Ancient Thera

A Dorian settlement atop Mesa Vouno mountain (365 m) on Santorini, founded in the 9th-8th century BC by Spartan colonists led by King Theras, for whom the island was named. The site preserves some of the oldest known Greek alphabet inscriptions, adapted from the Phoenician script, found at hilltop sanctuaries with dedications to Zeus, Apollo, and other gods. Excavated from 1896 by Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen, the ruins span Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.