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After 1300 years, the Minoan culture was destroyed when the island of Thera (near Crete) was destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption. A little earlier an earthquake of magnitude 7 hit the island, leading the people to move to temporary quarters while they did repairs. They couldn't do this as the earthquake fractured the magma chamber leading to the eruption.
The earthquakes and the 60ft heigh tidal wave basically pushed bronze age Minoans back to preindustrial levels.
The noise of the eruption was heard as far away as Egypt.
This eruption was 3 times as big as Krakatoa and 100 times as big as Mount St Helens.
This is now thought to be the origin of the legend of Atlantis.