Earthquakes in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations
- Mar 24, 2011
- Michael Streich
Seventeen years before the Roman city of Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash, the plateau beneath Mount Vesuvius experienced severe earthquakes. Throughout the ancient Mediterranean, earthquakes displaced civilizations or, as in the case of Knossos, blotted them out entirely. Earthquakes were associated with divine retribution as well as assistance such as the crumbling of Jericho’s walls. Natural events foretold life and death. In the Gospel of Matthew, for example, the sky darkened amidst an earthquake at the moment of Jesus’ crucifixion in Jerusalem. (27:54)
The Destruction of the Minoan Civilization
Santorini is today a favorite tourist destination for visitors cruising the Greek islands in the Eastern Mediterranean. In ca 1500 B.C.E. it was known as Thera, begun as a Minoan city utterly destroyed by an earthquake and a volcanic eruption surpassing the power and damage of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. According to researchers like Arturo Gonzalez, huge tidal waves overwhelmed many of the islands and, “…started floods as far away as Egypt…”
C. W. Ceram relates how Sir Arthur Evans solved the mystery of Knossos’ destruction following a massive earthquake (Gods, Graves and Scholars). This vibrant mercantile civilization was obliterated by earthquakes and possibly as a result of tidal waves related to the Thera explosion. Earthquakes frequently devastated coastal communities. In Southern Turkey, ruins of Roman communities such as Cnidus have been submerged. Today, visitors swim above the clearly distinguishable ruins.
Ancient World Earthquakes Associated with Divine Assistance and Punishment
Astronomer and Bible scholar Alfred Joy writes that, “In the Scriptures earthquakes are mentioned as tokens of God’s power…” Oberlin College professor George Frederick Wright, commenting on Jericho, compares the falling of the city’s walls (Joshua 2-6) with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Jericho was built on ground vulnerable to earthquakes since the first settlements during the Prepottery Neolithic period and was well-located for trade purposes.
In some cases, earthquakes were harbingers of the future, associated, for example, with Armageddon (Matthew 24:3-7; Revelation 11:13.19) Earthquakes in Jerusalem were particularly significant as in the death of Christ whose final words coincided with an earthquake.
Earthquakes Destroy Atlantis and Pompeii
Two celebrated stories from the ancient Mediterranean involve the power of earthquakes. Pompeii was discovered in the 19th Century but Atlantis remains a mystery. The agonizing destruction of Pompeii is well told from the ruins themselves as well as eye-witness testimony by Pliny the Younger in a detailed letter to Tacitus.
Atlantis, however, is still a mystery, prompted by Plato’s reference in Timaeus. According to Plato, Atlantis sank into the earth after experiencing “violent earthquakes and floods…” Writer Robert Arndt briefly chronicles contemporary research suggesting Atlantis was the sunken Minoan city of Thera where 36,000 people died following the spectacular earth upheavals.
Historians speculate as to the ramifications of an eruption and earthquake in 1500 B.C.E. Did this coincide with the decline of Peloponnesian culture and curb further Hittite expansion? Were these events related to the ultimate destruction of Knossos?
Ancient Mediterranean Earthquakes Impact Civilizations
Earthquake fault lines run through parts of Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. Some researchers like Joy believe that earthquakes were more frequent in the ancient world and because coastal port communities were important, their inundation through quakes and tidal waves drove ancient legends.
Additionally, as in the case of Pompeii, past eruptions left fertile lands, prompting the reestablishment of previously successful communities. Some areas, such as Jericho, were strategically located and constantly rebuilt following calamities. Earthquakes, however, played a significant role in the rise and fall of civilizations and frequently determined which ancient civilizations would survive.
Sources:
- Robert Arndt, “Santorini,” Saudi Aramco World (July/August 1973)
- Alfred H. Joy, “Earthquake,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume II (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939)
- Arthuro F. Gonzalez, “Atlantis: Legend Lives on,” Saudi Aramco World, Volume 23, Number 3, (May/June 1972)
- Salvatore Nappo, Pompeii (Barnes & Noble, 1998)
- New American Standard Bible (Moody Press, 1973)
- George Frederick Wright, “Jericho,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volume III (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939)
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