July 7, 551 Tsunami: Aegean Sea, Greece

551. Schisma, Boeotia. During 551, 3 separate earthquakes struck Boeotia, involving the areas around the Maliac and Crissean Gulfs in central Greece. Eight cities were destroyed, the worst hit--Patrae, Naupactus, Chaeronea and Coronea, which were destroyed, with loss of life.

Procopius's contemporary and only account of these events in 551 says that at this time a (series) earthquakes occurred throughout Greece, affecting both Boeotia and Achaea and the country around the Crisean Gulf, as a result of which many towns and 8 cities, which are not named, were leveled to the ground, among which were Chaeronea, Coronea, Patrae and all of Naupactuc where there was also great loss of life... It goes on to say that, at Echinus and at Scarphea in Boeotia in the Gulf between Thessaly and Boetia, there was a sudden inlux of the sea, which leveled both towns. The sea flooded the mainland for a long time, so that for a very considerable period it was possible for men to walk to the islands, which are inside this gulf, since the sea had abandoned its proper place and spread over the land as far as the mountains. When the sea returned to its proper place, fish were left on the ground.

It is important to recognize that Procopius places earthquakes in the plural, in the context of more than one earthquake in more than one place... he clearly refers to more than one, probably three, distinct earthquakes in central Greece, that is (1) a destructive shock in Boeotia that caused great loss of life in Schisma and destroyed Coronea and Chaeronea, probably damaging Corinth; (2) a destructive sea wave at Echinus and Scarpheia, which was probably associated with a second earthquake about 70 km away in the Maliakos Gulf between Thessaly and Boettia; and (3) a damaging shock more than 100 km to the west of Schisma in the Gulf of Corinth and in Achaea, which heavily damaged Nafpaktos and Patra. (above from reference #9116)

551 (possibly 552), spring or July 7. Aegean Sea, eastern Greece, Strait of Euboea (between the Island of Euboea and the continent). The destructive earthquake embraced both coasts of the Gulf of Corinth, also. In the pleistoseismal zone, the earth opened and closed again, but part of the deformation of the Earth's surface was conserved including an upthrust system along the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth, Patras, Nafpaktos, Corinth, Chaeronea and other towns were destroyed. There were thousands of victims, including 4,000 people in Patras. The same area as during the earthquakes on October 12, 1856, and on August 1, 1860, was shaken. In the apex of the Gulf of Maliacus, the sea suddenly rushed up the dry land and reached far inland destroying buildings in Echinos, Tarfi and in Boeotia. According to other sources the tsunami started with the drop in water level. After the water went away, fish, including rare specimens, were left stranded. The low water lasted so long that citizens had time to reach the islands located in the apex of the bay [Schmidt, 1881; Sieberg, 1932b; Ambraseys, 1961, 1962; Galanopoulos, 1960b, 1961; Ann. Bibl., 1964, No. 373; Antonopoulos, 1980a; Papadopoulos and Chalkis, 1984; Papazachos et al., 1986]. (reference #2130)

Note: See 552 May event