[4][5] The convergent and subduction of these plates are also seen in the geographical landscape in present-day Greece with large mountain ranges as well as many islands and the lands drop off into the Mediterranean Sea.

Accounts of the earthquake and its consequences are based on only a few often unreliable historical sources, specifically the writings of Strabo, Pausanias, Plutarch, and Thucydides.

[6] A 1991 study attempted to locate the fault responsible for the event and estimate the magnitude of the earthquake based on satellite imagery and fieldwork.

[7] Due to the lack of proper infrastructure and seismic engineering knowledge during this time casualties were originally thought to be very high with some contemporary sources believing the death toll to be around 20,000.

However, according to Thucydides, the ancient Greek chronicler of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta had already decided to invade Attica when the earthquake struck.