Thera

A Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea in the Kyklades (Cyclades) group with an area of 30 square miles (78 square kilometers).

The island was magically created from a clod of earth which was presented to one of the Argonauts, Euphemos, by the half-fish, half-man shaped god, Triton.

Triton guided the Argonauts out of the desert wastes of Libya and gave Euphemos a clod of earth as a gift; Euphemos had a divinely inspired dream about the clod of earth and threw it into the sea; an island arose and a descendant of Euphemos, Theras, migrated to the island and named it after himself; when the island first arose from the sea it was called Kalliste (Calliste), i.e. the Most Beautiful; the island is now called Thera.

Approximate east longitude 25.42 and north latitude 36.41.

• Histories, book 4, chapters 147 and 148
• Argonautika, book 4, lines 1553-1563 and 1733-1764