Qualla: Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-wk/oia-santorini-hdr-sunset.jpg Qualla: Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: Introduction https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit Jason Boldero from UK, CC BY 2.0. Around 1600 BC, the volcanic island of Thera - modern Santorini - exploded. The Minoan eruption was one of the largest in human history, ejecting 60 cubic kilometers of material and collapsing the island into a caldera. The blast was heard in Egypt. Tsunamis devastated Crete, 110 kilometers away. Within a generation, the sophisticated Minoan civilization collapsed. Some scholars believe this catastrophe inspired Plato's story of Atlantis - a advanced civilization swallowed by the sea in a single day. Today, tourists sun themselves on cliffs surrounding the flooded crater, unaware they're vacationing inside a dormant supervolcano.

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Image: Jason Boldero from UK | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Explosion https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit Christopher Down, CC BY 4.0. The Minoan eruption of Thera was one of the most powerful volcanic events in recorded human history - an estimated VEI 6 or 7. For comparison, it was four times more powerful than Krakatoa. The initial eruption column reached 36 kilometers into the stratosphere. The explosion ej...

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Image: Christopher Down | CC BY 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-the-explosion.mp3 0:06 2 full Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Minoans https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit Gleb Simonov, Public domain. Before the eruption, the Minoan civilization flourished across the Aegean. Based on Crete, the Minoans built elaborate palaces, created sophisticated art, and traded across the Mediterranean. Akrotiri, a Minoan settlement on Thera, was a prosperous town of multi-story buildings a...

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Image: Gleb Simonov | Public domain

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-the-minoans.mp3 0:06 3 full Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Atlantis Theory https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit Wikiphilip at English Wikipedia (Original text: Norman Pless), CC BY-SA 3.0. Plato described Atlantis as an advanced civilization destroyed by earthquakes and floods, sinking beneath the sea in a single day and night. He placed it beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar), but some scholars believe he was describing Thera and the Minoans. The parallels ...

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Image: Wikiphilip at English Wikipedia (Original text: Norman Pless) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-the-atlantis-theory.mp3 0:06 4 full Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Excavations https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit Je-str, CC BY-SA 4.0. Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos began excavating Akrotiri in 1967. What he found was remarkable: a Bronze Age city preserved under volcanic ash. Three-story buildings with frescoes still on the walls. Pottery, furniture, and tools in place. Streets and squares laid out in ...

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Image: Je-str | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-the-excavations.mp3 0:06 5 full Santorini: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Volcano https://qualla.com/santorini-eruption/ Photo credit david delewski from Washington, DC, United States, CC BY 2.0. Santorini remains volcanically active. The small islands of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni in the center of the caldera are volcanic cones that have grown since the Minoan eruption. Nea Kameni last erupted in 1950. Hot springs bubble around its shores. Geologists monitor Santorini ...

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Image: david delewski from Washington, DC, United States | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/santorini-eruption-wk/sw6p-santorini-the-volcano-that-may-have-destroyed-atla-the-volcano.mp3 0:06 6 full