Maps
Where to go
Archaeological Sites
Two great civilizations have left their mark on Santorini: one belongs to prehistoric times and is apparent in what has been coming to light in the excavations at Akrotiri. The other is a Greek civilization represented by the ancient city located on Mesa Vouno.
Read more
Thera/Santorini
By Professor Christos Doumas
The use of Theraic land by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps for the insulation of the Suez Canal lead to the discovery of prehistoric antiquities (1866), marking the beginning of archaeological research on the Cycladic islands... [more]
The city of Ancient Thera
By Maja Efstathiou
In the early of eighth century B.C. when Dorieis colonists arrived in the island, possibly Spartiates, with their leader Theras, founded the settlement which took their leader’s name in the steep, embattled peak of Mesa Vouno, which is a hill (385 meters) that belongs to the pre volcano core of the island and predominates in its southeastern end... [more]
Prehistoric Thera: Akrotiri
The ancient city at Akrotiri is not just the most important archaeological site on the island. But, thanks to its excellent state of preservation and the wealth of finds it has yielded, it is also the most important prehistoric settlement found anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. Akrotiri could be characterised as the prehistoric Pompeii of the Aegean.
The Akrotiri archaeological site is temporarily closed to the public due to technical works that are being carried out at the new environmental shelter that covers the site.
Ancient Thera: Mesa Vouno
The strategic position of the area attracted the Lacedaemonian colonisers of the island who founded their city utilizing the limestone rock of Mesa Vouno as a natural fortress. From the 9th century B.C. until the spread of Christianity, the city of Mesa Vouno was the only urban centre of the island.