Thank you! In another culture, that might be a reasonable interpretation. But the Minoans didn't cremate their dead; they buried them. And small floating human figures in Minoan art (they're called "epiphany figures") are deities who appear to the humans during a ritual. There are quite a few examples of them. Your comment makes me wonder about the nature of the object that's in front of her, over the man's arm. Something the goddess is giving to him? Something he's giving to the goddess? Something else entirely? We can read some, but not all, aspects of Minoan iconography. That's what makes it so intriguing. Maybe one day we'll understand better.
It does seem to be some kind of send-off perhaps!
Lovely painting! Could the woman hovering in the air have passed away? The object hovering in front of her looks like an urn.
Thank you! In another culture, that might be a reasonable interpretation. But the Minoans didn't cremate their dead; they buried them. And small floating human figures in Minoan art (they're called "epiphany figures") are deities who appear to the humans during a ritual. There are quite a few examples of them. Your comment makes me wonder about the nature of the object that's in front of her, over the man's arm. Something the goddess is giving to him? Something he's giving to the goddess? Something else entirely? We can read some, but not all, aspects of Minoan iconography. That's what makes it so intriguing. Maybe one day we'll understand better.