Akrotiri
Christian T. Jones
COL. Sheldon
HI-304-01
Help Received:
Col Sheldon
Akrotiri, the Pompeii of the Aegean,1 was once a Bronze Age Minoan settlement
on the volcanic island of Thera. This once-great settlement was known for its beauty, its
art, and for its trade, and was at one time a very important component of Minoan society
of the Bronze Age up until its destruction by the eruption of Thera around 1650 to 1550
BCE.2 What is it about this place that makes it worth looking into? How and why was
this settlement important to the Minoan civilization? How did the Greeks use Akrotiri to
enhance and advance their culture?
Akrotiri, located on Thera, the southernmost island of the Greek Cyclades is
really close to the island of Crete,3 approximately 90 miles.4 It is one of the most
important locations worldwide for studying volcanic geological phenomena. The island
of Thera was once circular, but after the eruption it was left looking completely
different.5 So this here is one of the first reasons why studying Akrotiri is so important,
we can learn so much from the aftermath of the ancient eruption. With Akrotiri being
preserved in such great condition we were able to learn many more things about this
ancient Minoan civilization.
Akrotiri is famous for its three-story architecture, pottery; rock cut burial
chambers, the famous Akrotiri frescoes, and its drainage systems.6 The earliest evidence
for this Minoan settlement at Akrotiri dates back to the mid-fifth century BCE when a
small fishing and farming community established by the Minoans on a coastal
Christos G. Doumas, “The Antiquaries Journal,” November 29, 2011, accessed
September 24, 2014, pg. 142.
2 “Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
3 Akrotiri on Thera
4 Mapcrow.info
5 Akrotiri on Thera
6 Akrotiri (Santorini), Wikipedia,
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promontory.7
This was a very small settlement that focused on trade in the
Mediterranean, and was a very prosperous settlement.8 Akrotiri was well placed on the
copper trade route between Cyprus and Minoan Crete and became very prominent in
metal work and pottery.9 Akrotiri has burial chambers cut out of rock, used for burying
the dead citizens of the settlement.10 These rock-cut burials were very unique to this
area, and were a key feature to their architectural developments at this time of
civilization. These structures were first built around 3000-2000 BCE. As Akrotiri began
to flourish and became prosperous through trade, Akrotiri became the prime place for
trade and was the hub for the Mediterranean as a trade center, reaching its peak between
2000 BCE all the way until roughly 1650-1550 BCE.11
All of the greatness and
prosperity flowing through the settlement of Akrotiri, the trading all came to an abrupt
and untimely end with the devastating destruction of the settlement. The very island that
they lived on, Thera, which was a massive volcano suddenly, erupted causing mass
destruction to the surrounding areas. Most agree that this massive eruption happened
around 1650-1550 BCE,12 great amounts of ash and molten lava covered Akrotiri. Once
all the lava, dust and ash settled there Akrotiri stood, beautifully preserved in ash, making
Akrotiri the Pompeii of the Aegean,13 now the once great trading center of Akrotiri is no
more.
“Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
“Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
9 “Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
10 “Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
11 “Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
12 “Thera,” last modified on July 7, 2012, http://www.ancient.eu/thera/.
13 Christos G. Doumas, “The Antiquaries Journal,” November 29, 2011, accessed
September 24, 2014, pg. 142.
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Akrotiri was left untouched for many centuries until the Greek archeologist
Spyridon Marinatos came across this great discovery in 1967 CE.14 This discovery is
probably one of the greatest archeological finds of the 20th century. Discovering the long
lost Akrotiri opened doors of discovery in realizing how life was before the great eruption
of Thera, with Akrotiri being so well preserved underneath all of the ash and pumice
from the volcano, many things were left in good condition, making it very easy to learn
new things about their ancient way of life. Among the many finds at the ancient site,
were the great Akrotiri frescoes; the rock cut burial chambers, Linear A tablets, pottery,
and many other Bronze Age artifacts. They even had flushing toilets.15 Just from the
archeological finds at Akrotiri, we can decipher that the Minoans were very civilized and
advanced people with many inventions and tools. It is a wonder to discover what great
accomplishments such an ancient society could come up with given the limited resources
and technological advances that they had.
Probably the most fascinating thing about the discovery of Akrotiri would have to
be the wall paintings or the Akrotiri Frescoes. These were paintings found on the wall of
buildings; West House, Complex D, and Building B, among others that were left intact,
these paintings were in great shape, taking into account the amount of time they have
been there, and what the settlement had been through over the past few thousand years.
Some key examples are; The Springtime Fresco, The Young Fisherman Fresco, Boxing
Boys Fresco, as well as, Detail of the Flotilla Fresco.16 These frescoes demonstrate the
15
Petros Koutoupis, Ancient Origins Post, 2014.
Petros Koutoupis, Ancient Origins Post, 2014.
16
Carol Hendricks, “The Frescoes of Akrotiri,” Art History Blogger, August 6, 2012.
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artistic ability of the Akrotiri people; with these art works as well as their technology and
architecture it proves that these were very civilized and sophisticated people.
Akrotiri today is now an excavation site and a popular tourist destination where
you can go see the old settlement and see what is left of this great civilization located on
the island of Santorini in the Greek Cyclades. With studying Akrotiri we have learned a
lot about the ancient ways of life for the Bronze Age Minoans up until the eruption of
Thera. We have learned why Akrotiri is such an important place in the modern world, for
all of the knowledge we gain through volcanic geological phenomena. Through studying
the rubble left behind being so well preserved, we have learned so much about the culture
and life of the people of Akrotiri, as well as learn a lot about how the Minoans thrived as
a civilization from what we can see from the artifacts left intact from the eruption. We
can learn a lot from looking into the past, Akrotiri is the perfect example to study, and we
are lucky to have found such a beautiful place preserved so well from the ash from what
is left of the once beautiful and prosperous trading center of the Mediterranean.
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4 Fresco images:
Carol Hendricks, “The Frescoes of Akrotiri,” Art History Blogger, August 6, 2012.
The Springtime Fresco, from room Delta 2, Complex D
Young Fisherman Fresco
Room 5, West House
Boxing Boys Fresco
Room B1, Building B
5
Detail of the Flotilla Fresco, Room 5, West House
Akrotiri Excavation site, found on Wikipedia
Map layout of Akrotiri, Found on Wikipedia.
6
Map of Santorini, found on Google images
Sculptures of Akrotiri, found on Google images
Pottery of Akrotiri, found on Google images
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Bibliography
 Akrotiri on Thera, http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/cycladic-excavationAkrotiri-Thera.html.

Akrotiri (Santorini), Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_(Santorini)#Akrotiri_today:_the_con
necting_path
 Hendricks, Carol. “The Frescoes of Akrotiri,” Art History Blogger,
(August 2012) http://arthistoryblogger.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-frescoesof-akrotiri.html.

Cartwright, Mark, ”Thera,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, (July 2012)
http://www.ancient.eu/thera/

The Chicago Manual of Style Online, 16 (2010).
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
 Doumas, Christos G. “The Antiquaries Journal,” 64.01 (March 1984) 142143.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&ai
d=7865851&fileId=S0003581500067743
 Koutoupis, Petros. “The Ancient settlement of Akrotiri and the mass
Exodus of Therans,” Ancient Origins, (May 2014). http://www.ancientorigins.net/ancient-places-europe/ancient-settlement-akrotiri-and-massexodus-therans-001607
 Mapcrow.info, for distance between the islands of Thera and
Crete.http://www.mapcrow.info/Distance_between_Santorini_GR_and
_Crete_GR.html
 Revised final copy from Col Sheldon.
 Two handouts about citations and bibliography given by Col. Sheldon in
class.
 Spell check
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