Minoan eruption Minoan eruption The Minoan eruption of Thera, also referred to as the Thera eruption, Santorini eruption, or Late Bronze Age eruption, was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or 7 and a dense-rock equivalent (DRE) of , Dated to the mid-second millennium BCE, the eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history. It devastated the island of Thera (now called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri and communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and the coast of Crete with a related earthquake and tsunami. There are
Minoan eruption a large earthquake and the fires it caused, which preceded the Thera eruption. Significant Minoan remains have been found above the Thera ash layer and tsunami level dating from the Late Minoan I era, and it is unclear whether the effects of the ash and tsunami were enough to trigger the downfall of the Minoan civilization. Some sites were abandoned or settlement systems significantly interrupted in the immediate aftermath of the eruption. As the Minoans were a sea power and depended on ships for their livelihood, the Thera eruption likely caused significant economic hardship to the Minoans. Whether the effects