Ancient Akrotiri is defined as a prehistoric settlement that thrived during the Minoan period, primarily in the late Bronze Age. It is characterized by its advanced urban infrastructure, including multi-story buildings, elaborate drainage systems, and intricate wall paintings that depict everyday life, nature, and religious practices. Discovered in 1967, Akrotiri is significant not only for its artistic and architectural contributions but also as a cultural and economic crossroads within the Aegean region, linking the Minoan civilization of Crete with other Cycladic islands and Mediterranean cultures.

circa 1700 BCE

Neolithic and Early Cycladic Period (circa 5000–3000 BCE)
The earliest evidence for human activity or habitation of Akrotiri can be traced back as early as the fifth millennium BCE when it was a small fishing and farming village.

Early Bronze Age (circa 3000–2000 BCE)
The earliest notable settlement at Akrotiri emerged as part of the Cycladic culture, characterized by simple, small-scale dwellings and a subsistence-based economy. Its strategic location on Thera, along maritime trade routes, facilitated exchanges of goods such as obsidian, pottery, and marble figurines. During this period, Akrotiri developed into a modest but thriving community of farmers, fishermen, and craftsmen. By the end of the third millennium, this community developed and expanded significantly.

Middle Bronze Age (circa 2000–1700 BCE)
During this period one factor for Akrotiri's growth may be the trade relations it established with other cultures in the Aegean, as evidenced in fragments of foreign pottery at the site. As trade expanded in the Aegean, Akrotiri grew into a bustling port town. Influenced by the rising Minoan civilization on Crete, the settlement saw advancements in architecture, including the construction of multi-story buildings. Pottery styles and trade networks reflected increasing integration into the Minoan economic and cultural sphere, marking the transition from a Cycladic to a Minoan-dominated identity. Akrotiri's prosperity, which started during later period of Middle Bronze Age, continued for about another 500 years; paved streets, an extensive drainage system, the production of high-quality pottery and further craft specialization all point to the level of sophistication achieved by the settlement.

Late Bronze Age (circa 1700–1600 BCE)
Akrotiri reached its zenith as a prominent Minoan urban center. Akrotiri's strategic position on the primary sailing route between Cyprus and Minoan Crete also made it an important point for the copper trade, thus allowing it to become an important centre for processing copper, as proven by the discovery of moulds and crucibles there. The town boasted sophisticated infrastructure, such as drainage systems and paved streets, alongside vibrant frescoes that adorned its buildings. It became a vital hub for maritime trade, connecting the Cyclades, Crete, and the eastern Mediterranean.

Theran Eruption (circa 1600 BCE)
This period of prosperity was abruptly ended by the Thera eruption around 1600 BCE, which buried the town in volcanic ash and preserved it in remarkable detail. There is a variety of dating evidence for the eruption, but its exact year is not known. Radiocarbon dating places it most probably between 1620 and 1530 BCE, which is also in accord with the date range of 1570 to 1500 BCE suggested by similarities of the material culture with other sites in the Aegean.

Modern Rediscovery (19th–20th Century CE)
Although parts of Akrotiri had been known to locals, systematic excavations began in 1967 under Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos. The site revealed unparalleled insights into Minoan urban life, art, and architecture. Today, Akrotiri is celebrated as one of the best-preserved archaeological sites of the Bronze Age, shedding light on the interconnected cultures of the Aegean.

circa 1700 BCE

House of the Ladies
The so-called "House of the Ladies" was a three storey building named after the wall-paintings (inspect) that decorated the third storey of room 1. The eastern wing had been badly eroded over the centuries by the torrent that flowed through the site prior to the excavation and the construction of the protective structures.

The entrance to the residential structure was at the south-west corner, where the main staircase is also situated. The service staircase was at about the center of the building, adjacent to the southern wall of the square light-well, the only example of this architectural feature found so far at ancient Akrotiri. The rooms around the light-well communicated via a narrow corridor. In addition to the wall-painting of the Ladies, room 1 was adorned with murals representing clusters of enlarged papyrus flowers (inspect). From the abundance and the kind of finds it is deduced that most of the rooms of theground floor and the first storey were storerooms for foodstuffs and domestic vessels, which suggest that the building was a house.

circa 1700 BCE

West House
The "west house", a building comprising a ground floor and two upper storeys at least in its east wing, was a stand-alone residential complex. The rise in the street level at various times, due to arranging destruction debris, on the one hand necessasitated adapting the entrance of the building to this level, and on the other turned the ground-floor rooms into semi-basement ones.

The spacious room in the middle of the first storey was well illuminated through the large window overlooking the so-called "triangle square". The discovery of hundreds of loom-weights attests the presence of heavy weaving activity in the complex. The west wing of the first storey seems to have housed the formal apartents of the building. It was divided by thin mud partition walls into three rooms. In the southwest corner was a sanitary installation. This was framed by room 4 of L-shaped plan, the walls of which were decorated with wall-paintings of the "Ikria" and which was well lit by two windows, on the west and the south sides. Room 5, had a paved floor and walls with multiple windows, doors and cupboards. The narrow surfaces above there opening were adorned with 'miniature frieze' wall painting.

In the north-east and south-west corners were the wall paintings of two young fishermen, while on the east jamb of the doorway into room 4 was the wall painting of the so-called "young priestess".

circa 1700 BCE

Xeste 4
The structure was conventionally named Xeste 4 beacuse of its ashlar (xeste) masonry. Exceeding 20 meters in length, it is a unique edifice. In its west wing it was at least three-storeyed building, with the paved floor of the third storey still in situ. Because of the steep south-east gradient of the ground, the east wing is founded at a much lower level, thus accommodating another one or two storeys.

Its entrance was onto Kouretes street, where the excavation has barely uncovered the lintel of the doorway. The walls on either side fo the impressive grand staircase, which led from a vestibule to the upper storeys, were decorated with a monumental composition depicting a procession of almost life-sized male figures, ascending the stairs.

The size of Xeste 4, quality of construction and commanding appearance, enhanced by the iconographic programme of the staircase, suggest that this was most likely a public building. Perhaps it was the seat of the civic authority responsible for the planning and maintenance of public works, such as the paved streets and the sewer and drainage system of the ancient city.

Xeste 4 is the largest and most imposing building brought to light at the site and all indications are that it served an important, as yet unknown public function. It comprised the ground floor and two upper storeys, and most probablt a semi-basement on the east side. All the external walls were built out of carefully dressed stone masonry, the unique case so far at ancient Akrotiri. The staircase decorated with wall paintings at the entrance from Curetes street and two more staircases facilitated circulation inside the building complex. On the second storey a hall with plythyro (pier and door partitions) has been discovered. The area is still under excavation.

circa 1700 BCE

Pithoi Storeroom
The so-called "pithoi storeroom" was the name given by professor Syridon Marinatos to the first building brought to light in the excavation, in 1967, because the area was full of large storage jars (pithoi). The later torrent which flowed through the area of the archaeological site had cut down through the volcanic material, frequently exposing the ruins of the building. On the floor of the southern most and largest room is a stone circular base of the now perished wooden column that upheld the floor of the upper storey, from which the base of the column upholding the ceiling of the building, had fallen. At the south-west edge of the room, close to the entrance, was the hearth (a low quadrangle platform), beside which is a small stone basin sunk in the floor. The floor of the middle room was strewn with crushed murex shells.

The numerous loom-weights in front of the large window of room 1 had fallen from the upper storey, attesting that weaving activity took place here. This fact, in combination with the large quantities of foodstuffs stored in the pithoi, led Marinatos to interpret the building as a storeroom for supplying the people involved in production activities. Some of the pithoi discovered here contained barley, barley flour and seed.

circa 1700 BCE

Triangle Square

circa 1700 BCE

Water-supply Infrastructure
The quantities of water needed for the functioning of the city must have been enormous. Brackish water or even sea water carried in carried in water-skins on pack animals will have sufficed for the needs of the sanitary facilities in each house, and the large jars (pithoi) usually found in these, decorated with aqquatic plants (reeds), indicate its storage. Nonetheless, the water source or the spring from which the city might have sourced its water is still unknown. Also, the cisterns which were quite commonly used to collect rainwater from the roofs of the houses in Thera (Santorini) until very recetnly, are also absent from the architecture.

The discovery of a small clay pipe of totally different type from the pipes used in the sewer drainage system, suggests the existance of an aqueduct that brought water from the foot of the limestone massif of Mount Prophitis Ilias (some 5.6 kilometers north-east as the crow flies), where there are springs of fresh water even today. Perhaps this aqueductterminated on the outskirts of the city, where possibly a fountain like the one illustrated in the miniature frieze from the "west house" served the city's inhabitants.

circa 1700 BCE

Wall Paintings (Frescoes)
The wall-paintings from Akrotiri on the Island of Thera (modern day Santorini), are distinguished by the originality of their iconography, the freedom in the design and rendering of the figures, and the richness of their colours. Their perfect state of preservation, thanks to their burial in volcanic ash, has allowed the identification of several different artists working within a Theran tradition but under strong Cretan influence. The painter of the 'Boxing children (inspect)' and of the 'Antelopes (inspect)' displays a characteristic simplicity and austerity, which are balanced with grace and vitality in the design of the figures. The painter of the 'Spring' fresco and of the 'Crocus gatherers' is distinguished by the freedom and spontaneity of his compositions, a greater attention to naturalism and detail, an almost photographic rendering of fleeting moments and a profuse use of colour.

The stone-built walls were covered first with clay mixed with straw, then with a thick layer of plaster and lastly with successive thin plaster layers. The painter sketched the preliminary design on the wet surface using twine and a pointed tool. The paint was also applied on a wet surface, which led to its good preservation, although some details were added after the plaster had dried. The colours were either mineral (iron for dark red) or yellow ochre, or synthetic (pyrite with copper and lime oxides for light blue).