No one can say for sure how the Minoan civilization ended, but numerous theories have emerged based on evidence found at sites on Crete, Thera, and other places around the world. I believe that a mix of natural disasters, social and political upheaval, and ultimately invasion are what led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization. First, I believe that the Santorini eruption was more powerful than initially estimated, due to the presence of a shallow sea. within the Theran crater, with the volcano located in the center of that sea. (This is the theory of Professor Steve Sparks of the University of Bristol) I also believe that the explosion occurred around 1600 BC, due to ORAU research which radiocarbon dated 127 samples from excavations in the eastern Mediterranean to re-evaluate the previously accepted chronology of 1500 BC. They found, with 95% accuracy, that the date of the Theran explosion is between 1613 BC and 1600 BC. These dates are further supported by the discovery of an olive branch found in the ash on Santorini which allowed a second group to construct another dating chronology, similarly suggesting a period between 1627 BC and 1600 BC. There is also evidence of reconstruction after the 1600 BC disaster. This implies that the Thera explosion occurred around 150 years earlier of the supposed "end" of the Minoan civilization. However, this chronological realignment does not mean that the Santorini eruption had nothing to do with the Minoan collapse. Of course, the island of Thera, which the Minoans probably used as a trading center or stopover, was completely destroyed. This would have caused enormous problems for the Minoan trading empire. From modern examples and documents we know that volcanic activity can create a chai...... middle of paper ...... society left them very vulnerable to attack or takeover, which we know the Mycenaeans did . I believe the Mycenaeans took advantage of the Minoan confusion to invade, burning most of the palaces and keeping Knossos as their main installation. We know that the Mycenaeans are a warlike people, so the concept of invasion is not out of place. Their invasion is demonstrated by new ceramics and the introduction of Linear B tablets. Works Cited http://members.explorecrete.com/lofiversion/index.php?t2640.html http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive /Soc/soc. culture.baltics/2006-05/msg00004.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/28/science/minoan-culture-survived-ancient-volcano-evidence-shows.html?pagewanted=1 (pretty old evidence)http://www.usenet.com/newsgroups/soc.history.ancient/msg02400.htmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/minoan_02.shtml (the film)