Paralia Perissa
Volcanic black sand beach beneath a sheer cliff crowned by ancient ruins.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Paralia Perissa in Santorini poses a stark question: what would make an island fire on its own returning sons rather than let them come home? It goes back to around 630 BC, when seven years of drought sent Thera's king Grinus to the oracle at Delphi, which later named a reluctant young nobleman, Battus, to lead a colony to Libya. You'll hear how his first landing failed and the settlers turned back for home, only to find the island unwilling to take them in. Above the beach, the ruins of Ancient Thera on Mesa Vouno carry the name of another exile who founded this ridge generations earlier.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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Ancient Thera
Clifftop Dorian ruins overlooking the caldera, resettled after the island's Bronze Age eruption.
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