Swallow from Bronze Age Akrotiri Brooch

The swallows from the frescoes and painted pottery from the Bronze Age town of Akrotiri (on the island today known as Santorini) are truly iconic. Their joy of flight and levity captured in these startling depictions surprises with a sense of movement. Often reproduced in media today, these swallows are among the best-known images from the Bronze Age Aegean. This image comes from a painted pot from Akrotiri (c. 1650 BC).