The flax in the “Flora’s image” in the Ariadne House (Pompeian area, Italy) as a symbol of feminine in a wedding sacred to the afterlife

Abstract

In ancient time, life elements, like plants and animals, and unanimated forces of nature were usually associated with specific meanings related to deities and sacred rituals. In Roman archeology, the strong symbolic value of plants represented in wall paintings and artifacts was proved by several contributions, but this topic is often neglected. In this paper, for the first time, an interpretation is proposed for the plant represented in one of the most iconic paintings in Pompeii, the so-called “Flora” in Ariadne’s house. Here, the analyzed plant is picked by a girl turned away and holding a floral cornucopia, and it plays a relevant role in the scene. Through the analysis of its morphological elements, and comparing them with other ancient representations, we suggest its identification as flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.). Flax was an economically and culturally very important plant, widely represented in objects and paintings in the Mesopotamian and Egyptian area. We also suggest that the meaning behind the choice of depict flax was also related to its classical attribution as a symbol of fertility and afterlife as well as linked to the “feminine” sphere. This interpretation, together with other elements of the images, strengthens the already proposed interpretation of the yellow-dressed girl a wife, which is let to go this life for an afterlife, in the figure of Persephone.
Graphical abstract

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Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-023-01177-x
RESEARCH PAPER
The flax inthe“Flora’s image” intheAriadne House (Pompeian area,
Italy) asasymbol offeminine inawedding sacred totheafterlife
G.Caneva1,4 · A.Bourmaud2 · A.Bellini1 · A.Melelli3
Received: 22 February 2023 / Accepted: 8 July 2023
© The Author(s) 2023
Abstract
In ancient time, life elements, like plants and animals, and unanimated forces of nature were usually associated with specific
meanings related to deities and sacred rituals. In Roman archeology, the strong symbolic value of plants represented in wall
paintings and artifacts was proved by several contributions, but this topic is often neglected. In this paper, for the first time,
an interpretation is proposed for the plant represented in one of the most iconic paintings in Pompeii, the so-called “Flora”
in Ariadne’s house. Here, the analyzed plant is picked by a girl turned away and holding a floral cornucopia, and it plays
a relevant role in the scene. Through the analysis of its morphological elements, and comparing them with other ancient
representations, we suggest its identification as flax (Linum usitatissimum L.). Flax was an economically and culturally very
important plant, widely represented in objects and paintings in the Mesopotamian and Egyptian area. We also suggest that
the meaning behind the choice of depict flax was also related to its classical attribution as a symbol of fertility and afterlife
as well as linked to the “feminine” sphere. This interpretation, together with other elements of the images, strengthens the
already proposed interpretation of the yellow-dressed girl a wife, which is let to go this life for an afterlife, in the figure of
Persephone.
Graphical abstract
Keywords Flowers representation· Phytoiconology· Plant symbolism· Persephone· Roman archeology· Textiles
Extended author information available on the last page of the article

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
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1 Introduction
According to Panofsky (1962), a “synthetic intuition”
exists, which creates a theoretical and subjective model
to classify how “general and essential tendencies of the
human mind are expressed by specific themes and con-
cepts”. The interpretation and iconological description
are intricate and complicated (Winget 2009). However,
also, through the images of plants and their figurative ele-
ments, like flowers, leaves, and fruits in artifacts and paint-
ings, it is possible to comprehend the origin of certain
“archetypes”, intended as recurrent motifs associated with
common unconscious ideas that are connected to specific
cultures and geographical areas and which are still present
nowadays (Lévi‐Strauss 1970). Then despite the relevance
of some different interpretations (Sauron 1984; Förtsch
1989; Castriota 1995), it can be surprising that floristic
elements represented in ancient paintings and archeologi-
cal remains have often been considered only as decorative
motifs, having the mere function of making beauty.
This modern interpretation of images and artistic rep-
resentations inspired by nature contains a reductive view
since, for the ancient cultures, all natural phenomena were
associated with the expression and will of deities, having
results in human life as their aids or punishment (Baumann
1993; 2000; Amigues 2002; Vandi 2002; Caneva etal.
2005; Hart 2005; Kandeler 2006; Kandeler and Ulrich
2009a, b, c, d, e, f, g; Caneva 2010). In ancient Egypt, for
example, the flooding of the Nile was essential for the life
of the entire population. One of the most important duties
of the Egyptian pharaohs, believed to have divine powers,
was to ensure that the flood occurred every year by pray-
ing to the Gods. The absence of the Nile flood for 1 year
could have meant famine for the following year and, some-
times, for successive ones (Bell 1975). Furthermore, in
ancient times, food, medicine, furnishing, dresses, and any
tools useful for human needs were obtained from natural
resources, and their representation had a strong symbolic
and apotropaic value. From prehistoric times, the reason
for painting animals and anthropomorphic figures in the
caves of Lascaux and Altamira is commonly interpreted as
a propitiatory rite for hunting (Caneva etal. 2005).
Living elements, such as plants and animals, together
with the unanimated forces of nature, like earth, water, air,
and fires, became the basic ideological element in most
cultures all over the world (Frazer 1890; Chevalier and
Gheerbrant 1974; Baumann 1993; Day 2013), and have
remained relevant also in the modern age (Kandeler and
Ulrich 2009a, b, c, d, e, f, g; Caneva and Carpaneto 2011;
Signorini etal. 2011, 2017; Caneva etal. 2020). Conse-
quently, deities, characterized by immortality and special
powers, were often represented by natural elements. Such
artistic representations had a powerful effect on human
beings and were used for communication (Hölscher 1987;
Zanker 1989) in a context where most people were illit-
erate but experts in the power of nature (Caneva 2010;
Kumbaric etal. 2013; Caneva etal. 2014).
Plants were traded and exchanged between different coun-
tries or even continents, and their ancient artistic representa-
tions allow us to obtain indirect information on the relation-
ships between ancient populations by retracing the history
of the plants themselves (Caneva etal. 2005; Sadori etal.
2009; Franchi and Pacini 2017; Caneva 2022). Due to their
great importance, many plants were associated with specific
meanings, deities, sacred rituals, and games (Rhizopoulou
2004). In Greek mythology, plants of the Dionysian sphere,
such as the grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) (Savo etal. 2016) and
ivy (Hedera helix L.) (Motti etal. 2022) had a relevant rel-
evance. Famous is the tale of Athena, who won the compe-
tition against Poseidon by gifting the citizens of the city,
subsequently called Athene, with an olive tree (Olea euro-
paea L.) that symbolized rebirth, victory, and peace (Luyster
1965). The meaning of the olive tree has not changed over
the centuries, and together with the dove, the olive tree is
associated with the symbols of hope and rebirth in the Book
of Genesis, which recurs in the episode of Noah’s Ark and
the great Flood, and the Gospels, where is mentioned during
the Palm Sunday, before Easter that represents the triumphal
enters of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem (Grego 2022).
In the same way, many other plants had a strong sym-
bolic value. Some of them were mainly used as food, such
as grains and cereals (several species ofHordeum, Triticum,
Sorghum, Panicum, etc.), which became attributes of the
deities Demeter and Ceres (Tsoukala 2007), and as dates
(Phoenix dactylifera L.), which became the classical sym-
bol of the “arbor vitae” (Murphy and Murphy 2002; Rivera
etal. 2019). Other sacred plants were used as special bever-
ages or were used as medicine, such as the famous powerful
“silphion” (an extinctFerula) and the “moly herb” (probably
anAllium) (Amigues 2002). Among the plants with strong
symbolic meaning, some were used for mystical celebra-
tions, such as the laurel (Laurus nobilis L.), sacred to Apollo
(Albani Rocchetti etal. 2021).
Among the cultural and economic plants, one of the most
important and represented plants in the Middle East and Euro-
pean countries isLinum usitatissimumL.or the common flax.
Its cultivation has been constant over the millennia and across
different cultures due to its dual use as a food resource, thanks
to its seeds and oil, and to extract fibers to produce fabrics. The
domestication of this plant dates back to the ancient Mesopo-
tamians in the Fertile Crescent, although cultivation in large
crops was only developed by the Egyptians later (Van Zeist
and Bakker-Heeres 1975; Hopf 2008). In the European con-
tinent, the first traces of flax seeds and shives were found in
Italy, Spain, and Central Europe in archeological sites dated

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
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between 6000 and 5000years ago, but the cultivation of flax
on a large scale spread to the European continent thanks to the
commercial exchanges of Phoenicians and Romans (Melelli
etal. 2022; Desta 2019; Vaisey-Genser and Morris 2003) until
reaching ancient populations of the North located in England,
Denmark, and ancient Scandinavian countries (Ejstrud 2011;
Orendi 2020). The use of flax has survived to the present day,
and because of its rich history through so many different cul-
tures, it was also charged with strong allegory and depicted in
paintings and illustrations for millennia (Quillien 2014, 2016).
However, although, nowadays, flax fibers are mainly produced
in Western Europe and widely used in high-quality manufac-
turing or biocomposite materials for automotive or sports sec-
tors (Pil etal. 2015), the strong symbolic value behind the flax
plant has been forgotten by modern occidental society. That is
not the case for cereals, such as wheat, which in the past were
often depicted together with flax and with the same meaning
of fertility, abundance, and life but also maintained in modern
times. The universal image of wheat as a symbol of abundance
is also clearly visible in the choice of the logo representing
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(Kronstad 1997).
Considering Roman archeology, the strong symbolic
values of plants illustrated in wall paintings and artifacts
were proved by several contributions to artworks located in
the Pompeian (Jashemski etal. 2002; Ciarallo 2006; Motti
etal. 2022) and Roman areas (Caneva and Bohuny 2003;
Caneva 2010, 2022; Caneva etal. 2014, 2019; Kumbaric and
Caneva 2014). However, one of the most iconic paintings
in Pompeii, the so-called ‘Flora in Ariadne’s painting’, also
sometimes called ‘the Spring’ (Fig.1) in Stabiae complex,
and now in the National Archaeological Museum (MANN)
in Naples (inv. no. 8834), has not yet been deciphered. The
figure of the young woman had different interpretations,
even if Persephone is the prevailing one (Allroggen-Bedel
1977), and the plant depicted is still unknown.
In this paper, we will discuss the hypothesis of identifying
the plant illustrated as flax. Considering the importance of
explaining the meaning of the artistic representations, over-
all, when they are widely shared and used as touristic icons,
this study aims to analyze: (i) the plant elements selected for
the image of Flora in the Ariadne House, (ii) the probable
meaning of such choice, as related to the previous traditions,
and (iii) to give a proposal on the communicative value of
the image in the whole.
2 Materials andmethods
2.1 The site andtheimages’ interpretation
The archeological complex of theAriadne House(Villa Ari-
anna) covers a wide area (about 17.000 m2) on the Pianoro di
Varano, in the Pompeian area and the close Sorrentine pen-
insula, where several “otium houses”were located(Cama-
rdo 2001, 2021; Coralini 2021). Like the other complexes
of the archeological site in Stabiae, Ariadne’s house was a
secondary residence for families of the Roman aristocracy.
Following the stylistic features of the paintings (the third
style), it was dated to the age of Claudius and Nero (50 and
60 AD) (Schefold 1952; Allroggen-Bedel 1977; Hoti 1994).
The house takes its name from a large wall painting in a
widetriclinium(dining room), depicting the scene of Dio-
nysus meeting the sleeping Ariadne. In the wide complex
(Fig.2a, red area), other famous paintings were discovered
in private spaces (cubicula), such as the ‘Flora’ painting.
The house was first excavated, during 1757–1778, by Weber
and La Vega in different surveys until the more recent ones
of D’Orsi, which started in 1950. During the first excava-
tions, the discovered pictures were removed from the walls
and exhibited as framed pictures in the museum in Portici.
Indeed, the old excavations aimed to produce ‘many beauti-
ful pictures” for the Borbone king’s gallery, not to document
the ancient archeology of the site. Therefore, the occurred
excavation methodology had several criticisms for the lack
of documentation, which could help reconstruct the ancient
structures and their uses (Gardelli 2018).
Among the different pictorial representations found in the
house, special attention arises from the four small female
figures (Figs.1 and 3D) (about 38cm high and 32cm),
and especially the so-called “Flora” found in the room w26
(Fig.2a). Unfortunately, many other wall paintings have
been lost. Such figures are two on a green and two on a blue
background and considering certain details they appear as
counterparts (Hoti 1994). Indeed, the area from which such
pictures derive lies still underground and therefore their
‘material context’ and their original position still need to be
Fig. 1 The Flora’s image in the Ariadne House in the ancient Stabiae
complex (A) currently displayed at the MANN Museum (Naples)
together with the other three wall paintings depicting female subjects
from the same villa (B) (photo by G. Caneva)

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
precisely interpreted. However, these four pictures can be
paired thanks to similar elements: the homogeneous color
of the background (two on blue and two on green); to the
dates of discovery (that also has a binary association) and
to the clothes worn by the four women illustrated (those
on green backgrounds are roughly clothed, with garments
fluttering in the wind; the two figures on a blue background
stand quietly, they appear festively and expensively dressed
and adorned) (Allroggen-Bedel 1977). In the two pictures
with blue background (Fig.3A, B), the woman with the
sword is interpreted as Medea (Fig.3A) (recognizable by
the resemblance to other portraits and not by the sword as
his attribute) and the woman with a bow and arrow is inter-
preted as Penelope (Fig.3B) who is holding Odysseus’s
weapons in her hands; this latter is sometimes referred to
Diana (Allroggen-Bedel 2017). In the two pictures with a
green background, the woman holding a swan in her arm is
undisputedly considered as Leda (Fig.3C), who was seduced
by Zeus who approached her in the form of a swan; the sec-
ond woman is the so-called Flora (Fig.3D) (sometimes also
referred to as Spring and Hora), and in our paper, we will
discuss about an alternative interpretation as Persephone, in
agreement with Hoti (1994) and Allroggen-Bedel (2017).
The past identification of the woman depicted as Europa
abducted by Zeus in the form of a bull (Schefold 1952; Rob-
ertson 1988) has been abandoned. In fact, the author chose to
illustrate the swan in “Leda” to give a clear idea of the pres-
ence of Zeus and if he had wanted to make a clear reference
to the mythological story of Europa, he would probably also
have illustrated a bull (Hoti 1994; Allroggen-Bedel 2017).
In such final interpretations, those painted on a blue
ground represent regal unhappy wives (Medea and Penel-
ope), whereas those painted on a green wall are two mis-
tresses of a God (Leda and Persephone), both with garments
moving agitatedly (Allroggen-Bedel 2017). All pictures are
considered copies from Greek original models, and the orig-
inal of “Flora Image” was dated to a late Hellenistic time
(330 BC) (Hoti 1994).
2.1.1 The identification oftheplant inthe“Flora” image
Following the methodology previously adopted (Caneva
etal. 2005; Caneva 2010; Kumbaric and Caneva 2014), we
have analyzed the herbaceous plant represented on the right
Fig. 2 The Ariadne House in the ancient Stabiae complex (Pompeian
area, Italy); a planimetry of a part of the archeological complex of
the Ariadne’s House. Figure adapted from the original image of the
Archeological Park of Pompeii. (http:// pompe iisit es. org/ wpcon tent/
uploa ds/ mappa_ villa_ arian na-3. pdf); b the present urbanization and
the location of the archeological site (red circle) (source: google
earth)
Fig. 3 The four feminine images (respectively Medea (A) and Penel-
ope (B) on the top, and Leda (C) and Flora (D), interpreted as Perse-
phone, on the bottom) collected during the excavations of the eight-
eenth century from the walls of the Ariadne House (photo: Archivio
dell’Arte, Luciano Pedicini)

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
side of “Flora” considering several morphological data, such
as structural elements (size, plant architecture, habitus, i.e.,
herbaceous, arboreous or climbing); the shapes of leaves
(e.g., oval, truncate, elliptical, lanceolate, and linear) and
their general structure (simple or composed, their edges and
margins, their arrangements on the stem), the flowers mor-
phology (number of petals, color, symmetry), and eventual
further diagnostic elements (Pignatti 2019). These morpho-
logical data were used for the floristic taxonomic evaluation,
and the image was compared with the hypothesized taxa,
using botanic atlases of reference for Italian and Mediterra-
nean flora (Bonnier 1911–1933; Pignatti 2019; http:// dryad
es. units. it/ flori taly/, http:// www. thepl antli st. org), and also
with ancient botanic representation from the Roman con-
text (Jashemski etal. 2002; Kumbaric and Caneva 2014) and
Middle East (Rottoli and Pessina 2007; Jones 2010).
2.1.2 The economic andcultural values oftherepresented
plant andits iconographic meaning
To strengthen the interpretation of the plant, we have car-
ried out further analysis of the aspects that could have
been a reason for its selection. Considering the species that
emerged from the iconographic analysis, deepening its eco-
nomic and cultural values was deemed appropriate. There-
fore, we checked different sources on the economy of the
ancient society of the near East, especially in Egyptian and
Greco-Roman contexts, which could be helpful for such an
aim (Hopf 2008; Harlow and Nosch 2014). For the plant's
cultural and symbolic value, we also considered different
representations and comments on the species in the ancient
cultures ranging from the Sumerian and Pharaonic contexts
to the Roman ones (Mc Corriston 1997; Tsoukala 2007).
2.1.3 A proposal forthecommunicative value oftheimage
inthewhole
The picture was also analyzed to better interpret the image
as a whole, considering some relevant elements linked to the
selection. In particular, we considered the following:
• The subject (the main elements composing the image).
• The colors (the background of the picture, the girl’s
dress, the color of the plant and its flowers).
• The position of the woman and her action.
Such elements were considered based on documentation
found in classical Roman literature, such as, in particular,
the Naturalis Historiaby Pliny the Elder, theAeneidby
Virgil, De Architettura byVitruvius,andthe Metamor-
phosesbyOvid.Further modern literature on the mean-
ing of plant representation in Roman archeology (Amigues
2002; Caneva 2010; Kumbaric and Caneva 2014) and
symbolicdictionary (Chevalier and Gheerbrant 1974; Bau-
mann 1993) were also considered.
3 Results anddiscussion
3.1 The identification oftheplant
In the “Flora” painting, a tall and slender herbaceous plant
is represented with several flowered branches constituted by
small yellow and white flowers, having a number of petals
between three and five (Figs.1 and 4A and B). All along the
stem, small lanceolate leaves are alternated until reaching
the delicate flowers on the top. As suggested in the MANN
museum, interpreting the plant as anAsphodelusspecies
is incompatible with such plants’ long linear leaves, inflo-
rescences of different shapes, and smaller sizes. Following
several diagnostic characteristics, we propose the identifi-
cation of the plant as the flax used to extract fibers (Linum
usitatissimumL., a bast plant of the family Linaceae). It
should also be pointed out that this species shows a certain
morphological difference from linseed, which defines the
Fig. 4 A, B Details of flowers in the Flora paintings in the MANN
Museum, Naples (photo by G. Caneva); C images of wild flax (modi-
fied after Miller etal. 2016), D and from http:// dryad es. units. it/ flori
taly/ photo by A. Moro

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
flax plants used to extract oil and seeds. Such differences
in varieties are ancient, and traces of flax species used for
textiles or oil were found back to 5000years ago (Herbig and
Maier 2011). In particular, the characteristics that guided the
identification arise from the combination of the below-listed
morphological elements:
• The herbaceous habitus(no woody structures are detect-
able)and the size of the plant.Indeed, in the painting,
the size seems a bit higher than expected for flax (using
for comparison the girl's size, even if commonly in the
ancient iconography, it is represented with very tall
size). A great height characterizes both flax and linseed
(between 80 and 120cm for flax and between 60 and
80cm for linseed (Salmon-Minotte and Franck 2005),
and the diameter of the stem is around 2–3mm). These
specific dimensions give flax a unique morphology
among herbaceous plants with an extraordinary slen-
derness and aspect ratio. Despite this, the mature flax
plant can resist wind or rainfall and maintain the vertical
position thanks to the great mechanical performances of
its supporting tissues and, above all, the phloemian long
fibers (Goudenhooft etal. 2019).
• The linear shape of the leaves and their disposition,
which appear simple, and alternately disposed along the
stem. Note that the stem of the flax has small 3-nerved
linear-lanceolate leaves that alternate along it until it
reaches the branches with flowers and capsules when the
plant matures (Esau 1953). At full maturity, however, the
leaves become dry by leaving the stem empty and with a
warm yellow–brown color.
• The branches arrangement,which is compatible with
the species. Notably, few differences can be observed
between flax and linseed, such as the number of branches
and seeds produced that is higher in linseed because of
the artificial selection that accentuated these features.
Oleaginous flax exhibits more ramifications than textile
flax, mainly because of differences in the seeding density;
a low seeding rate increases the ramifications (even for
textile varieties) (Gubbels and Kenaschuk 1989).
• The flower morphology. Even if flowers are depicted with
harsh elements, which cannot be very useful for a pre-
cise definition, the size, the number of petals, and color
can be compatible. Indeed, flax flowers can vary in color
(often blue for current varieties, but also white) and in
shape (generally five petals, rarely four), depending on
the subspecies and variety (Salmon-Minotte and Franck
2005). The number of petals is not detectable here, but
a number of three and four petals is unusual for flax. We
need to consider that, as the girl's head and torso are
rotated, suggesting not only movement but also the depth
of the plane, the flowers may have been shown in profile
rather than in frontal position with all the petals visible.
Moreover, the choice of yellow and pale blue/white flow-
ers can also indicate the artist's intention of illustrating
two different flax species, such astryginumandusitatis-
simum.
It should be mentioned that the progenitor of the common
flax is the wild flax (also called pale flax orLinum angus-
tifolium Huds.). This last commonly has light or pale blue
flowers, while the cultivated ones have mainly blue flowers
and rarely pink or red–violet ones (Diederichsen and Ham-
mer 1995). The other wild species possibly represented in
the illustration of “Flora” is theLinum trigynum L.,also
calledLinum gallicum L.,which is characterized by small
yellow flowers and is commonly present in France and Italy.
That is particularly important because, historically, although
in Italy, traces of the use of flax were found in Northern Italy
dated the Late Neolithic period (Rottoli and Pessina 2007).
Lately, Romans did not have the adapted soils to grow a
significant quantity of flax to satisfy the demand, and they
mainly bought linen and fibers from Egypt and Spain (Pliny
the Elder, Nat. Hist., book XIX). After taking control of
Gaul, they organized the new colonies to cultivate flax and
increase self-production (Raheel 2013).
3.2 An overview oftheeconomic andcultural
values oftheflax andthesupposed meaning
ofits representation
3.2.1 The crop andits economic value forfibers andsailing
After the first cultivation in Mesopotamia, the cultivation
of flax spread in Egypt, where it became the most used raw
material for textile production in the everyday life of ancient
Egyptians. Furthermore, before cotton or synthetic fibers
were developed, flax was largely used for sailing applica-
tions because of its remarkable mechanical properties for
other plant fibers (Black and Samuel 1991). Flax was also
recurrent not only in the representation of tombs, which
document the economic and symbolic values of the plant, as
later described but also in sailings representation. The com-
parison between the representation from the Aegean area
(Fig.5A–E) and ancient Mesopotamia (f) shows a clear sim-
ilarity among them (Ulanowska 2022). Representing flax in
the sails may have been a way to give importance to the plant
that allowed navigation and the expansion of trade among
the populations of the Mediterranean. Although the height
of the plant cannot help us (except in f where the plants are
represented as tall as the human figures), the three branches
plus the circular elements on top and the small lanceolate
leaves, which are described alternated in Fig.5A and B, can
suggest the plant as flax. The presence of capsules can give
the idea of the plant's maturity, and the leaves also mean that
the plant is in the growing stage between the seed formation

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
season and full maturity when the capsules begin to turn
brown. The stem gradually loses its leaves (Goudenhooft
etal. 2019). The maturity of the flax plant also corresponds
to the right time to harvest it and extract the fibers.
Flax is an annual plant that can be cultivated twice a year,
sowing the crop in March or November, depending on the
varieties and temperatures at certain latitudes. According to
the cumulated temperatures, flax and linseed plants reach
maturity very early, approximately 100days after seeding.
Flax growing and cultivation is perfectly adapted to a tem-
pered or oceanic climate, and the leading world production is
located in Western Europe and especially in Belgium, Neth-
erlands, and France. The French Normandy and Hauts-de-
France regions represent approximately 75% of the world's
textile flax fiber production; in Western Europe, flax plants
are cultivated between the end of March and July (AAVV
2022).
In ancient Mesopotamia, flax was used as a winter crop.
In contrast to barley and sesame, which were grown only in
large crops, flax was grown in both crops and, more often, in
well-watered small orchards and gardens for personal family
use (Bedigian and Harlan 1986; Miller etal. 2016). On the
contrary, ancient Egyptians used to cultivate large crops in
mid-November following the Nile floods. Even nowadays,
in this country, flax producers continue to sow flax in the
Nile estuary during this time of the year, while harvesting
occurs in March–April. On the other hand, in the past, in
Europe, flax was sown mainly in Spring, around March,
and the harvesting process took place in July. Nowadays, in
Europe, some flax varieties, called winter varieties, can be
sown in winter as well, although they are mainly cultivated
for seeds and not fibers (Arslanoglu etal. 2022). Currently,
there is a renewed interest in these varieties due to climate
changes and, in particular, summers that are too hot and too
dry, which cause troubles in the growth and retting of the
plants (Arslanoglu etal. 2022).
3.2.2 The symbolic association withthefertility,
thefeminine, andtheunderworld
Flax needs significant rainfall (around 250mm during the
growing period, i.e., from the end of March to the end of
June in Europe) or well-irrigated soils (Goudenhooft etal.
2019). This particular need seems to have influenced the
symbolism attributed to this plant which became synony-
mous with fertility in several cultures. It was associated with
Fig. 5 A–E Flax’ motif on
Aegean seals. CMS IV 135b);
CMS X 312c; CMS II,2
259CHIC 038–010–031; CMS
III 186b; CMS III 237a. F
Seal from Susa, Mesopotamia
(Breniquet 2008), G–H Flax in
the Warka vase (modified after
Miller etal. 2016)

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
the goddess Inanna, a goddess linked with the underworld,
war, and death but also to fertility and love (Collins 1994).
The flax motif was adopted in early Mesopotamia. It
occurs in the imagery of the Middle and Late Uruk period
(fifth and early fourth millennia), found in earlier Late
Chalcolithic glyptic traditions. In particular, in the Warka
Vase, a famous alabaster vase of approximately 96cm in
height, and in Warka Mace, plants having the shape of a
trident are represented (Fig.5G, H), and researchers agree
on its interpretation as flax (Miller etal. 2016). These plants
are also characterized by small lanceolate leaves all along
the stem until to reach the schematized flowers or capsules
represented as filled circles. For the previously underlined
symbolic value, in the Warka Vase, flax plants alternate with
another plant that could be associated with wheat/barley or
palm plants; in both cases, other strong symbols of fertility
draw a motif (Miller etal. 2016).
Another critical point is that the textile production and
all the processes linked to the fiber extraction were made
on textile farms where children and women who often were
prisoners of war worked (Mc Corriston 1997). However, in
Babylonia, not only women but also men were responsible
for textile production. Written sources mainly refer to tex-
tile workers as men rather than women, especially for high-
quality fabrics. On the other hand, some written resources
describe the work of female slaves in textile production for
domestic use in private homes (Quillien 2016).
In Egypt, the cultivation and harvesting of flax involved
both women and men (see Fig.6), probably because of the
laborious and time-consuming process. On the other hand,
the extraction process, as illustrated in the tomb of Dagi
TT103 at Thebes (Vogelsang-Eastwood 2000), and the
weaving process, as suggested by the small wooden figu-
rines (JE 46723) found in the tomb of Meketre (11th dynasty
c 2134 1991 BC. Deir El Bahri), was mostly a women duty.
That linked the flax plant and its processing to the female
sphere again; flax products such as bridal sheets are liter-
ary “topos” connected to femininity. The so-called Egyptian
“harim” were independent estates for women, wives, and
concubines linked to the Egyptian royal family. Although lit-
tle information survived about life in these particular estates,
researchers support that one of the duties of these women
was to produce textiles to cover, at least in part, their subsist-
ence costs (Robins 1993).
In Fig.6, the wall painting in the tomb of Sennedjem
(TT1) illustrates the deceased and his wife's intent to pull
out a flax crop. Flax plants are regularly aligned in the field
and are depicted with a long green line and a single yellow
ovoid element on top. This manner of schematizing flax is
even more simplistic than that of the Warka Vase. No leaves
are present in the stem, which can indicate the plant's full
maturity, also suggested by the yellow element on top repre-
senting the browning of the capsules according to the right
time of harvesting. Another essential characteristic is that
the flax plants illustrated seem extremely tall compared to
the two human figures, underlining the remarkable slender-
ness of the plant again.
In Fig.7, representing the Petosiris Tomb, it is possible
to see another representation of the same harvesting time in
Egypt. This tomb is more recent (IV Century BC), and the
influence of the Romans in Egypt's culture and art is evident.
The human figures are less stylized, wearing clothes with
plies that suggest depth. Flax is always represented with a
long stem, but it also has small leaves in this case. Here, the
typical three branches are re-introduced as in ancient Meso-
potamia, while the flax plants already pulled out and laid
down horizontally are represented with only one capsule.
Once again, in the same wall painting, flax and barley/wheat
harvesting times are represented in separate scenes but one
next to the other, highlighting the primary importance of
both these plants in the Egyptian's daily life.
Curiously, flax, with the double meaning of fertility and
death that it is possible to find in the Uruk culture, seems to
have been assimilated by the ancient Egyptians. An example
is Sakhmet, the ancient Egyptian lioness goddess who was
defined both “the lady of life” because she was considered
able to give or prevent pestilences and the “lady of bright
red linen” about her warlike and bloodthirsty nature (Hart
2005). It is possible to find another example in the mean-
ing of colors. The fertile soil deposited during the floods of
the Nile was black. This color was also important for the
ancient Egyptians because of the bitumen and resins used
for embalming, which subsequently led to the blackening of
Fig. 6 Flax and wheat Egypt Deir el-Medina, tomb of Sennedjem,
Ramesside Period (13th to eleventh centuries BC) (images from ©
The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt and © Gerd Eichmann
1982)

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
the mummified body. In addition, it was believed that the
Nile River had originated from the Underworld, contrarily
to rainfalls referred to as “the Nile in the sky” that for Egyp-
tians was provided by the God Aten.
For this reason, essential Gods like Osiris, who repre-
sented the afterlife's king, were also associated with agricul-
ture and grains as a natural link (Hart 2005). The monarch,
the manifestation of Horus during his life, became Osiris
after his death as a new king in the afterlife. Flax, whose
grains were removed (rippling) and whose fibers were
extracted after letting the flax plants in water for the retting
process, became an apparent reference to the fate of God
Osiris, that was assassinated (in some myths, he drowned
and in others, he was dismembered), as the ancient Egyptian
word for flax (mhy)and the past participle intended as “the
drowned” (mhy)are the same (Eisler 1950). It is not surpris-
ing that in some cases, the pantheon of ancient Egyptians
had some points in common with the Sumerians, Greeks,
and Romans, in turn, embraced and readapted part of the
Egyptian pantheon and symbolism to their cults.
An example of this integration of fertility and the under-
world can be seen with the Demeter cult among Greeks
and Ceres among Romans. Goddess of the earth and agri-
culture but also the underworld goddess because sowing
means burying dried seeds in the ground to grow the plant
successfully. Ancient populations saw this act as the anal-
ogy to burying the dead to give them an afterlife (Burton
2011). However, among the Romans and Greeks, there
was also the God Hades, who was associated with both
the underworld and fertility. Hades is known in mythology
as the brother of Zeus, who rules the underworld, and an
example of his duality can be seen in the Pinax of Perse-
phone and Hades at Locri, Italy. The couple is illustrated
sitting on thrones and having flowers, roosters, and wheat
in their hands to highlight the connection with wealth,
earth, and harvest. In early Greece as well, women were
associated with flax processing, particularly in the spin-
ning process (Burke 2016).
3.3 A proposal onthecommunicative value
oftheimage asawhole
Matching the interpreted iconographic values of the selected
plant with other elements of the context, we can obtain a
more general view of the scene. According to the most accu-
rate iconological study of such paintings (Allroggen-Bedel
2017), this interpretation seems also to be in harmony with
the other wall paintings of the triclinium in villa Ariadne.
Here is recurrent the theme of unhappy love, such as the
scene of Hypnos that shows the sleeping Ariadne to Dio-
nysus after that Theseus abandoned her at Naxos (or the
Hippolytus and Phaedra scene). The dream and the awak-
ening of Ariadne represent essential episodes in Dionysian
art and literature, and the fact that sleeping is equated with
death and awakening with resurrection is common (de la
Fuente 2021).
More specifically, in the Flora painting, a young girl is
represented: (a) turning her back to the observer, on a (b)
green background and showing (c) a fluttering yellow dress
covering a white tunic. She is depicted as (d) holding a cor-
nucopia of flowers with her left hand while (e) picking a flax
flower with her right hand.
3.3.1 The turning position ofthegirl
The position of the girl, who is turning away from the
observer and with the features of her face and her beauty
unrevealed, suggests that her action is nearing its conclusion
without giving a chance to discover her. That supports the
hypothesis that the artist wanted to represent a melancholic
scene of Persephone before the rap rather than a delight-
ful one that could be more adapted to the representation of
“Flora” (Allroggen-Bedel 2017).
Fig. 7 The decoration of the Pronaos of Petosiris’ tomb: themes,
scenes, styles, and techniques"—sales harvest of barley or wheat (top)
and flax (bottom) fourth century BC (Sales 2016)

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
3.3.2 The green background
We also observe that the green ground, which is common
with “Leda” images, suggests the color of a meadow, and
according again to Allroggen-Bedel (2017), this choice cre-
ates a more natural and human plane with respect to the
blue background of “Medea” and “Penelope” images, which
suggests a celestial plane, creating a “divine” atmosphere for
these two regal women.
3.3.3 The fluttering yellow dress
Contrary to the two regal women, illustrated in a statuesque
motionless pose and adorned with rich fabrics, which con-
tribute to creating more divine and immortalized characters
(Allroggen-Bedel 2017), the fluttering and simpler garments
create a human atmosphere.Indeed, the yellow tunic of the
young woman seems to allude to a wedding representation,
and it marks the stage of life from adolescence to maturity.
Indeed, the yellow color of garments in a ritual context has
been shown to have strong associations withArtemis Brau-
ronia,the goddess who presides over the liminal coming-of-
age rituals for young Athenian girls in transition to a mature
stage (Martin 2022). In fact, in the rites of passage intended
to mark the maturation of young Athenian girls from child-
hood to adulthood, they wore a special garment dyed with
saffron known as thekrokotos.The bright yellow of saffron-
dyed cloth permeated the experience of the rituals, as well as
broader connotations of femininity and womanhood.
3.3.4 The cornucopia withflowers
The cornucopia with flowers is undoubtedly a symbol of
fertility. It may allude to the fecundity of the woman, whose
first duty as a wife after marriage was to have children, but
also as a reference to the harvest recalling the earth since
flax was used for oil and seeds. Furthermore, in fact, Hades
is often associated with a cornucopia (Burton 2011; Boru-
mand 2018). An example is the vase with red attic figures
(Catalog No. Athens 16,346; Beazley Archive No. 214719)
at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens and dated
Classical period, attributed to the Orestes Painter. The vase
description reports that the scene depicts Hades next to
Persephone while fertilizing the earth thanks to a cornu-
copia. The cornucopia with fruits is a furthertoposused to
describe the reached prosperity.
3.3.5 The picking flowers offlax
The act of the girl picking the flowers at the top can evoke
all the fragility of beauty and wealth symbolized by the flax
plant. The choice to depict the flax plant can be interpreted
considering that among the Egyptians, flax had a strong
ambivalent symbolism, linked both to fertility and to the
underworld (Collins 1994), which among Romans and
Greeks, we can find in the figures of the goddess Demeter
and Ceres, respectively (Chevalier and Gheerbrant 1974).
It is noticeable that the myth of Persephone and Hades was
used to explain the seasons and the death or flowering of
plants and flowers linked to the anger (autumn and winter) or
happiness (spring and summer) of Demeter cyclically sepa-
rated and reunited with her daughter Persephone (Chevalier
and Gheerbrant 1974). In the “Flora” painting, the plant is
not fully mature but is in the reproductive stage. That can
be an analogy with the girl's young age, especially if we
consider that flax was associated with the “feminine” sphere.
The association with the myth of Persephone explains the
usual erroneous interpretation of the plant of anAsphode-
luswithout an analysis of the plant representation. How-
ever, through the present work, we can observe how even
the choice of flax contains a strong suggestion and symbolic
reference.
Finally, why do we no longer recognize the drama and
melancholy of the representation? Why do we prefer to
call the girl Flora instead of Persephone? Why do not we
give more importance to the colors, actions, and plants
illustrated, even if they are relevant to the scene? For the
first question, we can note that—as for all the four Stabian
women—the scene represents “an even earlier moment: the
drama of the portrayal results from the viewers’ knowledge,
they know the iconographic and mythological context of the
figures” Allroggen-Bedel (2017). Thus, the answer is that
we have commonly loosened mythological knowledge and
cannot acknowledge such allusion. The second question is
strictly connected to our loosening of mythological views.
It probably arises from the grace of the image and from the
presence of flowers, which easily reconnects to the image
of Spring. The third question finds an explanation for the
loosening of symbolic values in the representation and our
small familiarity with nature. When analyzing the ancient
representation and interpreting their messages, we cannot
apply the modern feeling, but it is fundamental to rediscover
their way of communication (Caneva 2010).
4 Conclusion
All the elements describing the famous painting of the young
girl (age, dress color, action, and position) picking flowers in
the Ariadne House fit with a representation of Persephone
immediately before the dramatic rap by Hade. The charac-
teristics of the painted plants have clear similarities with
the flax plant, as illustrated by Egyptians and Sumerians.
The selection of the flax plant can be explained consider-
ing its classical association with the “feminine” and is a
representation of both “fertility” and of the “underworld”,

Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali
1 3
which can be found in ancient cultures, particularly in the
ancient Greco-Roman one. Then the representation of plants
and flowers does not simply allude to “Flora”, which is the
personification of the Spring, but strengthens the deep, even
if cryptic, allusion to the mythological sphere.
Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the support of NBFC
to Univ of Roma Tre/Dep. Science, funded by the Italian Ministry of
University and Research, PNRR, Missione 4 Componente 2, “Dalla
ricerca all’impresa”, Investimento 1.4, Project CN00000033. The
French National Research Agency (ANR) is also thanked for funding
the ANUBIS project (Grant number ANR-21-CE43-0010).
Author contributions GC and AM have particularly contributed to the
study conception and design; methodology: GC, AB, and AM; formal
analysis and investigation: all authors; writing—original draft prepara-
tion: GC and AM; writing—review and editing: all authors; funding
acquisition: GC and AB; supervision: all authors. All authors have read
and approved the final manuscript.
Funding Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi
Roma Tre within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
Data availability All data generated or analysed during this study are
included in this published article.
Declarations
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
Consent to participate All authors agree to participate in the work.
Consent for publication All authors approve and consent for publica-
tion of paper.
Ethics approval All authors approve and agree on respect for ethics.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri-
bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta-
tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
were made. The images or other third party material in this article are
included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in
the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a
copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/.
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Authors and Aliations
G.Caneva1,4 · A.Bourmaud2 · A.Bellini1 · A.Melelli3
* G. Caneva
giulia.caneva@uniroma3.it
1 Dip. Science, Univ. Roma Tre, Viale Marconi 446,
00146Rome, Italy
2 Univ. Bretagne Sud, UMR CNRS 6027, IRDL,
56100Lorient, France
3 Synchrotron SOLEIL, 91190Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
4 National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Università di
Palermo, Piazza Marina 61, 90133Palermo, Italy