I'd like to know more about Minoan women toreadors. I understand that there is a fresco that shows women vaulting over the bull?
   Dona, 15, Santa Monica, California

Dr. dig responds:

The frescos in the royal palace at Knossos, Crete, include a now restored scene of "leapers" who are shown jumping over the bull's back! Gender is not immediately obvious, but it is believed that the white or pale yellow figures are female and the darker red figures, male. Both have curled hair, and both wear kilts and boots. It is likely that the leapers were professional acrobats, and that the bull-leaping was as much a religious ritual as an entertainment. The Minoans were in contact with the ancient Egyptians, and images of bull-leaping, including some figures which may be female, have been recovered from the Nile Delta.