The powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June 2026 have renewed attention on the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Greece.
The Venezuelan sequence included two powerful earthquakes near the country’s northern coast, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, briefly triggering tsunami advisories for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and causing serious damage in Caracas, La Guaira, and surrounding areas.
Following the event, Greek seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos published a historical overview of Greece’s most powerful known earthquakes, tracing major seismic events from antiquity to the modern instrumental era.
Seismologist lists Greece’s powerful Known earthquakes
Writing on social media, Papadopoulos said he compiled the list in response to a question often raised after major earthquakes abroad: “What are the largest earthquakes to have occurred in Greece?”
His overview identifies 15 earthquakes in Greek territory with estimated magnitudes of at least 7.2. The list spans more than two millennia, beginning with ancient Rhodes and extending to the northern Aegean earthquake of 1981.
For earthquakes from antiquity through 1899, Papadopoulos used geological, historical, and archaeological evidence. For events from 1900 onward, he relied on instrumental seismic records.
He said the estimates draw on his own published research and books, while also taking into account findings by other researchers.
Historical earthquake magnitudes require caution
Papadopoulos stressed that magnitudes assigned to historical earthquakes require careful interpretation.
Modern instruments measure contemporary seismic events. By contrast, researchers reconstruct ancient and pre-instrumental earthquakes through written accounts, archaeological damage, geological traces, and later scientific analysis.
For that reason, Papadopoulos noted that historical earthquake magnitudes may carry uncertainties of about ±0.3 magnitude units or more.
Most of the earthquakes on the list occurred at shallow depths. However, Papadopoulos also identified several intermediate-depth events with focal depths greater than 60 kilometers. These include the 1856 earthquake in the Sea of Crete and the 1926 earthquake near Rhodes.
Some destructive Greek earthquakes don’t appear on the list
Papadopoulos clarified that the ranking focuses only on estimated magnitude, not on the scale of destruction each earthquake caused.
That distinction explains why some of Greece’s most devastating earthquakes do not appear. The destructive 1881 Chios earthquake, for example, falls outside the list. The 1953 Kefalonia earthquake sequence also does not appear, as later scientific reassessments placed its magnitude below 7.2.
According to Papadopoulos, the listed magnitudes likely reflect the maximum seismic potential of their respective source regions. He added, however, that future earthquake potential requires further geological and geophysical evidence.
The 15 most powerful earthquakes in Greece
Papadopoulos identified the following as the strongest known earthquakes in Greek territory:
227 BC – Rhodes: magnitude 7.5
142 AD – Rhodes: magnitude 7.2
365 AD – western Crete: magnitude 8.3
1303 – east of Crete and Rhodes: magnitude 8.0
1481 – Rhodes: magnitude 7.2
1609 – Rhodes: magnitude 7.4
1829 – between Drama and Xanthi in northeastern Greece: magnitude 7.3
1856 – Sea of Crete: magnitude 7.6
1867 – Kefalonia: magnitude 7.4
1905 – Mount Athos peninsula: magnitude 7.2
1926 – Rhodes: magnitude 7.4
1948 – Karpathos: magnitude 7.3
1956 – Amorgos: magnitude 7.7
1957 – Rhodes: magnitude 7.3
1981 – northern Aegean Sea: magnitude 7.2
The Most Powerful Earthquakes in Greece Over the Past 2,200 Years 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-07-01 20:31:11 Latest news, world news, country news, most important news, latest news, most important, latest of the day, Justice, Petar Nizamov, Feathers, Petar Nizamov- Feathers, Justice bg, iustitia.bg, iustitia, iusticia, usticia, investigation, Burgas, Bulgaria, news, breaking news, news of the day, news of today, news from today, Bulgaria news, The news from Bulgaria, blitz news, top news, most important, most commented, latest news, Boyko Borisov, news, weather, coronavirus, news, news, weather, facebook, youtube, facebook, instagram, today’s news, last minute news, news today, today’s news, news, bg news, leading news, hot news, bg news, news site, all news, news bg, last hour news, latest, latest news bg, news from today, news today, last hour news, latest news, today, news bg, news, news vesti, 24 hours news, vesti bg novini, world news, bird bg, bivol bg, bivol, trud bg novini, latest news today, novinite bg news, hello bulgaria, political party coat of arms, delyan peevski, scandalous, bulgarian national television, free europe, television, scandal, exclusive, live, live tv right now, tv, tv online, tv program, bg, live now, tv news, online, live tv online, court, burgas court, burgas district court, burgas court, burgas district court, burgas district court, burgas district court, burgas court of appeal, burgas prosecutor, burgas prosecutor’s office, burgas district prosecutor’s office, burgas district prosecutor’s office, chief prosecutor, ivan geshev, prosecutor geshev, tsatsarov, mvr burgas, odmvr burgas, odp burgas, police burgas, district police burgas, prosecutor tsatsarov, sgs cases, court varna, chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice, court decisions in civil cases, decisions in cases, Plovdiv court, court decision, case decisions, Varna court, criminal, cases, district, district court decisions, work in court, Supreme Court of Justice chairman, Supreme Court judges, Sofia court, deputy judges, Plovdiv, Plovdiv court, judges Plovdiv, Supreme Court, Inspectorate of the Supreme Court of Justice, Supreme Judicial Council, Supreme Court, Supreme Judicial Council, lawyer, lawyer criminal cases, lawyer civil cases, lawyer matrimonial cases, lawyer administrative, criminal law, criminal process, civil law, civil process, administrative law, constitutional law,
