According to legend, Santorini emerged from the depths of the sea- opinion justified by the timeless activity of the undersea volcano and the geological topography of the island.

The first human remains, dating back to the Stone Age, show that the island has been inhabited since the prehistoric times. There is some evidence of life in the early Bronze Age, in the mid-3rd millennium BC, during the second period of the early Cycladic civilization (2800-2100 BC). However, from the middle Bronze Age (1900-1600 BC), evidence becomes more abundant, showing great development. In the area of Akrotiri (Promontory), there was a prehistoric settlement with a very important port. The great volcanic eruption in the late Bronze Age (ca.1600 BC) buried the settlement under 30 metres of ash.