The National Archaeological Museum in Athens has reached into its vaults and unveiled octopus-themed artifacts from burials on Crete dating to the Late Minoan phase of the Neopalatial period.
On display until January 28, 2026 is a collection of four seemingly simple clay objects: a chest-shaped larnax and three “false-mouthed” stirrup jars. What makes these vessels fascinating is their decoration: wide-eyed, cartoon-like octopus images whose undulating tentacles wrap around the clay like living seaweed.
A crisis written in clay
According to archaeologist Kostas Paschalidis, who spoke to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), the sudden dominance of marine motifs in Minoan art—known as the “Maritime Style”—was likely a response to the catastrophic eruption of the Santorini volcano (c. 1600–1450 BC). Prior to this “black swan” event, Minoan frescoes and ceramics favored terrestrial life: monkeys, crocus flowers, and olive groves.
Post-eruption, the imagery shifted. As ash clouded the sun and tsunamis devastated the northern coast of Crete, the Minoan worldview fractured. Mountain sanctuaries were abandoned, the prominent female goddess receded, and the “Maritime Style”—featuring argonauts, sea urchins, and octopuses—became the dominant visual language.
The mystery of the missing dead
Perhaps the most jarring revelation from the exhibit is the “great silence” of the archaeological record. Despite the Neopalatial period being the most populous era of Minoan antiquity, researchers have found almost no cemeteries from these 250 years.
“We have no remnants of funerary pyres or bone material disposed of in ravines,” Paschalidis explains. “Were they buried at sea? We may never know.”
Nearly one hundred years after the explosion on Santorini, Mycenaeans invaded Crete, and it is after their takeover that cemeteries started appearing again in excavations in multitudes. The Cretans reintroduced the use of the larnax, which the Mycenaeans never had, and decorated them with marine motifs again.
The octopus: The beneficial demon
The octopus, far from being a maritime monster, appears to have served as a “beneficial demon” or a psychopomp—a guide for souls. Aristotle would later praise the octopus for its intelligence and “domestic” habits, but for the Minoans, it likely represented a magical companion for the transition from life to death.
“The octopus does not recognize humans as enemies,” Paschalidis muses. In an era of volcanic terror and tsunamis, this curious, intelligent creature may have offered a “symbolic key” for a society trying to manage an unimaginable crisis.
Related: Four Landmark Museums Opening in Athens in 2026
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