"The first time I visited
Santorini in 1961 as a newly appointed Curator of Antiquities
for the Cyclades, Thanasis Yannakas, the late lamented caretaker
of the Museum welcomed me with the words, "If you are
lucky, sir, there may be a little eruption for you to admire.
It really is a marvelous sight". It was years before
I realised that the elderly caretaker meant exactly what he
said. He had witnessed the most recent eruptions (1939 - 1941
and 1950), and was speaking from personal experience.
For Santorini, the volcano is both creator and destroyer. It
shaped the character of the civilization which developed on
the island and which continues to flourish there. When it extinguished
every trace of life and civilization in the tremendous eruption
of 1600 BC, it buried a treasure for us: an incalculable wealth
of information on the material and cultural civilization which
flourished in the Aegean in the Bronze Age, information which
constitutes an invaluable chapter in the history of mankind,
and a source of prosperity and enrichment for the island's present
inhabitants. |
| Civilization, in general terms, is
nothing more than the resultant of man's answers to the imperative
challenges of his environment. Santorini's arid but fertile
volcanic soil, obliged its inhabitants to develop methods of
cultivation unique in the Aegean islands. Barley, broad beans,
lentils, peas, various types of grapes and wines these have
been the mainstay of the island's economy since prehistoric
times. The people of Santorini burrowed deep into the volcanic
ash to build their cave-like dwellings; with volcanic materials
- lava and pozzuolana - they roofed their free-standing buildings,
evolving a new technique of domed construction. The dramatic
and diverse landscape of this island, so lacerated by the activity
of its volcano, now offers aesthetic delight to millions of
visitors, providing another source of income for the islanders
and facilitating their change from subsistence to a consumer
society. |
| It is difficult for anyone who has
not actually experienced the volcano to understand the way in
which the people of Santorini seem almost to identify with it.
The volcano brings you face to face with the center of the earth,
and reveals in incomparable fashion - and terror - the grandeur
of nature. As the story contained within this brief guide unfolds,
it becomes evident that between the huge, catastrophic eruptions
of the volcano, there occurred many less devastating ones. |
| While these were certainly terrifying
to the inhabitants of the island, they also enabled them to
witness first hand one of the processes of creation; a process
which raised up out of the sea the geographical space which
they had chosen to occupy. The eruptions of the volcano constitute
spectacular signposts marking the history of the island, events
which no one who lived through them will easily forget. As for
me, the uninitiated, who unlike the elderly caretaker was not
lucky enough to experience the terror, the wonder and the grandeur
of an eruption, this Guide to the Kameni Islands will help me
wander in safety over the surface of the volcano's recent history.
Both scientifically accurate, and a polished and enjoyable read,
it is an indispensable companion to your exploration of the
islands". |
|
Published by : Thera Foundation,
Greece
- Date: 1992
- Edited by Professor Christos Doumas
- Translated by A. Doumas
- Received the Academy of Athens Award in 1993
- Available languages: Greek, English, German |
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