Abstract
This thesis analyzes the current state of Bronze Age Aegean research through the lens of the Flotilla Fresco in the Miniature Fresco program in the West House, located in Akrotiri, Thera (Santorini). Five insects within this fresco have been identified as butterflies due to conventions set by Sir Arthur Evans in the late 1800s, a convention which the paper challenges through a contextual approach. The fresco itself is analyzed along with all surrounding information, including its archaeological and economic contexts, to determine if the butterfly label is accurate. With this added context, the insects are more probably meant to be moths related to wild-silk production. This would be to show off the wealth of the house’s owner and their status as a textile merchant, which is evidenced from the archaeological evidence of loom weights and other faculties in the building, as the function of frescoes was to act as a display of status.