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Samothrace

The island of Samothrace lies some 32km south-west of Alexandroupolis and almost equidistant from the Gallipoli peninsula. The surrounding sea, swept by the prevailing north winds, is usually rough and stormy, making access difficult. There is only one anchorage. Safe for a narrow coastal plain in the north and a region of rolling hills to the south-west. The island, elliptical in shape and only 176 sq.km in area, consists of eroded granite mountains, rising in Mt. Fengari to 1600m. Wild goats roam the mountainsides. Winters are hard, with heavy rains and thick snow. The island enjoys copious springs, and in classical times was probably much more fertile. Fruit is abundant. Politically the island belongs to Thrace as an eparchy of the nome of Evros. More than one third of the population which is 3000 in number, is concentrated in Hora.

The landing-place of Kamariotissa, on the west coast, is close to the promontory of Akrotiri. The church of the Panayia Kamariotissa is on the site of an early Christian basilica of which some architectural fragments may be seen. On the north coast, reached by road from Kamariotissa, is the ancient Palaiopolis, marked on the west by a grove of plane trees and the Tourist Hotel. The ancient city, now a confusion of rocks and wild olive trees, occupies the shoulder of Agios Georgios, a ridge extending north towards the sea from the central massif of Fengari. From the Acropolis on the ridge the colossal City Wall, archaic (polygonal) and Hellenistic, runs west across a ravine and takes in a smaller hill before reaching the shore by a small chapel. Two ruined medieval Towers, built of antique materials by Palamede Gattilusio in 1444, command the sea, beneath which lie remains of the harbour mole and of a Byzantine church. Between the ancient city and the Xenia Hotel a river descends to the sea. The torrents that feed it bound the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. A path leads past the museum to the site.

The folklore Museum and the Library of Chora created by the support of the Muncipality of Samothrace and the Cultural Center. The Museum is arranged as an aid to the understanding of the site. In Hall A, typical sections of each building have been reconstructed from available fragments, though these are not necessarily in their original juxtaposition. In this room are also two Stelai, from the Anaktoron and the Hieron, prohibiting entry to the uninitiated. Hall B is devoted to Sculpture. Fragments from the Propylon of the Temenos (340 BC), monolithic Ionic columns of Thasian marble, portions of the frieze of over 80 dancing maidens and musicians, probably depicting the wedding of Kosmos and Harmonia. Two figures were retrieved from the central river bed of the sanctuary, were probably parts of a pediment group (460-450).
 

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