The Eruption of Thera and its Effects on Civilization Scott Abel, Bess Trout The eruption of the volcano

at Thera, otherwise known as Santorini, resulted in much destruction and loss. Many of the details and results of the eruption are still in doubt, but we know that the results of the eruption and explosion at Thera had catastrophic results for the island. This destruction was the result of geological forces far beyond the control of the people of the Aegean. The island of Thera is located in the southern Aegean Sea and to the west of Rhodes. The volcano is along a line of volcanoes known as the Hellenic volcanic arc, which stretches from just north of Rhodes in modern day Turkey to the Saronic Gulf. Thera is a rhyolitic volcano which erupted massive amounts of microlites, pyroxene, iron ores, plagioclase feldspar, zircon, hornblende, and very limited amounts of quartz between 1675 BCE and 1525 BCE. One more specific accepted date for the eruption of Thera is around 1620 BCE. Evidence for dating the eruption is based on the discovery of unusually acidic layers in Greenland ice core samples due to an estimated 200 million tons of sulfur put into the atmosphere by a volcano. Other ways of dating the eruption include unusually narrow rings in bristlecone pines in the United States and other types of trees in Europe. According to the volcanic exclusivity index, the eruption is estimated to have been at least a 6.9. During the times of human civilization, only the 1815 Tambora eruption is believed to have been larger at an estimated 7.0 on the index. One reason for such a large explosion is that the sea is believed to have entered the crater, which caused the volcano to react violently.1
1

Vitaliano, Charles J. and Dorothy B. Vitaliano, Volcanic Tephra on Crete. American Journal of Archeology 78 no. 1(Jan 1974): 1

Who were the people most effected by this tragic course of events? The Minoans inhabited the island of Thera and had their main city of Knossos on the relatively large Aegean island of Crete. The Minoans were contemporary with the Hittites and the eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty and acted as a springboard for civilization into Europe, for the Minoans were well a developed civilization. The Minoans of Knossos were particularly developed, because they developed pottery, roads, extensive trade networks, and a political system. The palace in Knossos is renowned for art depicting sea life such as dolphins, octopi, seashells, and other maritime related themes. The Minoans on Thera lived in a town known as Akrotiri and the residents of this town would soon know the fury of their island.2 Residents of Thera realized that there was something wrong after earthquakes caused damage to their homes. There was some volcanic activity resulting in pumice 19-26 Francis P. Four Classic Eruptions. In Volcanoes: A Planetary Perspective. (Oxford University Press: New York, 1993). 63-102. WJ Eastwood, J Tiaby N Roberts H Birk H Lamb, The Environmental Impact of the Minoan eruption of Santorini (Thera): Statistical analysis of palaeoecological data from Golhisar, Southwest Turkey, The Holocene 12, no. 4 (2002): 431-444 Foster, Karen Polinger, Robert K Ritner, and Benjamin R. Foster, Texts, Storms and Thera Eruption, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 55 no. 1(1996): 1-14
2

Foster, Karen Polinger, Robert K Ritner, and Benjamin R. Foster, Texts, Storms and Thera Eruption, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 55 no. 1(1996): 1-14

J. V. Luce, Thera and the Devastation of Minoan Crete: A New Interpretation of the Evidence, American Journal of Archaeology 80, no. 1 (Winter 1976): 9-18

falling on the residents, which prompted the evacuation of island. The ensuing eruption destroyed much of Thera and buried the settlement of Akrotiri under ash and pumice between 245 cm and 275 cm deep. In Crete, a huge cloud of ash covered the sky, leaving darkness that required lanterns to illuminate the darkness. These lanterns may have contributed the fires that ensued throughout Crete. People become stuck in their homes once ash forces their roofs to collapse upon them. A massive tsunami resulted in great destruction along coastal towns, resulting thousands of deaths and the destruction of maritime vessels. Agriculture was severely damaged, if not destroyed entirely, for the ash destroyed the vegetation in the region. One estimate is that it would be impossible for crops to grow for at least five years. Some believe that such destruction resulted in the Minoans being too weak to defend against a future Mycenaean Greek invasion.3 The Egyptians under the reign of King Ahmose also went through some hardships as destruction and darkness covered their lands. Egyptian texts depict the damaging and destruction of homes, temples and tombs throughout their lands. There were also descriptions of the sky becoming dark, which would cause immense problems for

J. V. Luce, Thera and the Devastation of Minoan Crete: A New Interpretation of the Evidence,

American Journal of Archaeology 80, no. 1 (Winter 1976): 9-18

WJ Eastwood, J Tiaby N Roberts H Birk H Lamb, The Environmental Impact of the Minoan eruption of Santorini (Thera): Statistical analysis of palaeoecological data from Golhisar, Southwest Turkey, The Holocene 12, no. 4 (2002): 431-444

Egyptian society. King Ahmose helped his people by reconstructing the damage done by what must have been the eruption at Thera and the earthquakes that came with it.4 What did the Minoans do after the eruption and was there a connection to the legend of Atlantis? The volcanic eruption did not immediately or directly destroy Minoan civilization, because the Minoans did not disappear until around 1450 BCE, which was anywhere from two hundred to one hundred years after the eruption at Thera. It is possible that the Cretans were dealt a fatal blow that they never fully recovered or that once they recovered, were able to thrive. There is still a debate on the extent the role of Thera played in the destruction of Minoa and until new evidence is found, it may continue to be that way. Some believe the destruction of Thera has a correlation with Atlantis in Platos Timaeus, both of which involved the destruction of an island, but there are too many discrepancies to confirm this for sure. Although the full role of the eruption of Thera in the destruction of Minoan civilization may never be known, evidence suggests that it must have caused traumas for the people who lived in the region. Many homes were lost and many people must have had their lives changed quickly and dramatically. The destruction caused by Thera demonstrated that humans must be wary of where they chose to live, because natural disasters such volcanoes can change ones life in an instant.

Foster, Karen Polinger, Robert K Ritner, and Benjamin R. Foster, Texts, Storms and Thera Eruption, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 55 no. 1(1996): 1-14