Thera (disambiguation)

Thera can mean:

• the largest island of the Greek Santorini archipelago, site of the major Thera eruption
• the Theran Empire, a fictional empire with its capital on Thera, in the role-playing game Earthdawn
• Santorini, also known as Thera, is the southernmost of the Kyklades islands in Greece. It is unique among the Mediterranean islands as it is the remains of some of the most dramatic volcanic eruptions known. A giant central lagoon, more or less rectangular and measuring about 12km by 7km, is surrounded by 300m high sheer cliffs on three sides. The island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Mediterranean sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the Mediterranean by another much smaller island called Therasia, also with cliffs. The lagoon is joined to the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The water in the centre of the lagoon is nearly 400m deep, so it is an ideal safe harbour for even the biggest ships. The island's ports are all in the lagoon and there are no ports on the outside of the island. The towns of Santorini cling to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.