Qualla: The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis https://qualla.com/thera-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/fira-wk/nea-kameni.jpg Qualla: The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis https://qualla.com/thera-eruption The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: Introduction https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0. Around 1600 BC - give or take a century - the volcanic island of Thera in the Aegean Sea exploded. The eruption was one of the largest in human history, ejecting roughly 60 cubic kilometers of material and creating a caldera that is now one of the Mediterranean's most beautiful harbors. The explosion buried the Minoan city of Akrotiri under volcanic ash - a Bronze Age Pompeii perfectly preserved for 3,600 years. Tsunamis struck Crete and coastlines across the eastern Mediterranean. The Minoan civilization, the first great civilization of Europe, never recovered. And some scholars believe the eruption inspired Plato's legend of Atlantis - a great civilization destroyed by the gods.

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]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/thera-eruption-wk/sw6p-the-eruption-of-thera-the-volcano-that-may-have-de-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Island https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit Meersan, CC BY-SA 3.0. Thera - known today as Santorini - was a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, about 70 miles north of Crete. In the Bronze Age, it was home to a thriving Minoan settlement at Akrotiri. The Minoans were the first great European civilization, with sophisticated art, advanced plumbing...

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]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/thera-eruption-wk/sw6p-the-eruption-of-thera-the-volcano-that-may-have-de-the-island.mp3 0:06 2 full The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Eruption https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0. The eruption occurred in multiple phases over several days or weeks. The initial phase ejected pumice and ash high into the atmosphere. The main explosive phase then destroyed the island's center, creating a massive caldera - the crater that now forms Santorini's famous crescent ...

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Image: Norbert Nagel | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/thera-eruption-wk/sw6p-the-eruption-of-thera-the-volcano-that-may-have-de-the-eruption.mp3 0:06 3 full The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Tsunamis https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit MarkusMark, CC BY-SA 3.0. The caldera collapse generated massive tsunamis. Waves possibly 35 feet high struck the north coast of Crete, 70 miles to the south. Coastal settlements were devastated. Some researchers believe the tsunamis were the primary cause of the subsequent Minoan decline. The Minoan civ...

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]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/thera-eruption-wk/sw6p-the-eruption-of-thera-the-volcano-that-may-have-de-the-tsunamis.mp3 0:06 4 full The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Preservation https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit Greece_location_map.svg: Lencer / derivative work: Uwe Dedering (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0. Akrotiri was buried under volcanic ash like Pompeii would be 1,700 years later. The ash preserved buildings, frescoes, pottery, and artifacts in extraordinary detail. Excavations that began in 1967 have revealed a sophisticated Bronze Age city frozen in time. The frescoes at Akr...

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Image: Greece_location_map.svg: Lencer / derivative work: Uwe Dedering (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/6/p/thera-eruption-wk/sw6p-the-eruption-of-thera-the-volcano-that-may-have-de-the-preservation.mp3 0:06 5 full The Eruption of Thera: The Volcano That May Have Destroyed Atlantis: The Legend https://qualla.com/thera-eruption/ Photo credit Armineaghayan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Some scholars believe the Thera eruption inspired Plato's story of Atlantis - a great civilization destroyed by the gods and sunk beneath the sea. Plato's account places Atlantis beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar), but his description of a circular island wi...

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