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| The Historic Era - Ancient Thira |
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During the Geometric period (8th century BC) the Thirans used to cremate their dead, placing the ashes in special vessels. Some of these are displayed at the Fira Archaeological Museum, together with other notable finds from the archaic cemetery of Sellada (such as the kouroi, or statues of young men, which adorned the graves of prominent members of the Thiran community in the 7th century BC, and must have exceeded 2 m in height).
The Thiran vase painters of this period were the most conservative in the Cyclades, adhering to the conventions of the Geometric style. The type of vase found most frequently is the amphora, and the most popular geometrical design the Greek meander (fret.) The black-figure Attic vase did not begin to prevail until the 6th century BC. Thira sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, and during Hellenistic times the strategic position of the island was much appreciated by the Ptolemies, who used Thira as a naval base for their military operations in the Aegean.
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