21. A Mediterranean Disaster Whose Impact Reached as Far Away as China
The plume and volcanic lightning from the Thera Eruption were recorded on the Ancient Egyptian Tempest Stele. It describes a great storm that struck Egypt, and destroyed tombs, temples, and pyramids as far south as Thebes, 500 miles from the Mediterranean coast. The eruption wrecked the island of Santorini where the volcano was located, and nearby Akrotiri. The ash and dust thrown into the air led to a volcanic winter. Its effects were felt – and recorded – as far away as China. There, the Bamboo Annals, a chronicle of Ancient China, describes a severe cold spell around this time.
Closer to home, the Thera Eruption triggered strong earthquakes and powerful tsunamis. They caused widespread devastation in nearby islands and along the coast of Crete, home of the Minoan civilization. The Minoans, a fascinating and enigmatic culture, were the Mediterranean’s greatest naval power at the time, and dominated the Aegean Sea and what became Greece and the Greek world. The havoc wreaked upon Crete contributed in a major way to the decline of their civilization, and paved the way for its eventual extinction.
