Santorini, Greece

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Santorini is an island grouping in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. The name Santorini comes from Saint Irene. The entire grouping was once known as Thera but today that name is used specifically to refer to one island. Thera is the largest island of the group, others are Therasia, the Kameni Islands and littleAspronisi.

The islands are known both for their natural beauty, night life and romantic restaurants. Santorini beaches and hotels are a popular vacation destination for tourists and ofen visited by cruise ships. The modern capital of Santorina is Fira - also spelt Phira - which is a village located at the top of a cliff and the mount is home to many restaurants, hotels and shops. Many tourists find their holiday accomodation here, from self-catering apartments to luxury hotel suite.

Another popular cliff-top village is Oia which is famed for its sunset, called by some the best in the world.

To the wyrdologist Santorini is probably best known not for its walks, beaches and traditional Vinsanto wine but more as one of the suggested locations for the lost city of Atlantis.

And Was Atlantis Builded There?

Why should Santorini be the location of Atlantis? The suggestion is that the legend of the lost city - or continent - might have been a reference to the ancient Minoan civilisation. The Minoans were a rich, advanced civilisation who were based in Crete. Santorini or Thera was a major Minoan settlement.

The Santorini islands were home to much volcanic activity, in particular a massive eruption of Mount Santorini somewhere beteen 1650 and 1600 BCE. It has been suggested that the tsunamis and long-term climatic disturbance caused by this eruption could have wiped out not only the inhabitants of the islands themselves but also most of the Minoan civilisation. The date of the eruption would seem to tie in with the sudden and otherwise unexplained disappearance of the Minoans.

Plato

The written legend of Atlantis begins with Plato's Kritias and Timaios dialogues and much of the story there would fit with the Santorini theory. Plato's account of Atlantis and its destruction would seem to be consistent with what we know of the ancient Minoans and their possible destruction following volcanic eruption.

Unfortunately there are two major respects in which Plato's account differs from the Santorini event: the time and the place.

Plato believed that Atlantis had been destroyed some 9000 years before he was writing in around 360 BCE, which is way off. Plato also stated clearly that Atlantis was located around the Straits of Gibraltar (the Pillars of Hercules). Another criticism of the Santorini-Atlantis link is that the ancients were familiar with volcanoes - if they had been referring to a volcano they would have said so.

So the theory that Santorini was the location of Atlantis is not without its drawbacks, however many people consider it one of the most likely possibilities. If nothing else it should give you something to talk about on the flight!

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