Sacred Art: The Amnisos Ring

Part of the Minoan Seal Ring Project

This is one in an occasional series in which I share my sacred art with you. You can find the other posts here.

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I never intended to create an art project focused around the Minoan seal rings. These artifacts are gold rings with large oval bezels that have ritual scenes molded into them. The rings come from a variety of different Minoan sites, but they all have similar overall designs.

I didn’t intend to create an extended project, but inspiration happens, and the deities make their wishes known. So when I finished the first painting, my modern art interpretation of the ring from the Isopata cemetery near Knossos, it wasn’t long before I felt like I needed to do another one. And so on.

The artwork I’m sharing with you today is a painting inspired by an artifact that’s often called the Amnisos ring, though no one is certain whether it actually came from the town of Amnisos. Here’s a photo:

The ring is in the Minoan collection in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK. You can read more about it here. It dates to 1700-1470 BCE, which is a pretty large range that straddles the date of the Thera eruption but ends before the destruction of the Minoan cities in 1450 BCE.

What I’m interested in, from the point of view of a pagan priestex and sacred artist, isn’t so much the museum details (provenance, date, material, etc.) but the ritual scene that’s depicted on the ring. All the gold seal rings show “snapshots” of rituals, frozen scenes from the midst of sacred activities. The image on this ring focuses on the intersection of land and water, Rhea’s and Posidaeja’s realms.

Unlike the other seal rings I’ve painted, which feel celebratory, this one feels almost somber, so I painted it in darker colors. Of course, we don’t really know what kind of ritual the scene depicts. But as I meditated on the ring, I felt a kind of gentle sorrow, as of the ending of… something. No matter how I connected with it, I repeatedly got the same impression.

Now, this doesn’t appear to be a funeral scene. We have a few of those in Minoan art, including an extensive one on the sides of the Hagia Triada sarcophagus.

Instead, it feels like the ending of an era. A spiritworker friend suggested that it may be a scene of the closing of shrines or other ritual spaces and the exodus of the people who tended those sacred places. That’s certainly possible. Or maybe this is a scene of people dealing with the Thera eruption, either trying to escape shortly beforehand or dealing with the aftermath. We tend to hold a mental image of the ancient past as a sort of suspended animation, always the same. But change filled the world three to four thousand years ago, every bit as much as it does now.

We’re so used to Minoan art always being happy and cheerful. In Ariadne’s Tribe, we stress the joy that underlies Minoan culture.

But joy isn’t the same thing as happiness. Joy is a depth and vibrance that weaves through all of life, even the sad and difficult parts.

So whatever is ending here, whatever sadness and loss the Minoans commemorated and honored with this ring, I can still feel the presence of the divine, the strong and steady support from the deities who loved the people and whom the people loved.

For me, this is the source of joy: the knowledge that no matter what happens, we are connected with the divine, intricately interwoven into the same tapestry, mortal and immortal, human and deity.

I did my best to get that feeling across in my painting. Sorrow, yes, but also deep and abiding love of and for the divine.

What ideas does this scene bring to mind for you?

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About Laura Perry

I'm the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. I'm also an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. My spiritual practice includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write Pagan / polytheist / magical non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. My Minoan entry in the Moon Books Pantheons series is now available for pre-order and will be released on 26 August 2025. While that process percolates along, I’m working on an illustrated book of modern Minoan myths, which will be released Summer Solstice 2025. I’m also an avid herb and vegetable gardener and living history demonstrator.