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The words that the
Nobel Prize winner Odysseas Elytis used in his "Ode
to Santorini" to pay tribute to the Santorini volcano.
Santorini: Once upon a time, over 4.000 years
ago, there was a round island in the southern Aegean, called Strongyli. It
had been cre-ated piece by piece from solidified lava produced by the
volcano.
On
Strongyli, at the town of Akrotiri, prospered one of the most significant
prehistoric civilizations of the Mediterranean.
Nevertheless, some
time between 1625 and 1635 BC, the volcano erupted. Known as "the Minoan
eruption", it caused a big part of Strongyli to sink and created a huge
crater that filled with sea-water - and this is how what is now called the
Caldera was formulated.
The civilisation at Akrotiri was buried
beneath the lava and only three pieces were left of Strongyli: Santorini,
Thirassia and Aspronissi. Much later, the volcano gave birth to two more
islands, Palia and Nea Kameni, which people now refer to as "the volcano".
Palia Kameni was the result of a series of erup-tions from 46 BC to 726
AD, while Nea Kameni was "built" by six successive erup-tions between 1570
and 1950.
Santorini, Greece
Location: 36.4N, 25.4E
Elevation: 1,850 feet (564 m
The eruption of Santorini in Greece in 1,650 B.C. was one of the
largest (VEI=6)
in the last
10,000 years. About 7 cubic miles (30 cubic km) of
rhyodacite
magma was erupted. The plinian column during the initial phase
of the eruption was about 23 miles (36 km) high. The removal of
such a large volume of magma caused the volcano to collapse,
producing a c aldera. Ash fell over a large area in the eastern
Mediterranean and Turkey. The eruption probably caused the end
of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete.
Santorini is complex of overlapping shield volcanoes.
Basalt and
andesite lava flows that make the shield are exposed in the cliff below the town of Phira. Some of t
he cliff is thought to be a
caldera wall associated with an eruption 21,000 year ago. Druitt and Francaviglia (1992) found evidence of at least 12 large explosive eruptions in the last 200,000 years at Santorin
i. The white layer at the top is the Minoan tephra from the 1,650 B.C. eruption. Photography copyrighted by Robert Decker.
Exposure of about 150 feet (50 m) of Minoan tephra. The tephra consists of
pumice,
pyroclastic surge, and pyroclastic flow deposits. Photography copyrighted by Ro
bert Decker
Akroteri, a Minoan city on the south part of Thera, is being excavated. About 3-6 feet (1-2 m) of ash fell on the city which had a population of about 30,000. The residents appear to have been successfully evacuated prior to the eruption. No bodies hav
e been found in the ash like those at
Vesuvius.
Archeologists also reported that movable objects had been taken
from the city. Photography copyrighted by Robert Decker
The Kameni Islands formed after the caldera. Eleven eruptions since 197 B.C. have made the two islands. The most recent eruption at Santorini was in 1950 on Nea Kameni, the northern island. The eruption was phreatic and lasted less than a month. It co
nstructed a dome and produced lava flows. Photography copyrighted by Robert Decker.
For a description of the tectonics of the Hellenic arc and the Aegean Sea visit the
volcanic island of Nisyros.
Santorini Volcano Eruption
197 BC. Eruption of the volcano.
19 AD. Eruption of the volcano.
46 AD. Eruption of the volcano
726 AD. Eruption of the volcano.
1204 AD. The Fourth Crusade created the Latin Empire of the Bosphorus.
1207 AD. The Duchy of Naxos of the Archipelago was founded and assigned to Marco I Sanudo. Thera was ceded as a Barony to Giacomo Barozzi. The administration remained in the hands of five generations of Barozzis until 1296. The Barozzis used to call themselves "Dominatores insularum
Santorini et
Therasia".
1296 AD. The Byzantine Likarios liberated Santorini along with the islands of Amorgos, Seriphos, Kea, Ios, Siphnos and Pholegandros.. However the newly-won freedom was very short lived and before the year was out the Barozzis had returned to Santorini.
During the next years the history of the island is the history of the rivalries between local lords and the Duke of Naxos or disputes between the latter and the Turks.
1570 or 1573 AD. Eruption of the volcano.
1579-1821 AD. Turkish occupation
1650 AD. Eruption of the volcano (26th Sept - 6 Dec)
1707 AD. Eruption of the volcano (23rd May - 17th Jan 1708)
1821 AD. Santorini is liberated.
1866-1870 AD Eruption of the volcano.
1870 AD. Mamet and Gorceix carried out a trial excavation in Akrotiri where a late Minoan settlement exists.
1899 AD. Robert Zahn carried out minor excavations at the site of Potamos (Akrotiri)
1925 AD 11th Aug - 1926 AD 21st May. Eruption of the volcano
1928 AD. Eruption of the volcano (23rd Jan - 17th Mar)
1939 AD End Aug - 1941 Beg July. Eruption of the volcano
1950 AD. Eruption of the volcano (10th Jan - 2nd Feb)
1967 AD. Professor Marinatos begun excavations at Akrotiri and uncovers a Late Minoan settlement.
Today An island which can be described as a paradise for tourists and archaeologists.
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