HISTORY - MYTHOLOGY
Santorini is an island that has always been a matter of attention, both because of its history and because of the legends that revolve around it, all of which create a unique “Mythistory”.
The island has been inhabited at least since the middle of 3,000 B.C. In the 1960s excavations began at Akrotiri, a village in the southern part of the island, by Professor Spiros Marinatos, and nowadays Professor Christos Doumas has taken over. The excavations have unearthed a coastal city, whose culture held various elements, both reminiscent of the Minoans and local Cycladic ones. The father of history, Herodotus named the island Stroggyli (meaning round), because of its circular shape, which, according to mythology, emerged from the depths of the sea. With the passage of time it obtained various names, such as Filotera, Karisti, Kalavria, Teusia, Therameni, Rhenia, and Kallisti because of its unique beauty.
The volcano has played an important role in the history of Santorini and was, even, associated with the myth of Atlantis; the last one was thought to be the central part of the island, which sank after an explosion. Around 1,500 B.C. the first major historical eruption occurred, but according to archaeological findings residents had already left the island, since the excavations revealed an intact ruined city without any human findings. This explosion resulted in the draft of the western part of the island, as well as in the destruction of the Minoan civilization due to the tidal waves, according to some beliefs.
This explosion is described by the myth of Faedonta, the son of Helios and Clymene, who asked permission from his father to drive his chariot but was unable to rein the rampageous horses, something that led to the change of the course with disastrous results; the situation was controlled by Zeus when he threw lightning on the son of the Sun in order to stop the chariot. Another version says that Poseidon created the catastrophic tidal waves when he did not succeed in winning Athens from the goddess Athena.
The island was inhabited again in the 13th century B.C. by the Phoenicians, who were led by Cadmus, and then by the Spartans, the leader of which was responsible for the name "Thira". Due to its geographical position, it has been the crossroad between East and West; in the 7th century B.C. it founded its first and only colony, Cyrene, on the coast of North Africa. In the following century it acquires its own currency and established the emblem of two dolphins. Furthermore, during the Peloponnesian wars it allied with the Spartans.
Over the years, it was used as a base in the military operations of Alexander the Great and his successors, particularly Ptolemy. However, during the Roman and Byzantine period, the island did not play an important role, both militarily and politically. Noteworthy is the advent of Christianity in the 3rd A.D. century and the construction of Panagia Episkopi by Alexios Komninos, who was probably the first Catholic bishop.
After the Fourth Crusade and the conquest of Constantinople, Santorini is part of the Duchy of Naxos. At that time, it acquired its most famous name from the church of Agia Irini (Santa Irini) at Perissa. During the Frank occupation, along with most of the Aegean islands, it became a prey of the pirate Barbarossa, especially in 1537. However, with the occupation by the Turks (1579-1821) the piracy was suppressed and, thus, the development of maritime trade began. Its current name was Demetzik that means small mill, which logically resulted from the windmills.
The island took part in the revolution of 1821 with Captain Evangelos Matzarakis,who raised the flag of revolution, as its leader, and finally in 1830 it was united with Greece. But on October 18, 1944 it was occupied by the Axis Powers (Italy-Germany) until the liberation of the country.
