Minoan Woman: Detail of a Bull Sacrifice. circa 1450-1400 BC.

This image suggests the kind of confident young woman who figures with Theseus in his Minoan adventures, such as Ariadne. The women in Dream seem to expect more freedom of choice as this pre-Theseus matriarchal culture of Crete would have allowed: both young women in the play get their way ultimately against male wills. Sarcophagus of Hagia Triada. Detail of Bull Sacrifice, circa 1450-1400 BC. Pigment Molded, painted Minoan (Late): Herakleion. Archeological Museum. ©Kathleen Cohen: Cohen World Images (California State University): under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 License.