Several geophysical and tectonic features of the Aegean Island arc are described. An attempt has been made to interpret these features by means of a model of the area that includes a lithospheric plate that underthrusts the arc and moves from the Mediterranean to Europe. The upper boundary of this plate is determined by a zone of intermediate earthquakes. These earthquakes are located close to a surface of amphitheatrical shape that is dipping under the arc at a mean angle of about 30°. There is an aseismic zone in the upper mantle under the inner part of the arc. The absorption of short‐period body waves in this zone explains the observed abnormal distribution of the seismic energy in the area. The results of this work are in general agreement with the ‘new global tectonics’.

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