Ghost of a flea

They base their case on frescoes at Thera, a Greek island in the Aegean, that have been thought to depict a goddess overseeing the production of perfume or spice. Instead, the scholars say, the frescos, from 1500 or 1600 B.C. — the exact date is a topic of debate — show the goddess presiding over the manufacture and use of a drug from the saffron flower.