that scientists have been able to detect evidence of volcanic ash from the eruption as far away as
Greenland (figure 7). Through a combination of ice-core analysis, radiocarbon dating, and examination of
tree-ring sequences, it has been possible to assign a date to the eruption of Santorini with some
confidence to within a few years of 1625 BC. Fortunately for the inhabitants, there was apparently enough
warning of the eruption that they were able to escape the island, taking with them (unfortunately for us)
many of their valuable and portable belongings. Still, the excavations that have been carried out on Thera
since the 1960s, along with those on Crete and elsewhere, have sufficed to reveal the existence of a
vibrant and animated civilization characterized by an exuberant artistic temperament that presents a
marked contrast to the restrained elegance of Cycladic art (see FRESCO in figure 8). It is perhaps not too
fanciful to view the remainder of the long tradition of Greek self-expression in the visual arts as an
attempt to balance these two conflicting and complementary tendencies.
Figure 7 ASTER image of Santorini (Thera) taken on November 21, 2000 from NASA’s Terra spacecraft.
Source: Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S. / Japan ASTER Science Team.