How a volcanic eruption and tsunami dismantled Minoan nobility
Explore the dramatic collapse of Bronze Age society through the eyes of Leira. This historical fiction tells of a priestess-in-training whose life is shattered by earthquakes and the catastrophic eruption of Thera.
The video follows Leira, a young woman preparing for her priestess initiation, as she navigates the destruction of her home. After a violent earthquake destroys her family, she seeks refuge in Crete, only to face the global consequences of the Thera eruption. This volcanic event plunged the world into darkness and triggered a tsunami that destabilized the Mediterranean.
As society descended into chaos, the established hierarchies of the Aegean Bronze Age were upended. The narrative explores how the privileges of the noble-born were stripped away by the disaster, leaving Leira to rely on her own resourcefulness to protect her injured mother and elderly nurse during the upheaval.
Source: Swallow's Dance: A Minoan Story, with Wendy Orr
