Euphemus and the lump of  land: There are several myths which are associated with Santorini. According to one myth, when the Argonauts were returning from Colchis they stopped in Libya, where they were hosted by the king of the country, son of god Poseidon, Eurypylus. At the time of the Argonauts' departure, Eurypylus gave them a lump of land as a gift. When “Argo”, a ship characterized as the fastest and most durable of its time, approached Anafi, the lump fell overboard due to the carelessness of the sailor Euphemus, and at this point an island emerged, Kallisti (Santorini).

Phaethon’s myth: Another myth connects the great eruption of the volcano of Santorini with Phaethon. Phaethon was the son of Helios (Sun) and Clymene. He asked permission from his father to drive his horse chariot; however, he was not able to control the horses, thus creating considerable damage. Then Zeus, in order to stop the chariot, threw a thunderbolt at Phaethon.

The contest of Gods: The gigantic tidal wave that was caused after the explosion is also associated with a myth of Athens. In Athens a contest took place between the goddess Athena and the god Poseidon in order to claim the city. Poseidon lost and expressed his anger in his element, the sea, by creating the tidal wave. Athena won and gave her name to the city.

Atlantis: Finally, another myth connects the destruction of the civilization of Santorini with the myth of Atlantis. Atlantis consisted of two islands with great cultural development and wealth, the “major” and the “minor”. According to the testimonies, Atlantis was destroyed by big floods and violent earthquakes. Descriptions of its morphology match with a location in Crete near Heraklion, so, it is probable that Crete was the “major” island, the Royal City, and Santorini the “minor”, the so-called Metropolis.