Today’s article will discuss the Documented History Of Santorini. Santorini is an island off the coast of Greece, located in the AeAegeanea. Santorini is approximately 104.57 nautical miles (120.337007 miles or 193.66364 kilometers from the nearest mainland area, which is Greece. It is a part of the Cyclades Islands, which is an archipelago located between Attica & Crete. There are approximately 220 islands classified within this archipelago. It is extremely popular for its beautiful white houses, with blue roofs. It is also popular for its boating tours of rocky coves & inlets. Santorini has 2 main cities, those cities being Fira, & Oia.
The beautiful rugged cliffs attract many eco-tourists as well, seeking the beauty of the island. Many tourists from around the Mediterranean also enjoy Santorini for its unique seafood, as their cuisine is considered to be very high-class. Their beautiful dark sand beaches are also regarded extremely highly.
Santorini is very biodiverse, & has beautiful underwater ecosystems housing thousands of animals. For this reason, scuba diving is also extremely popular as it gives people the opportunity to see the beauty of it. From sea hares to sea squirts, Santorini is filled with beautiful marine animals. Santorini has a long, complex, & beautiful history dating back to the Neolithic period. The presence of a society on Santorini dates back to 3,600 B.C. These societies were constantly being damaged by volcanic eruptions, which unfortunately caused many structures & artifacts to be lost.
Also, these volcanic eruptions caused many periods where a civilization could not evolve on the island, leaving massive historical gaps. Santorini & the rest of the Cyclades Archipelago were formed by overlapping volcanic eruptions.
When Santorini formed, the island did not have its rugged cliffsides or its beautiful rocky beaches. The current landscape was formed by a colossal volcanic eruption in 1,620 B.C., which eroded everything & also blew apart parts of the island itself.
In this article,e we will discuss the Documented History Of Santorini, the Aboriginals of Santorini, the Most Destructive Man-Caused & Natural Disasters of Santorini, & finally the Economic state of Santorini. With that being said, let us delve into this island of paradise.
The Documented History Of Santorini
Before Colonization By Humans
The island first formed approximately 3.6 million years ago, due to volcanic activity when the African & Eurasian tectonic plates met. The island remained uninhabited until approximately 3,600 B.C.
After Colonization By The Minoans
In 3,600 B.C. an ancient Minoan colony existed in Southern Santorini, near the modern-day city of Akrotiri. This civilization was a part of the once-vast Minoan Empire. Due to the location of Santorini, the people were able to establish trade with Northern Africa, Cyprus, Crete, & Greece. This allowed their economy to flourish, & for the islanders to become fairly wealthy & independent of all external forces. The people of the city established a drainage system, squares, & multi-story buildings.
They also had paved streets, & sophisticated art. This civilization achieved many amazing architectural feats, & had a very lively culture.
This civilization called the island Strongilli, which was derived from the island's large round shape. This beautiful Minoan civilization lasted until 1,600 B.C. when everything catastrophically changed.
In 1,600 B.C. a massive volcanic eruption devastated the Minoan Empire, & destroyed it. This eruption also devastated Crete, causing massive tsunamis & earthquakes. This caused a civilization to not be able to survive on the island for 300 years. The swift disappearance of a thriving society sparked rumors that Santorini was the lost city of Atlantis, but those rumors would eventually be dismissed. The next Civilization on Santorini was built by the Phoenicians.
After Colonization By The Phoenicians
The Phoenicians began inhabiting the island in approximately 1,300 B.C. They built a society based on trade & commerce, as it was a place where the East met the West. The reason for the economy being so heavily based on trade is because of the extremely convenient location of Santorini. The Phoenicians called the island “Kallisti”, as it meant most Beautiful. In 900 B.C., the Lacedaemonian Commander Thiras sailed to the island, settled, & founded the city of Ancient Thira on the island. This city was built at Mesa Vouno Mountain, & artifacts from it can be found on display at various museums. Due to this, the island was renamed “Thira” in honor of him. During this time, Santorini also adopted the Phoenician Alphabet. They also adopted their currency.
After Colonization By The Venetians
The Venetians had the island surrendered to them, in 1204 A.D. & stayed on the island until 1579 A.D. Soon after the Venetians began occupying the island, a catholic church called “Santa Irina” was constructed. This gave the island the name Santorini, though the legal name remains Thira. The Venetians advanced the island, & introduced many western agricultural techniques to the island. One of the things that they introduced to the island, was the cultivating of vineyards. These vineyards were used to make the famous Santorini Wine, which was extremely highly esteemed. During this Era, many Mediterranean pirates would attack the island, & raid it. This led to the construction of 5 fortified cities around the island. These 5 fortified cities are Imerovigli, Pygros, Emporio, Akrotiri, & Agios Nikolaos at Oia. The Venetians would lose the island to the brutal Ottoman Turks, via conquest.
After Colonization By The Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks inhabited the island from 1579 to 1821. Throughout their occupation, they prioritized trade with the Eastern Mediterranean over the Western Mediterranean. Aside from this, the Ottoman Turks didn’t do very much with the island culturally or economically. The Ottoman Turks referred to Santorini as Dermetzik, which meant “Small Mill”. The reason for this name is that there were many windmills on the island at the time. Attacks on Santorini were massively decreased as the island acquired its naval fleet. Santorini was given a fair amount of Autonomy over itself, but it had to pay a tax to the Turks.
After Colonization By Greece
Greece fought their war of independence with the Ottoman Turks, & when they won they tried to take Santorini with them. After the independence of Greece was ratified with Constantinople in 1833, Santorini did not immediately become a part of Greece.
Historical Events From The 1900’s
Greece only annexed Santorini in 1912. During this time, the economy diminished due to the introduction of steamships. Until World War 2, the island remained relatively quiet. On the 18th of October 1944, Santorini was occupied by German & Italian military forces. For this reason in the Santorinian villages of Pyrgos, & Karterados, there are large plaques commemorating those who lost their lives in World War 2. Soon after in 1956, a massive volcanic eruption caused approximately 85% of the island to be utterly destroyed. Many locals were forced to quickly abandon the island, & this caused a massive infrastructural collapse. It was not until the 1970s that the island completely recovered & began getting a steady influx of tourists. Santorini has a modern population of approximately 15,550 people.
The Aboriginals Of Santorini
Unfortunately, due to the number of times that Santorini has changed hands, we can’t say that there were Aboriginals on the island. Additionally, there are no groups that are historically agreed upon to be Aboriginals.
The Most Destructive Man-Caused & Natural Disasters To Affect Santorini
Disaster No. 1: The Minoan Eruption Of 1,600
In approximately 1600 B.C., volcanoes 70 miles north of Crete erupted with a VEI magnitude of 6. This caused somewhere between 28 & 41 square kilometers (10.8109 & 15.8302 square miles) of ash, magma, & other volcanic debris to be expelled from the said volcano. This was one of the largest volcanic events in human history. This volcanic eruption caused earthquakes, & multiple tsunamis. This destroyed the Minoan civilization, & possibly caused a small volcanic winter, but that is unclear.
Disaster No. 2: The Santorini Earthquake Of 1956
On July 9th, 1956, a massive earthquake struck Santorini. It was a 7.5 magnitude event, & it utterly devastated the island. Soon after the initial earthquake hit, a 25-meter (82.021-foot) high tsunami washed over the island. This caused at least 53 deaths, & 35% of homes on the island collapsed. Almost all government & commercial buildings were also destroyed. This caused the majority of locals to flee the island & go to Athens.
The Economic State Of Santorini
Generally, Santorini’s economy is fairly stable. Santorini’s main industry is tourism, as the island receives about 2 million tourists annually. Approximately 90% of Santorini’s economy is tourism. Agriculture is also a major source of revenue for the island, with grapes for wine being the biggest agricultural product. This wine is said to be sweet, & very rich. This wine is primarily brewed by the Santorini Brewing Company. Additionally, Santorini cultivates a unique kind of Tomato that is prized amongst many. This tomato is still actively exported to this day. Their Fava beans are also very highly esteemed, but they are not exported in large amounts. Only approximately 200 kilograms (440.925 pounds) of their fava beans are exported each year. The average cost of living in Santorini is approximately 1,211 U.S.D. (1134.77 Euro) for one person per month. Food costs an average of 482 U.S.D (451.66 Euro) per month.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “The history of Santorini – A step back in time”, Written By an Unknown & Published on January 29th, 2023. Published by Andronis. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 2: “Santorini: A Brief History”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Santorini Web Portals. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 3: “Santorini History” Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown. Published By Greeka. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 4: “Santorini History” Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By Santorini View. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 5: “Santorini History” Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By Santorini Dave. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 6: “Cost Of Living In Santorini”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published Living Costs. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 7: “SANTORINI: Economy”, Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By The World Of Info. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
Citation No. 8: “The 1956 Santorini earthquake & its devastating aftermath”, Written By Andriana Simos, & Published On September 7th, 2020. Retrieval Date: September 23rd, 2023.
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