From Violent Volcano to Tranquil Island

 AS OUR boat takes its final turn heading for the port of the Greek island of Santorini, we are confronted with a breathtaking scene. A high wall of threatening cliffs rises almost a thousand feet [300 m] out of the sea. Stark white houses are perched on the precipices. The distinct shape of the island, the absence of any typical island beaches, the hanging cliffs—these seem to suggest that something extraordinary happened here. It did. The island of Santorini is the remaining eastern half of an erupted volcano, and we are sailing in waters that filled its crater!

The Making of an Island

In ancient times the island of Santorini—today also known as Santorin or Thíra—was called Strongyle, meaning “Round.” And round the island was. But according to experts, a mighty volcanic eruption changed the shape of the island nearly 3,500 years ago. Evidently, a large explosion blew open a wide caldera at the center of the island, forming a deep basin, and the sea rushed in to fill it.

Some volcanologists speculate that the thunder of the blast traveled to Europe, Asia, and Africa and that it knocked down buildings up to a hundred miles [150 km] away. The choking ash, they claim, must have blocked out sunlight over the entire Mediterranean basin for several days. In all, 32 square miles [80 sq km] of the island disappeared into the air or fell into the sea. All life was wiped out.

In time, what was left of Strongyle came to be inhabited by mainland settlers, and the island was renamed Calliste, meaning “Most Beautiful.” But living on a volcano offered the settlers an existence that was literally shaky. Between 198 B.C.E. and 1950 C.E., 14 eruptions occurred. Then, in 1956 an earthquake devastated many of the island’s homes. “The ground was shaking and trembling like jelly,” says Kyra Eleni, an elderly woman who lived through that catastrophic event. “In front of the courtyard  of my house, which was perched on a cliff, there was a gravel pathway. Suddenly it slid downward to the sea, leaving my house almost hanging in the air! We had to abandon that house and build a new one on more stable ground.”

Ruined villages were quickly rebuilt, largely by foreigners. Today Santorini plays host to thousands of visitors who flock there each summer. Besides Santorini, the smaller island of Thirasía and the uninhabited islet of Aspronísi remain.

In addition, cradled in the midst of Santorini’s caldera are two volcanic islets—Néa Kaméni and Palaía Kaméni. Volcanic activity can still be seen on these recently formed islets, as the ‘sleeping giant’ occasionally awakes and spews wisps of smoke. The overall shape of Santorini is ever changing, so that from time to time, its map must be redrawn.

Living on the Edge

On the caldera rim of Santorini, there are no slopes, only precipices. The perpendicular  landmasses provide the islanders with the simplest of solutions for home building: Dig a horizontal tunnel in the ground, build a wall across the mouth, and move in. Yes, most of the homes found on the caldera are hewn out of rock.

In front of each such home is a courtyard, or balcony, overlooking the caldera. The courtyard of the upper house is the rooftop of the house located underneath. You can enjoy spectacular sunsets from these balconies, savoring the purple sun as it slowly and majestically disappears into the sea. Some courtyards also contain a tiny kitchen, a henhouse or two, and potted plants of fragrant herbs and flowers.

What is particularly characteristic of the villages as a whole is that there is not one straight line in them. Not even the vaults are symmetrical. This plethora of random lines and curves, meeting to form the most unlikely of shapes, lends a gentleness to the clusters of buildings, which is surprising on such a rugged, jagged island.

Santorini is very dry. The only water available is the collected rainwater stored in cisterns. But the topsoil is fertile. Hence, the limited hinterland of the island produces a variety of crops.

For both the tourist and the native, Santorini is a unique and magnificent monument to the beauty of our planet.

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THE ATLANTIS CONNECTION

A myth that may have originated in Egypt, survived in classical Greek writings, and then emerged in medieval traditions by Arabian geographers is that of the lost continent, island, or city of Atlantis. Atlantis presumably disappeared into the sea as a result of earthquakes and floods. Some archaeologists suggest that this myth had its roots in the volcanic explosion of Santorini.

Excavations that began here in 1966/67 revealed a rich, royal Minoan city buried under the volcanic debris, preserved just as it was at the time of the eruption. It seems that early warnings prompted the residents to abandon the area in time. Some researchers speculate that the unwillingness of the inhabitants to admit that their once splendid city was gone gave birth to the legend of an Atlantis remaining alive and well, continuing its city life at the bottom of the sea.

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Santorini

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Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoy preaching in Santorini

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Overlooking the Aegean from Santorini’s terraces