Minoan Hair

In the frescoes of Thera, a blue scalp (similar to the above) is often associated with youth. Did the girl in this fresco shave her head and paint it blue? Or did this girl cut her hair short and dye it blue? Did this girl really even look like this in the flesh? Was she even a real person or a product of the artist's imagination? Experts in the field can only speculate.

I tend to believe she was real. Look at the piece by her ear. Look at the lines of black within the blue. That type of detail seems unusual for artistic invention to me. Some experts believe the black lines indicate some level of hair under the blue pigment negating the idea that her scalp had been cleanly shaven.

In any case, it appears the depiction of hair by Minoan artists had meaning. Was it age or social status or a matter of ritual?

The hair is just another mystery left behind by a culture lost to the second most horrific volcanic eruption in history.

Beautiful girl!