The olive tree

The olive tree that Anaxandra hides her mother's jewels and Medusa idol in on Siphnos is a symbol of safety and Anaxandra's contact with the gods. Many people on Siphnos tell her not to go around that tree since it is controlled by Pan, the god of chaos, but Anaxandra does not heed their warnings and goes to hide her valuable things there. On the day that Siphnos is invaded, snakes chase her out of the branches, which alerts her to the fact that something is about to go wrong.

The octopus

The octopus that Anaxandra places on her head to scare the pirates away on Siphnos is a symbol of Anaxandra's ingenuity and strength in the face of something horrible. She has watched Nicander be killed by these pirates, but she still ultimately works up the nerve to scare them by pretending to...