Akrotiri is located on the southernmost part of the island of Thera and known as the “Pompeii of the Aegean Sea” because it too was covered in volcanic ash. Akrotiri was a site used for commerce that was forgotten until about one hundred years ago. When it was discovered, there was no gold or silver found, meaning that the people had probably abandoned it before it was covered.
The site we visited is thought to only be about 3% of the whole city, but was the city center. The city was built on a north to south axis with the main street, Technites, running on that axis. This street was two meters wide with paving and a sewage system that ran underneath. The fact that the city had sewage shows that it was an important place. However it was not planned, and grew organically. This is one of the characteristics of the Cycladic culture that Akrotiri was a part of. The others include: an absence of fortifications; a sophisticated infrastructure; common building plans (suggesting that everyone in society was on same level, i.e. there was no royalty); and polytheron (many doors).
About thirty-five buildings in the site have been identified with the smaller ones being houses and the larger ones being public buildings. The Xeste houses were those that contained horizontally cut stone (ashlar blocks), that required higher craftsmanship. We saw Xeste 3, which had fourteen rooms on the ground and second floors and probably had rituals/religion, and Xeste 4, which was the largest building and a very important public site with wall paintings inside. We also saw the Delta complex (that had at least four houses), the west house (where vases for storage were found), and the House of the Ladies (that had the frescoes from the museum).
The Akrotiri site was a great precursor to Pompeii. It was much smaller than Pompeii, but gave us a comprehensive idea of what a Cycladic civilization looked like. It was both fascinating and eerie to walk on the Technites street that the residents of this town would probably have walked on every day so many years ago.
The site we visited is thought to only be about 3% of the whole city, but was the city center. The city was built on a north to south axis with the main street, Technites, running on that axis. This street was two meters wide with paving and a sewage system that ran underneath. The fact that the city had sewage shows that it was an important place. However it was not planned, and grew organically. This is one of the characteristics of the Cycladic culture that Akrotiri was a part of. The others include: an absence of fortifications; a sophisticated infrastructure; common building plans (suggesting that everyone in society was on same level, i.e. there was no royalty); and polytheron (many doors).
About thirty-five buildings in the site have been identified with the smaller ones being houses and the larger ones being public buildings. The Xeste houses were those that contained horizontally cut stone (ashlar blocks), that required higher craftsmanship. We saw Xeste 3, which had fourteen rooms on the ground and second floors and probably had rituals/religion, and Xeste 4, which was the largest building and a very important public site with wall paintings inside. We also saw the Delta complex (that had at least four houses), the west house (where vases for storage were found), and the House of the Ladies (that had the frescoes from the museum).
The Akrotiri site was a great precursor to Pompeii. It was much smaller than Pompeii, but gave us a comprehensive idea of what a Cycladic civilization looked like. It was both fascinating and eerie to walk on the Technites street that the residents of this town would probably have walked on every day so many years ago.