North–south extension within the Aegean Sea plate in the back-arc region compensates the subduction rate.

Shallow crustal earthquakes within the Aegean Sea plate is a result of this extension, accommodated by east–west trending normal faults.

[3] During the Persian siege of the sea town Potidaea, Greece, Herodotus reports how Persian attackers who tried to exploit an unusual retreat of the water were suddenly surprised by "a great flood-tide, higher, as the people of the place say, than any one of the many that had been before".

[5] The tsunami sank multiple Persian ships attempting to invade the colony, drowning several hundred soldiers.

[6][7][8] The source of the tsunami is still controversial with its origins attributed to meteorological effects or a submarine landslide.