According to studies and excavations on Santorini, the first human presence on the island dates back to the Neolithic Period. Santorini hosted an important civilization around 3600 BCE. Discoveries made in an important city near Akrotiri and the famous Red Beach show the existence of an ancient Minoan colony. The city was very similar to those found in the island of Crete, with many wall ornaments and pottery showing naturalistic landscapes of animals and humans of the same ancient Minoan style. In ancient times, Santorini Island was known as Stongili, which means round in Greek. Strongili was the victim of an enormous volcanic eruption in 1,500 BCE.
The eruption was so huge that many consider it to be the main cause of the destruction of the great Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, situated 70 nautical miles away. Specialists believe that the explosion was so great that it created gigantic waves that reached the shores of the surrounding islands and Crete. After the explosion, the center of Santorini sank, and the many earthquakes that followed destroyed a big part of the rest of the island. Many studies and research have been presented about the volcano of Santorini, including a series of documentaries by National Geographic. In some ancient myths, the destruction of the island is closely associated to the legend of Atlantis. According to history, Phoenicians settled on ancient Thera around 1,300 BCE and stayed for five generations.
Then, around 1100 BCE, the island was occupied by the Lacedaemonians. Around 825 BCE, the inhabitants of the island, then named Thera, were using the Phoenician alphabet. In the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, Thera had commercial and trade relations with most of the islands and cities of Greece. During the Hellenistic Period, Thera, because of its central position in the Aegean, became an important trade centre and an important naval base, due to its strategically perfect position. Between 1200 AD and 1579 AD, the island was under Byzantine rule and the church of Episkopi Gonia was founded. In 1204 AD the island is surrendered to the Venetian Marco Sanudo and becomes part of the Duke of the Aegean. The name of the island was given by the Venetians after the Santa Irini, the name of a catholic church. During that time there is a strong battle between Venetians and pirates. During the Turkish rule (1579-1821) the island succeeds in trading development with the ports of Eastern Mediterranean. The period that follows is quite prosperous.
Due to the wars of the 20th century, Santorini’s economy declines and the inhabitants abandon the island after the catastrophic earthquake in 1956. The tourist development in Santorini begins in the 1970’s and today it is one of the best tourist destinations in the world. Over the years, Santorini has also developed as a wedding and honeymoon destination, while many international meetings and conferences take place there in summer, at the Nomikos Conference Center or in luxurious hotels.
It is eight meters below ground, 300 meters long and has a labyrinth-like shape. The Wine Museum presents the history of wine and the life of vine-growers in Santorini from 1660 to 1970.
