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Samothraki, adored by nature lovers and hikers, is best known for the Winged Victory in the Louvre, one of the most famous statues of Classical Greece. As her pose suggests, this Nike (Victory) was originally the figurehead of a marble ship; Demetrios Poliorcetes, who also commissioned the Colossus of Rhodes, had her made as part of an offering of thanks to the gods for his victory over Ptolemy II in 305 B.C.
However, those who know Samothraki best for its goddess are taking up an ancient tradition: for Samothraki was a leading religious center of the ancient world. This rocky, rugged island, which doesn't even have a natural harbor, was the base of the cult of the Cabiri, ancient Phrygian or Phoenician gods (the word means "the mighty ones") whose rites predated that of Classical Greece, and persisted, in all their mystery, until the Byzantines forced them to stop in the 4th century A.D. Attesting to the power of this cult is the extensive site of Pateopoli, seven kilometers east of the harbor, where ongoing excavations continue to uncover more and more elements of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods; it was here that the Winged Victory was originally found, in 1863.
The Sanctuary of the Great Gods was dedicated to underworld deities; like the Eleusinian Mysteries, little was recorded of the secrets of their cult, although it was less restricted than the Eleusinian Mysteries, and non-initiates were even allowed to view the rites. Initiates or Saoi ("rescued ones") included figures from Philip of Macedon to Herodotus; it is still not altogether clear, however, what gods they were worshiping. Certainly they were fertility gods, with a mother goddess figure related to Great Goddesses of Asia Minor; and the Cabin were later incorporated into Greek and Roman mythology, in a lesser role, as the divine twins Castor and Pollux.
That the fertility gods granted the wishes of mortals is evidenced by the Arsinoeion, the ruin of the largest round building in ancient Greece (20 meters in diameter), Queen Arsinoe's gesture of thanks to the gods for the birth of her child (ca. 280 B.C.). More central to the initiation rites were the Anaktorion ("House of Lords," 6th century B.C.) and the Hieron (3rd century B.C.); five of the tatter's Doric columns have been re-erected, framing a view of green pine and blue water through their unsteady drums. The museum on site contains other findings from the ongoing excavations, which began in 1948.
Samothraki's port is Kamariotisa, with a rocky beach; this is where most of the island's accommodation and tourist facilities can be found. Most of the residents, on the other hand, dwell inland at the idyllic island capital of Samothraki (Hora) which, with its rustic houses and a bazaar, invites visitors to tarry here. The ruins of a Genoan castle tower above the town. From here, hikers can make the several hours' ascent to Mount Fengari ("Mount Moon"), at more than 1,611 meters the highest peak in the Aegean. This snow-capped mountain of white marble was supposedly where Poseidon sat to watch the Trojan War.
From Kamariotisa, you can also travel by boat to the beach of Pahia Ammos or the Kremasta Nera waterfall, on the south coast. On the north coast is the natural hot spring of Therma, known since antiquity. East of Therma, near Grea Vathra, waterfalls and freshwater ponds are inviting places to cool off in. |
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