, occasionally saffron was prescribed as part of a
recipe with many other ingredients, thereby creating difficulty in distinguishing
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the active constituent.When the list of approximately 90 medical conditions is
examined, a few of the health benefits seem to be contradictory. Some of these
paradoxical effects may be explained by saffron’s extreme dosage range, from
micrograms to grams, with the antithetical aspects occurring at opposite ends of
the dose scale. Nevertheless, these issues appear not to obviate our hypotheses.
However, we maintain that the divinity depicted in the Xeste 3 fresco is a
goddess of healing, based on this predominantly medical value for saffron, its
omnipotence, the iconography, and the program of the painting.The unique system
at Akrotiri consisted of this goddess,her curative crocus stigmas,and the represented
line of production of the special panacea. It is noteworthy that many of
the medical uses to which saffron was applied by ancient practitioners in their
prescriptions are now recognized in modern herbal medicine and some successful,
pharmacologically verified research. But, for the Therans, it was obviously
not the experimental and biochemical justifications that propelled saffron to the
healing forefront; it was possibly their belief and trust in a magically botanical or
supernatural force, probably associated with the experience of its successful use.
In fact, pharmacodynamic research has established that, at least for a few recommendations
from 2nd millennium BCE healers, the phytotherapeutic actions
were authentic.This is born out by the recent use of saffron, pinene, and terpene.
The crocus plant is one of many dozens that have enjoyed reputations as traditional
medicines for female reproductive health. C. sativus also possesses an
extraordinary number of additional non–sex-specific medical uses compared to
the other phytoactive products consumed since prehistory. Saffron has been the
most diversely pharmacologically active and potent ethnomedicine known for
almost four millennia.The Theran artists rightfully selected the crocus because it
was the most pharmacologically versatile plant.With this expression of botanical
power, modern phytochemical studies, comparative-historical data, and a comprehensive
survey of relevant images were utilized to examine the implications of
pictorial representations of this sacred medicine.This analysis, albeit unsupported
by textual evidence, suggests that the Xeste 3 goddess is the earliest extant image
of a healing deity portrayed with her realistically depicted phytotherapeutic agent.
In the absence of a written explanation by the Bronze Age Therans, a postulate
supported by a chain of substantial evidence plus four millennia of exhaustive
attestations can support further decipherment and confirmation of the
above conclusions. Various Aegean Bronze Age scholars have interpreted the
Xeste 3 frescoes in different ways, and a few researchers have mentioned the
healing properties of saffron among its several benefits. However, this study justifies
a new focus on healing as the primary function of this plant product.The
healing nature of the goddess and the medicinal power of saffron are emphasized
here above other explanations for the wall paintings. Certainly this goddess overseeing
divine healing is more worthy of depiction in wall paintings than a deity
simply dictating a common economic activity.
Furthermore, Xeste 3 may have housed therapy rooms centered on this very
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useful medicinal plant.That is, the building of Xeste 3 could be interpreted as a
“clinic” founded in cultic belief and possibly pharmacognostical thought. The
frescoes emphasize the importance of relating the medical benefits of plants to a
ritual of divine blessing.They thereby invest the clinic’s healer with the restorative
power of saffron. Perhaps the healing act took place in the lower level of the
building, surrounded by the frescoes of the wounded girl facing the cultic Horns
of Consecration.The recessed area below ground level may have helped to imbue
the curative process with chthonic qualities.
In the process of transforming cultic ideas and medical botany into art, the
Theran artist created a powerful, unified composition, a composition that Betancourt
(2000) suggests contains “the first true perspective in ancient wall painting”
(360). The wall paintings conflate the crocus-gathering and commodity
themes with scenes endowing stigmas with curative potency. The program
appears to anthropomorphize the medicinal plant into the persona of a female
divinity of medicine. The goddess oversees the realization of a versatile phytotherapeutic
substance whose indigenous development was probably unprecedented.
From theTheran perspective,was this a triumph of experience and belief
over fear and disease? If so, then the frescoes resulted from an astute Aegean
Bronze Age mind and the Theran artistic genius.
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