Minoan Octopus from a "Marine Style" Vase Brooch
One of the most distinctive types of painted pottery from Minoan Crete is the "Marine Style" series, which typically features fabulously-tentacled octopi whose wiggling extremities wrap around the vase surface in a beautifully rhythmic and balanced though asymmetrical way. The pottery example that inspired this particular brooch dates c. 1500 BC.