Greece's Pompeii: The Santorini Volcano and the Minoan Eruption with Dimitra Pilarinou
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Crete and Santorini, two of the most beautiful, picturesque Greek islands in the Aegean archipelago were 3,600 years ago, in the Late Bronze Age of Greece, major players in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Crete was the capital of the Minoan world, with Santorini as its cosmopolitan hub. They experienced an apocalypse and their own version of Pompeii: the Minoan Eruption of the Santorini Volcano. This conversation will delve into one of the greatest natural disasters this world has experienced.
Minoan Crete was thriving in its heyday. Bustling cities and busy harbors scattered throughout the island were the backdrop of an affluent society, open but selective to external influences of neighboring cultures such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Syria. Just sixty miles north of Crete, in the Cyclades, Santorini was a major link in the trade network during the second millennium BC. The excavation of its Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri has revealed a prosperous city of 30,000 people: farmers, artists, craftsmen, sailors, and merchants dwelled in magnificent, anti-seismic multi-story buildings decorated with beautiful frescoes and intricate drainage-sewerage network. It was a well-off society heavily influenced by its powerful Cretan neighbors but able to forge its own unique Cycladic cultural identity. However, this idyllic world was doomed to come to a sudden end.
In one of the largest eruptions in the last 100,000 years, the volcano of Santorini exploded in the late seventeenth century BC with the force of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs (VEI 7) ending all life and burying Akrotiri under a thirty-meter blanket of pumice and ash, a true Bronze Age Pompeii. Santorini was wiped out: the maritime trade which was the lifeblood of the Minoans, was abruptly cut and the balance of power shifted in the eastern Mediterranean. The largest eruption witnessed by humanity had a physical, cultural, and economic impact worldwide as far as China and the Americas and possibly is the inspiration of one of the most famous, enduring tales of all times: the legend of Atlantis.
Led by an expert on the prehistoric archaeology of the Aegean, archaeologist MA Dimitra Pilarinou, this interactive seminar will explore the Minoan world before and after the cataclysmic eruption of the Santorini Volcano as well as its worldwide consequences. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased knowledge of the Minoan civilization in Crete and Santorini and how they were affected by the explosion according to the latest discoveries.
Dimitra Pilarinou is a Greek archaeologist and Licensed Tour Guide with a Master's degree in Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean. She has worked in excavations all around Greece, has given speeches on various topics in Seminars and Congresses, and has appeared on documentaries about the Minoans on History Channel and Travel Channel.
This conversation is suitable for all ages
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
This was a fascinating lecture, packed with wonderful information! We have traveled to Santorini a few times and have visited the Akrotiri archaeological site, so we really enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the eruption and its impact. Dimitra Pilarinou was a very engaging speaker and we would highly recommend this Context Conversation!
I was captivated from the beginning. Dimitra is obviously both knowledgeable and excited about the Santorini Volcano. I've attended many Context tours, and although they are generally very good, this ones was just exemplary. I would love to take a tour from her the next time I'm in Santorini!
She starts with a review of the island and culture to give context to the artifacts we'll see, then walks us thru the buildings and village of Akrotiri that was destroyed explaining the way of life, economics, art, cooking, plumbing, building techniques etc. Great use of photos - saw all the frescos and there are many - so felt it was almost as good as being there. Then finished with a 15 min overview of VERY interesting material about the eruption and its effects as far away as China and USA. Fascinating story.
It was amazing to have someone from Crete, who is also an archaeologist there. Visual and verbal presentation could not have been better. It was extremely interesting and informative.
When a scholar combines in depth knowledge of their topic with enthusiasm and story telling ability the result is exactly what we experienced in Dimitras' presentation. She gave us an engaging lecture with excellent photos & videos and even brought to the lecture real pumice stone from the volcanic eruption to see! An overall wonderful experience!