HISTORY
According to the Greek mythology, Santorini was created by a land’s bolus, which was given to the Argonauts by a sea god and son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, Triton. Originally, the island was called “Strongyli” (meaning round) because of its circular shape. Although there is not enough information on when exactly the island was inhabited, we definitely know that it was before 2,000 B.C., originally from the Phoenicians and then the Dorians. Later, the island was called "Kallisti" (meaning the most beautiful) because of its beauty and until the volcanic eruption between 1,550-1,500 B.C., it was the bastion of the Minoan civilization. Then, the entire island was buried under a thick layer of ash, which reached 30 meters in depth, and at the same time must have occurred tidal waves , too, greater than 210 meters in height. Then, it remained uninhabited for about two centuries. There is a widely known hypothesis, supported by many ancient philosophers like Plato and Solon, that Santorini might be the lost continent of Atlantis.
• THE BEGINNING
In the beginning, the Greek earth was covered with water and gradually the secular changes in the planet's interior resulted in pieces of dry land to rise above the water and create Aegiis, which extended from the Ionian Sea in Asia Minor and southern coast of Crete. With the passage of time, the geological changes allowed the sea to insert within the Aegiis and break it into pieces, many of which were immersed, however, leaving out of the water only some peaks, some of which still exist, such as the hill of Prophet Elias at the village of Pyrgos.
Since then, the continuous evolution and development of the island, due to the long-term activity of volcanoes that exist in the region for at least 26 million years, created the first craters southwest of Prophet Elias two million years ago and over time craters,too. After that, they broke the water surface, were reunited and created the current Akrotiri.
Interesting is the fact that in 1967, some Greek archaeologists while digging a tunnel into the ashes of Akrotiri, discovered a town of about 30,000 residents from the Bronze Age. Due to the volcanic ash two-storey and three-storey buildings were preserved, the walls of which are decorated with Minoan frescoes. However, no human remains or personal effects were discoverd, suggesting that the residents had already left the area as they presaged the impending destruction, possibly due to earthquakes.
Because of the big eruption, the culture was destroyed and the island remained uninhabited for many years, until about 1,000 B.C. when the Phoenicians settled there. The ruins of ancient Thera were discovered early in this century by German archaeologists who unearthed tombs and inscriptions suggested that the capital of the Dorian settlers was there from the 9th century B.C. and then the Ptolemies established a substantial garrison there in order to protect the archipelago.
During the 8th century B.C., a Theban hero, Thiras, left the kingdom of Sparta and together with a group of nobles settled on the island, which was named after him. During the Persian Wars, the Thirians were on the side of the conquerors and in 476 B.C. they refused to join the Athenian alliance, because they considered themselves as Dorians. The island was annexed to the Athenians later and was forced to pay a tax of 5 talents. Therefore, having been unhappy, the Thirians approached the Spartan domination and the King's Peace won their independence, which of course was not respected by the Spartans. Subsequently, the island was converted into a naval base of the Ptolemies in the Aegean. Regarding to the situation in the Roman Empire, we do not have so much information; we only know that in 395 A.D., after the disintegration of the Empire, the island came under the control of Constantinople.
Christianity was introduced to the island in the 3rd century A.D. and a century later the first church in the Diocese of Thera was built, whose first bishop was Dioscuri, a fact that is proven by a manuscript found in the old basilica of St. Michael in Ancient Thira.
The first time the island was called Santorini was by an Arab geographer, Edizi, during his trip to the Cyclades in 1153, because of the church of St. Irene in Perissa. Foreign sailors used to call it Santa Irini (St. Irene) and over the years consolidated in a single word, Santorini. The island remained under siege by the Venetians during the Byzantine period until 1204 and was one of 18 islands that was given to the duchy of Naxos in 1207.
In 1452, a terrible eruption plunged part of Palea Kameni and the locals suffered from constant pirate attacks, causing the population to be reduced to 300 residents. With the installation of Catholics on the island, educational institutions were established and local culture flourished again.
In 1537, the Muslim pirate Barbarossa with the help of the Turkish sultan, terrorized the Cyclades and ceded the island to the Turks, until its independence in 1821 when Captain Evangelos Matzarakis raised the flag of freedom on 5 May. Another difficulty that the island faced was in 1956, when an earthquake destroyed the island, and it needed a few years to be back on track again. At that time many scientists, including archaeologists, historians, geologists were interested in the island and as a consequence it regained again its good reputation.
