Santorini is unique by the fact of it’s history, 1600 BC there was a tremendous Volcanic explosion that left the island with the remnants of that explosion and the outer edges of the Volcano, it buried the island beneath layers of pozzuolona siliceous volcanic ash) The explosion was so great it ended the Minoan Civilisation in Crete to the south of the island. There had been Human habitation on Santorini for thousands of years before, but all habitation ended for approximately 300 years returning 1300 BC.
Herodotus, called the island Strongyle (the Round one).it was also called Kalliste (the Fairest one). it was settled by the Phoenicians and the Lacedaemonians who gave the island the Theras named after their leader..
In the 9th century B.C. Thera, became an important point on the communication route between the East and the West of that era and adopted the Phoenician alphabet for writing the Greek language.
In about 620-30 B.C., Therans colonised the north coast of the African continent (Now Libya) where they founded their Theran colony Cyrene, In the 5th and 4th century BC) Thera played an important role during the Peloponnesian War when it sided with Sparta, and became an important base for Alexander the Great where he launched a number of successful campaigns because of it’s geographic strategic position. Also because of it’s strategic position it was valued by the Roman Empire, Christianity reached the island in the 4th century AD.
