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Many believe that the origin of the Atlantis myth was the civilization of the Minoans, which was centered on the island of Crete. The Minoan civilization flourished between 2700 and 1500 BC. It is particularly famous for its great palaces and artworks. The most famous site in the Minoan culture is that of Knossos. This society dominated the eastern Mediterranean for many centuries and they traded with many other cultures including the Egyptians .<ref> Castleden, Rodney. Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete (New York, Routledge, 1993), p 13-30</ref>. They also established many colonies throughout the Aegean such as that on the modern island of Santorini, which was known as the island of Thera in the Classical World.  We do not know the name that what the Minoans called themselves. The archaeologist who rediscovered the civilization called it after the legendary King Minos. There is a great deal of evidence that the Minoans were literate, but experts are still not able to decipher their writings. This civilization began a slow period of decline around 1700 BC. This was greatly exacerbated by the so-called Minoan Eruption. In the mid-1500 BC, there was a massive volcanic eruption on the Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). This is one of the largest known volcanic eruptions in all of human history. It was so large that it caused havoc as far away as China. Based on the amount of material that is released into the atmosphere it was the fifth-largest ever recorded.  The volcano’s eruption caused much of the island of Thera to collapse into the sea. At the time of the eruption, there was a large Minoan town on the island and this that is known, today as Akrotiri. At one point in time, Akrotiri was a major center in the copper trade but the population probably fled before the disaster. However, Akrotiri was completely buried, just like Pompeii. The eruption at Thera devasted the entire region. It appears that the volcano caused a tsunami that caused devastation on Crete .<ref> Castleden, p. 113</ref>. The ash from the eruption also caused temporary climate change and led to crop-failures and ultimately famine.  Many believed that the eruption on the island led to the demise of the Minoans. However, the great palaces were rebuilt and the Minoan civilizations recovered, recoveredat some point after the date of the volcanic eruption. Many believe that the story of Atlantis was inspired by the disaster that overtook the Minoan World in the mid-2nd century BC.<ref> Castleden, p. 117</ref>. There are certainly some similarities, the Minoans and the Atlanteans were undoubtedly superior remarkable cultures and that were both island-based societies. Then they both suffered from flooding and a cataclysm. In particular, the destruction of the rich and cultured city of Akhritori was the historical model for Atlantis. However, it should be noted that the idea that the Minoans could be equated with the Atlanteans is modern.