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| − | [[Image:Akrotiri-greece-feve.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Excavation of Akrotiri on Thera]]
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| − | The '''Minoan eruption''' of [[Santorini|Thera]], also referred to as the Thera eruption or Santorini eruption, was a major [[catastrophe|catastrophic]] [[volcano|volcanic eruption]], which is estimated to have occurred in the mid second millennium B.C.E. The eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded [[history]]. The eruption devastated the island of Thera (also called Santorini), including the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] settlement at [[Akrotiri (Santorini)|Akrotiri]] as well as communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and on the coast of [[Crete]]. The eruption may have contributed to the collapse of the Minoan culture. It has also sometimes been claimed to have caused climatic changes, but this is not known.
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| − | The eruption seems to have inspired certain [[Greek myth]]s.<ref name="Greene">{{cite book|author=Greene, MT|date=2000|title=Natural Knowledge in Preclassical Antiquity|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0801863714}}</ref> It also possibly caused turmoil in Egypt and influenced the [[Bible|biblical]] [[Exodus]] stories.<ref name="Foster"/> Additionally, it has been speculated that the Minoan eruption and the destruction of the city at Akrotiri provided the basis for or otherwise inspired [[Plato]]'s story of [[Atlantis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6568053.stm|title=The wave that destroyed Atlantis|author=Lilley H|publishr=BBC News Online|date=2007-04-20|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb |title=Ye gods! Ancient volcano could have blasted Atlantis myth |last=Vergano |first=Dan |date=2006-08-27 |publisher= USA Today |url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-08-27-ancient-volcano_x.htm |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | == Eruption==
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| − | [[Image:010607-0930-17 - Nea Kameni - Krater.jpg|thumb|right|Volcanic craters on Santorini today]]
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| − | Geological evidence shows the Thera volcano erupted numerous times over several hundred thousand years before the Minoan eruption. In a repeating process, the volcano would violently erupt, then eventually collapse into a roughly circular seawater-filled [[caldera]], with numerous small islands forming the circle. The caldera would slowly refill with magma, building a new volcano, which erupted and then collapsed in an ongoing cyclical process.<ref name="Friedrich Book">{{cite book|author=Friedrich, WL|date=1999|title=Fire in the Sea, the Santorini Volcano: Natural History and the Legend of Atlantis|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-65290-1}}</ref> Another famous volcano known to repeat a similar process is [[Krakatoa]] in [[Indonesia]].
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| − | Immediately prior to the Minoan eruption, the walls of the caldera formed a nearly continuous ring of islands with the only entrance lying between Thera and the tiny island of [[Aspronisi]].<ref name="Friedrich Book"/> This cataclysmic eruption was centered on a small island just north of the existing island of [[Nea Kameni]] in the centre of the then-existing caldera. The northern part of the caldera was refilled by the volcanic ash and lava, then collapsed again.
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| − | On [[Santorini]], there is a {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick layer of white [[tephra]] that overlies the soil clearly delineating the ground level prior to the eruption. This layer has three distinct bands that indicate the different phases of the eruption.<ref>{{cite conference| author=Davidson, DA|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Aegean Soils During the Second Millennium B.C.E. with Reference to Thera|booktitle=Thera and the Aegean World I. Papers presented at the Second International Scientific Congress, Santorini, Greece, August 1978|pages=725-739|publisher=The Thera Foundation|date=1979|location=UK|url=http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/geology/aegeansoilsduringthesecondmillenniumbcwithreferencetothera|doi=|isbn=0 9506133 0 4|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Since no bodies have been found at the [[Akrotiri (Santorini)|Akrotiri site]], Floyd W. McCoy, Professor of Geology and Oceanography, [[University of Hawaii at Manoa|University of Hawai{{okina}}i]], notes that the local population had advance warning of the impending eruption, leaving the island prior to its destruction. However, the thinness of the first ash layer, along with the lack of noticeable erosion of that layer by winter rains before the next layer was deposited, indicate that the volcano gave the local population only a few months warning.<ref name="McCoy">{{cite conference| first=Heiken|last=G|authorlink=|coauthors=McCoy, F|title=Precursory Activity to the Minoan Eruption, Thera, Greece|booktitle=Thera and the Aegean World III, Vol 2|pages=79-88|publisher=The Thera Foundation|date=1990|location=London|url=|doi=|id=|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | Recent research by a team of international scientists in 2006 revealed that the Santorini event was much larger than the original estimate of {{convert|39|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} of [[Dense-Rock Equivalent]] (DRE), or total volume of material erupted from the volcano, that was published in 1991.<ref name=URI2006>{{cite web|url=http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=3654|title=Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed|date=August 23, 2006|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> With an estimated DRE in excess of {{convert|60|km3|cumi|abbr=on}},<ref name="Sigurdsson">{{cite journal | quotes = | author = Sigurdsson H, Carey, S, Alexandri M, Vougioukalakis G, Croff K, Roman C, Sakellariou D, Anagnostou C, Rousakis G, Ioakim C, Gogou A, Ballas D, Misaridis T, & Nomikou P| year = 2006 | title = Marine Investigations of Greece's Santorini Volcanic Field | journal = Eos | volume = 87 | issue= 34| pages = 337–348 | doi = 10.1029/2006EO340001 | format =}}</ref><ref name=URI2006/> the volume of [[ejecta]] was approximately {{convert|100|km3|cumi|abbr=on}},<ref name=GVP>{{ cite web | url = http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0102-04=&volpage=erupt | title = Santorini - Eruptive history | work = Global Volcanism Program | publisher = [[Smithsonian Institution]] | accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> placing the [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]] of the Thera eruption at 6 or 7. This was up to four times what was thrown into the stratosphere by [[Krakatoa]] in 1883, a well-recorded event. The Thera volcanic events and subsequent ashfall probably sterilized the island, as occurred on Krakatoa. Only the [[Mount Tambora]] volcanic eruption of 1815 released more material into the atmosphere during historic times.<ref name="Oppenheimer2003">{{cite journal|last=Oppenheimer|first=Clive|title=Climatic, environmental and human consequences of the largest known historic eruption: Tambora volcano (Indonesia) 1815|journal=Progress in Physical Geography|volume=27|issue=2|date=2003|pages=230–259|doi=10.1191/0309133303pp379ra}}</ref>
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| − | ==Physical consequences==
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| − | ===Volcanology===
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| − | This [[Plinian eruption]] resulted in an estimated {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} to {{convert|35|km|mi|abbr=on}} high [[plume (hydrodynamics)|plume]] which extended into the [[stratosphere]]. In addition, the [[magma]] underlying the volcano came into contact with the shallow marine [[embayment]], resulting in a violent [[phreatic eruption|steam eruption]].
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| − | The event also generated a {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=on}} to {{convert|150|m|ft|abbr=on}} high [[tsunami]] that devastated the north coast of [[Crete]], {{convert|110|km|mi|abbr=on}} away. The tsunami had an impact on coastal towns such as [[Amnisos]], where building walls were knocked out of alignment. On the island of [[Anafi]], {{convert|27|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the east, ash layers {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep have been found, as well as [[pumice]] layers on slopes {{convert|250|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level.
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| − | Elsewhere in the Mediterranean there are pumice deposits which could have been caused by the Thera eruption. Ash layers in cores drilled from the seabed and from lakes in [[Turkey]], however, show that the heaviest ashfall was towards the east and northeast of [[Santorini]]. The ash found on Crete is now known to have been from a precursory phase of the eruption, some weeks or months before the main eruptive phases, and would have had little impact on the island.<ref name="Keenan"/> Santorini ash deposits were at one time claimed to have been found in the Nile delta,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Stanley, DJ & Sheng, H|date=1986|title=Volcanic shards from Santorini (Upper Minoan ash) in the Nile Delta, Egypt|journal=Nature|volume=320, 1986|pages=733-735|doi=10.1038/320733a0}}</ref> but this is now known to be a misidentification.<ref>{{cite journal | quotes = | author = Guichard, F ''et al.'' | year = 1993 | title = Tephra from the Minoan eruption of Santorini in sediments of the Black Sea | journal = Nature | volume = 363 | issue = 6430 | pages= 610-612 | doi = 10.1038/363610a0 }}</ref><ref>Liritzis I., Michael C., Galloway R.B. (1996), "Aegean volcanic eruption during the second millennium B.C.E. revealed by thermoluminescence dating," ''Geoarchaeology'', 11: 361-371.</ref>
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| − | ===Date===
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| − | The Minoan eruption provides a fixed point for aligning the entire chronology of the 2nd millennium B.C.E. in the Aegean, because evidence of the eruption is found throughout the region. Despite this evidence, the exact date of the eruption has been difficult to determine. Current estimates based on [[radiocarbon dating]] indicate that the eruption occurred between 1627 B.C.E. and 1600 B.C.E. However, this range of dates conflicts with the previous estimate, based on archaeological studies utilizing [[conventional Egyptian chronology]], of about a century later.<ref>{{cite web|date=2006|url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April06/Bronze.age.AK.html|title=Cornell study of ancient volcano, seeds and tree rings suggests rewriting Late Bronze Age Mediterranean history|publisher=Cornell University news release|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Warren P.M.|title=Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149)|editor=Czerny E, Hein I, Hunger H, Melman D, Schwab A|publisher=Peeters |location=Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium |year=2006|pages=2: 305–321 |isbn=90-429-1730-X}}</ref>
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| − | Archaeologists developed the Late Bronze Age chronologies of eastern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] cultures by analyzing the origin of artifacts (for example, items from [[Crete]], mainland [[Greece]], [[Cyprus]] or [[Canaan]]) found in each archaeological layer.<ref name="Warren"/> If the artifact's origin can be accurately dated, then it gives a reference date for the layer in which it is found. If the Thera eruption could be associated with a given layer of Cretan (or other) culture, chronologists could use the date of that layer to date the eruption itself. Since Thera's culture at the time of destruction was similar to the [[Minoan civilization|Late Minoan IA]] (LMIA) culture on Crete, LMIA is the baseline to establish chronology elsewhere. The eruption also aligns with [[Cycladic civilization|Late Cycladic I]] (LCI) and [[Late Helladic|Late Helladic I]] (LHI) cultures, but predates [[Peloponnesian]] LHI.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lolos|first=YG|date=1989|url=http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/chronololy/onthelatehelladiciofakrotirithera On the Late Helladic I of Akrotiri, Thera|title=On the Late Helladic I of Akrotiri, Thera|publisher=The Thera Foundation|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Archeological digs on Akrotiri have also yielded fragments of nine Syro-Palestinian [[Bronze Age|Middle Bronze II]] (MBII) [[gypsum]] vessels.<ref name="Warren">{{cite book|author=Warren PM|url=http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/chronololy/summaryofevidencefortheabsolutechronologyoftheearlypartoftheaegeanlatebronzeagederivedfromhistoricalegyptiansources|title=Summary of Evidence for the Absolute Chronology of the Early Part of the Aegean Late Bronze Age Derived from Historical Egyptian Sources in: Thera and the Aegean World III, Hardy, DA (ed)|date=1989|publisher=The Thera Foundation|pages=24–26|accessdate=January 20, 2009|isbn=0 9506133 6 3}}</ref>
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| − | At one time, it was believed that data from [[Greenland]] [[ice core]]s could be useful in ascertaining the exact date of the eruption. A large eruption, identified in ice cores and dated to 1644 B.C.E. (+/- 20 years) was suspected to be Santorini. However, volcanic ash retrieved from an ice core demonstrated that this was not from Santorini, leading to the conclusion that the eruption may have occurred on another date.<ref name="Keenan">{{cite journal| last=Keenan|first=Douglas J.|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Volcanic ash retrieved from the GRIP ice core is not from Thera|journal=Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems|volume=4|issue=11|pages=1097|publisher=AGU and the Geochemical Society|date=2003|url=http://www.informath.org/pubs/G^303a.pdf|doi=10.1029/2003GC000608|id=1525-2027|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> The late Holocene eruption of the [[Mount Aniakchak]], a volcano in [[Alaska]], is proposed as the most likely source of the minute shards of volcanic glass in the Greenland ice core.<ref>{{cite journal | quotes = | author = Pearce, N. J. G., J. A. Westgate, S. J. Preece, W. J. Eastwood, and W. T. Perkins | year = 2004 | title = Identification of Aniakchak (Alaska) tephra in Greenland ice core challenges the 1645 B.C.E. date for Minoan eruption of Santorini | journal = Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. | volume = 5 | issue = | doi = 10.1029/2003GC000672 }}</ref>
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| − | Another method used to established the date of eruption is [[dendrochronology|tree-ring dating]]. Tree-ring data has shown that a large event interfering with normal tree growth in the U.S.A. occurred during 1629-1628 B.C.E.<ref name="Baillie">{{cite web|last=Baillie|first=MGL|url=http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/chronololy/irishtreeringandaneventin1628B.C.E.|title=Irish Tree Rings and an Event in 1628 B.C.E.|publisher=The Thera Foundation|date=1989|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Evidence of a climatic event around 1628 B.C.E. has been found in studies of growth depression of [[oak|European oaks]] in Ireland and in [[Sweden]].<ref name="Grudd">{{cite journal|author=Grudd, H, Briffa, KR, Gunnarson, BE, & Linderholm, HW|title=Swedish tree rings provide new evidence in support of a major, widespread environmental disruption in 1628 B.C.E.|date=2000|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=27|issue=18|pages=2957–2960|doi=10.1029/1999GL010852}}</ref>
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| − | In 2006 two research papers were published arguing that new radiocarbon analysis dated the eruption between 1627 B.C.E. and 1600 B.C.E. Samples of wood, bone, and seed collected from various locations in the Aegean, including Santorini, Crete, [[Rhodes]] and [[Turkey]], were analyzed at three separate labs in [[Oxford]], [[Vienna, Austria]], and [[Heidelberg, Germany]] in order to minimise the chance of a radiocarbon dating error. Results of the analysis indicated a broad dating for the Thera event between 1660 to 1613 B.C.E.<ref name="Manning">{{cite journal| last=Manning|first=Sturt W|authorlink=|coauthors=Ramsey, CB, Kutschera, W, Higham, T, Kromer, B, Steier, P, and Wild, EM|title=Chronology for the Aegean Late Bronze Age 1700-1400 B.C.E.|journal=Science|volume=312|issue=5773|pages=565–569|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|date=2006|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;312/5773/565|doi=10.1126/science.1125682|id=|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://dendro.cornell.edu/articles/manning2007a.pdf|title=Clarifying the "high" v. "low" Aegean/Cypriot chronology for the mid second millennium B.C.E.: assessing the evidence, interpretive frameworks, and current state of the debate. In: The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium B.C.E. III. Proceedings of the SCIEM 2000 - 2nd EuroConference, Vienna 28th of May - 1st of June 2003 (Bietak, M. & Czerny, E., eds.)|pages=101-137|format=pdf|accessdate=January 20, 2009.author=Manning SW|year=2003}}</ref> Also that year the radiocarbon-indicated date of the eruption of Thera was narrowed to between 1627 and 1600 B.C.E., with a 95% probability of accuracy, after researchers analyzed material from an [[olive|olive tree]] that was found buried beneath a lava flow from the volcano.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Friedrich|first=Walter L|authorlink=|coauthors= Kromer, B, Friedrich, M, Heinemeier, J, Pfeiffer, T, and Talamo, S|title=Santorini Eruption Radiocarbon Dated to 1627-1600 B.C.E.|journal=Science|volume=312|issue=5773|pages=548|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|date=2006|http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;312/5773/548|doi=10.1126/science.1125087|id=|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Because the tree grew on the island, the results may have been affected by volcanic outgassing, which would have skewed the accuracy of the radiometric studies.
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| − | Although radiocarbon indicates a 1600 B.C.E. eruption dating, archeologists believe that the date is contradicted by findings in Egyptian and Theran excavations. For example, some archeologists have found buried Egyptian and Cypriot pottery on Thera that is dated to a later period than the radiometric dates for the eruption. Since the Egyptian historical chronology has been established by numerous archeological studies, the exact date of the eruption remains controversial. If radiocarbon dating is accurate, there would be significant chronological realignment of several Eastern Mediterranean cultures.<ref>{{cite journal|title=New Carbon Dates Support Revised History of Ancient Mediterranean|author=Balter, M|journal=Science|volume=312|issue=5773|date=2006|pages=508–509|doi=10.1126/science.312.5773.508|url=|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Wilford, JN|url=http://www.columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2006/05/09/20060509-D6-01.html|title=Ancient Crete more ancient than thought? New volcanic evidence suggests discrepancy of more than a full century|date=2006-05-09|publisher=The Columbus Dispatch|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | ===Climatic effects===
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| − | Hydrogeologist Philip LaMoreaux asserted in 1995 that the eruption caused significant climatic changes in the eastern [[Mediterranean]] region, [[Aegean Sea]] and much of the [[Northern Hemisphere]],<ref name="LaMoreaux">{{cite journal|author=LaMoreaux, PE|date=1995|title=Worldwide environmental impacts from the eruption of Thera|journal=Environmental Geology|volume=26|issue=3|pages=172–181|doi=10.1007/BF00768739}}</ref> but this was forcefully rebutted by volcanologist David Pyle a year later.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Pyle, DM|date=1997|title=The global impact of the Minoan eruption of Santorini, Greece|journal=Environmental Geology|volume=30|issue=1/2|pages=59–61|doi=10.1007/s002540050132}}</ref>
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| − | Around the time of the radiocarbon-indicated date of the eruption, there is evidence for a significant climatic event in the Northern Hemisphere. The evidence includes failure of crops in [[China]] (see below), as well as evidence from [[Dendrochronology|tree rings]], cited above: [[bristlecone pines]] of [[California]]; bog [[oak]]s of [[Ireland]], [[England]], and [[Germany]]; and other trees in [[Sweden]]. The tree rings precisely date the event to 1628 B.C.E.<ref name="Baillie"/><ref name="Grudd"/>
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| − | ==Historical impact==
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| − | ===Minoan civilization===
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| − | The Minoan eruption devastated the nearby Minoan settlement at [[Akrotiri (Santorini)|Akrotiri]] on Santorini, which was entombed in a layer of [[pumice]].<ref>{{citeweb |title=Ye gods! Ancient volcano could have blasted Atlantis myth |last=Vergano |first=Dan |date=2006-08-27 |publisher= USA Today |url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-08-27-ancient-volcano_x.htm |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | It is believed that the eruption also severely affected the Minoan population on [[Crete]], although the extent of the impact is debated. Early theories proposed that ashfall from [[Thera]] on the eastern half of Crete choked off plant life, causing starvation of the local population. <ref>{{cite journal | author = Marinatos, S | year = 1939 | title = The Volcanic Destruction of Minoan Crete | journal = Antiquity | volume = 13 | issue = | pages = 425–439 }}</ref> However, after more thorough field examinations, this theory has lost credibility, as it has been determined that no more than {{convert|5|mm|in|abbr=on}} of ash fell anywhere on Crete.<ref>{{cite book|author=Callender, G|date=1999|title=The Minoans and the Mycenaeans: Aegean Society in the Bronze Age|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 0195510283}}</ref> Other theories have been proposed based on archeological evidence found on Crete indicating that a [[tsunami]], likely associated with the eruption, impacted the coastal areas of Crete and may have severely devastated the Minoan coastal settlements. <ref name=BBCWave>{{citeweb |last=Lilley |first=Harvey |date=20 April 2007 |title=The wave that destroyed Atlantis |publisher= BBC Timewatch |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6568053.stm |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Antonopoulos ">{{cite journal|author=Antonopoulos, J.|title=The great Minoan eruption of Thera volcano and the ensuing tsunami in the Greek Archipelago|journal=Natural Hazards|volume=5|date=1992|pages=153–168|doi=10.1007/BF00127003}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Pareschi, MT, Favalli, M & Boschi, E|title=Impact of the Minoan tsunami of Santorini: Simulated scenarios in the eastern Mediterranean|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=33|date=2006|doi=10.1029/2006GL027205|pages=L1860}}.</ref> A more recent theory is that much of the damage done to Minoan sites resulted from a large earthquake that preceded the Thera Eruption.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Panagiotaki M.|title=The impact of the eruption of Thera in the Central Palace sanctuary at Knossos, Crete|journal=[http://www.rhodes.aegean.gr/maa_journal/ Mediterranean Archaeology & Archaeometry]|volume=5|date=2007|issue=2|url=http://www.rhodes.aegean.gr/maa_journal/issues2007b.html |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | Significant Minoan remains have been found above the [[Minoan civilization|Late Minoan I]] era Thera ash layer, implying that the Thera eruption did not cause the immediate downfall of the Minoans. As the Minoans ''were a sea power and depended on their naval and merchant ships for their livelihood'', the Thera eruption likely caused significant economic hardship to the Minoans—and probable loss of empire in the long run.
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| − | Whether these effects were enough to trigger the downfall of the Minoan civilization is under intense debate. The [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] conquest of the Minoans occurred in Late Minoan II period, not many years after the eruption, and many archaeologists speculate that the eruption induced a crisis in Minoan civilization, which allowed the Mycenaeans to conquer them easily. <ref>{{cite journal|author=Antonopoulos, J.|title=The great Minoan eruption of Thera volcano and the ensuing tsunami in the Greek Archipelago|journal=Natural Hazards|volume=5|date=1992|pages=153–168|doi=10.1007/BF00127003}}</ref>
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| − | ===Chinese records===
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| − | Some scientists correlate a volcanic winter from the Minoan eruption with Chinese records documenting the collapse of the [[Xia dynasty]] in [[China]]. According to the [[Bamboo Annals]], the collapse of the dynasty and the rise of the [[Shang dynasty]], approximately dated to 1618 B.C.E., were accompanied by "'yellow fog, a dim sun, then three suns, frost in July, famine, and the withering of all five cereals".<ref name="Foster">{{cite journal|author=Foster, KP, Ritner, RK, and Foster, BR|date=1996|title=Texts, Storms, and the Thera Eruption|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=55|issue=1|pages=1–14|doi=10.1086/373781}}</ref>
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| − | ===Impact on Egyptian history===
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| − | There are no surviving Egyptian records of the eruption, and the absence of such records is sometimes attributed to the general disorder in Egypt around the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. However, there are connections between the Thera eruption and the calamities of the [[Ipuwer papyrus|Admonitions of Ipuwer]], a text from Lower Egypt during the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] or [[Second Intermediate Period]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Galanopoulos|first=Angelos Georgiou|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Atlantis: The Truth Behind the Legend|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill Co|date=1969|location=|pages=|url=|doi=|isbn=978-0672506109}}</ref>
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| − | Heavy rainstorms which devastated much of Egypt, and were described on the [[Tempest Stele]] of [[Ahmose I]], have been attributed to short term climatic changes caused by the Theran eruption.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goedicke|first=Hans|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=Studies about Kamose and Ahmose|publisher=David Brown Book Company|date=1995|location=Baltimore|url=|doi=|isbn= 0-9613805-8-6|nopp=true|page=Chapter 3}}</ref><ref name="Foster"/> This theory is not supported by current archaeological evidence which show no pumice layers at Avaris or elsewhere in [[Lower Egypt]] during the reigns of Ahmose I and [[Thutmosis III]].
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| − | While it has been argued that the damage from this storm may have been caused by an earthquake following the [[Thera Eruption]], it has also been suggested that it was caused during a war with the [[Hyksos]], and the storm reference is merely a metaphor for chaos, upon which the Pharaoh was attempting to impose order.<ref name="Wiener">{{cite journal| last=Wiener|first=MH|authorlink=|coauthors=Allen, JP|title=Separate Lives: The Ahmose Tempest Stela and the Theran Eruption|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=57|issue=|pages=1–28|publisher=University of Chicago Press|date=1998|url=|doi=|id=|accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | There is a consensus that Egypt, being far away from areas of significant [[seismic]] activity, would not be significantly affected by an earthquake in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. Furthermore, other documents, such as [[Hatshepsut]]'s [[Speos Artemidos]], depict similar storms, but are clearly speaking figuratively, not literally. Research indicates that this particular stele is just another reference to the Pharaoh overcoming the powers of chaos and darkness.<ref name="Wiener"/>
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| − | ===Greek traditions===
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| − | The eruption of Thera and volcanic fallout may well have inspired the myths of the [[Titanomachy]] in [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]''.<ref name="Greene"/> The background of the Titanomachy may derive from the [[Kumarbi]] cycle, a [[Bronze Age]] [[Hurrian]] epic from the [[Lake Van]] region.
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| − | However, the [[Titanomachy]] itself could have picked up elements of western [[Anatolia]]n folk memory as the tale spread westward. [[Hesiod]]'s lines have been compared with volcanic activity, citing Zeus' thunderbolts as volcanic lightning, the boiling earth and sea as a breach of the [[magma chamber]], immense flame and heat as evidence of [[phreatic]] explosions, among many other descriptions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Luce|first=John Victor|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=The end of Atlantis: New light on an old legend (New Aspects of Antiquity) |publisher=Thames & Hudson|date=1969|location=London|pages=|url=|doi=|isbn=978-0500390054}}</ref>
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| − | ====Atlantis====
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| − | There is some [[archeology|archaeological]], [[seismology|seismological]], and [[vulcanology|vulcanological]] evidence that the myth of [[Atlantis]], described by [[Plato]], is based upon the Santorini eruption.<ref>{{citeweb |title=Santorini Eruption (~1630 B.C.E.) and the legend of Atlantis |url=http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/santorini.html |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb |title=Ye gods! Ancient volcano could have blasted Atlantis myth |last=Vergano |first=Dan |date=2006-08-27 |publisher= USA Today |url=http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-08-27-ancient-volcano_x.htm |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb |last=Lilley |first=Harvey |date=20 April 2007 |title=The wave that destroyed Atlantis |publisher= BBC Timewatch |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6568053.stm |accessdate=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | ===Biblical traditions===
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| − | Researchers have hypothesized that some of the [[Plagues of Egypt|ten plagues]] resulted from the eruption of Thera; however, the presumed dates of the events of Exodus, approximately 1450 B.C.E., are almost 150 years after the radiometric date of the eruption.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Bennett, JG|authorlink = John G. Bennett|title = Geo-Physics and Human History: New Light on Plato's Atlantis and the Exodus|journal = Systematics|volume = 1|issue = 2|date=1963| url = http://www.matrixofcreation.co.uk/JGB/systematics-vol1-no2-127-156.htm#11| accessdate =January 20, 2009}}</ref>
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| − | According to the Bible, Egypt was beset by such misfortunes as the transforming of their water supply to blood, the infestations of frogs, gnats, and flies, darkness, and violent hail. These effects are compatible with the catastrophic eruption of a volcano in different ways. While the "blood" in the water could have been [[red tide]] which is poisonous to human beings, the frogs may have been displaced by the eruption, and their eventual death would have given rise to large numbers of scavenging insects. The darkness could have been the resulting volcanic winter, and the hail the large chunks of ejecta that spewed from the volcano. The tsunami that resulted from the Thera eruption could have been the basis for the parting of the sea, when the sea receded from the shore immediately prior to the arrival of the tsunami. Shallow areas of the sea would have allowed the Israelites, under Moses, safe [[passage of the Red Sea|passage across the Red Sea]], while the ensuing tsunami devastated the Egyptian army. Exodus mentions that the Israelites were guided by a "pillar of cloud" during the day and a "pillar of fire" at night, and Colin Humphreys, Professor of Material Science at Cambridge University, has argued that a volcanic eruption perfectly fits "the description “pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night”.<ref>Humphreys, C. "Science and the Miracles of Exodus." ''Europhysics News.'' Vol.36 (2005): 93-96.</ref>
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| − | [[Image:Santoryn-Ia 4.jpg|thumb|180px|Mansions and hotels on the steep cliffs]]
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| − | [[Image:TheraLateCyccladicIbex06655.jpg|thumb|200px|The only gold object found at the excavation of [[Akrotiri (Santorini)|Akrotiri]], a small sculpture of an [[ibex]] that was hidden under a floor; a thorough evacuation in advance of the catastrophe must have occurred since few artifacts and no corpses were buried in the ash]]
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| − | ==Notes==
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| − | {{reflist|2}}
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| − | ==References==
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| − | *Bietak, Manfred (2004) "Review—'A Test of Time' by S.W. Manning (1999)" ''Bibliotheca Orientalis'' Vol. 61: 99–222.
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| − | *{{cite book|author=Callender, G|date=1999|title=The Minoans and the Mycenaeans: Aegean Society in the Bronze Age|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 0195510283}}
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| − | *{{cite book|author=Forsyth, PY|date=1997|title=Thera in the Bronze Age|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing|isbn=0-8204-4889-3}}
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| − | *{{cite book|author=Friedrich, WL|date=1999|title=Fire in the Sea, the Santorini Volcano: Natural History and the Legend of Atlantis|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-65290-1}}
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| − | *{{cite book |author=Warren PM|title=Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149)|editor=Czerny E, Hein I, Hunger H, Melman D, Schwab A|publisher=Peeters |location=Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium |year=2006|pages=2: 305–321 |isbn=90-429-1730-X |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | *[http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/ Thera Foundation articles] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | *[http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/santorini.htm Santorini Decade Volcano] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | *[http://www.arts.cornell.edu/classics/Faculty/SManning_files/testoftime.pdf The Thera (Santorini) Volcanic Eruption and the Absolute Chronology of the Aegean Bronze Age] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | *[http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/santorini.html VolcanoWorld Information about the eruption] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | *[http://www.uri.edu/endeavor/thera/index.html Thera 2006 Expedition] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | *[http://www.santorini-eruption.org.uk The eruption of Santorini in the Late Bronze Age] Retrieved January 20, 2009.
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| − | [[Category: Religion]]
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| − | [[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
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| − | [[Category: History and biography]]
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| − | [[Category: Geography]]
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| − | {{Credits|263509253}}
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