Samothrace (also known as Samothraki; el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 census). Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island include granite and basalt. Samothrace is one of the most rugged Greek islands, with Mt. Saos and its highest peak Fengari rising to . The '' Winged Victory of Samothrace'', which is now displayed at the Louvre in Paris, originates from the island.

History

Antiquity

Samothrace was not a state of any political significance in ancient Greece, since it has no natural harbour and most of the island is too mountainous for cultivation: Mount Fengari (literally 'Mt. Moon') rises to . It was, however, the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, site of important Hellenic and pre-Hellenic religious ceremonies. Among those who visited this shrine to be initiated into the island cult were Lysander of Sparta, Philip II of Macedon and Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, father-in-law of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. The ancient city, the ruins of which are called Palaeopolis ("old city"), was situated on the north coast. Considerable remains still exist of the ancient walls, which were built in massive Cyclopean style, as well as of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, where mysterious rites (Samothracian Mysteries) took place which were open to both slaves and free people (similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries). Demetrios of Skepsis mentions the Samothracian Mysteries; as does Aristophanes in his ''Peace''. The traditional account from antiquity is that Samothrace was first inhabited by

Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

and Carians, and later Thracians. At the end of the 8th century BC the island was colonised by Greeks from Samos, from which the name Samos of Thrace, that later became Samothrace; however,

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

denies this. The archaeological evidence suggests that Greek settlement was in the sixth century BC. The Persians occupied Samothrace in 508 BC, it later passed under Athenian control, and was a member of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

in the 5th century BC. It was subjugated by Philip II, and from then till 168 BC it was under Macedonian suzerainty. With the

battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to ...

Samothrace became independent, a condition that ended when Vespasian absorbed the island in the Roman Empire in AD 70. During the Roman and particularly the imperial period, thanks to the interest of the Roman emperors, the radiation of the sanctuary of the Great Gods surpassed Greek borders and Samothrace became an international religious center, where pilgrims flocked from all over the Roman world. Apart from the famous sanctuary, also playing a decisive role in the great development of Samothrace were her two ports, situated on the sea road Troas – Macedonia. Furthermore, an important role was played by her possessions in Perea, which were conceded by the Romans at least during the imperial period, as evidenced by inscriptions of the 1st AD century. The

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

in the Christian Bible records that the

Apostle Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, on his second missionary journey outside of Palestine, sailed from

Troas Troas may refer to: Places * The Troad, historical name for a region in the northwestern part of Anatolia * Alexandria Troas, a Hellenistic and Roman city in Anatolia * Troaș, a village in Săvârșin Commune, Arad County, Romania * Troaș, a r ...

to Samothrace and spent one night there on his way to Macedonia. The island is mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible, with the name ''Samothracia''.

Middle Ages to Modern era

Samothraki island - Francesco Piacenza - 1688

St. Theophanes died in Samothrace in 818. The Byzantines ruled until 1204, when Venetians took their place, only to be dislodged by a Genoese family in 1355, the Gattilusi. The Ottoman Empire conquered it in 1457 and it was called in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

. In the era of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman the Island became a vakıf for the Süleymaniye Mosque and its Imaret in İstanbul. During the Ottoman period, it was one of the islands open to settlement among the Boğazönü Islands. The appearance of a person coming from Samothrace among the new inhabitants of the island of Lemnos in 1490 indicates that the population movements on the island were mostly with the surrounding islands and therefore the coastal areas close to Anatolia. The total tax population of the island in 1519 was 182 soldiers (male population of fighting age). 53 of them were newcomers to the island. There was a total tax population of 220 soldiers here in 1530 (twelve of whom were foreigners). In 1569, there were a total of 4 settlements and a tax population of 742 soldiers on the island. 7 soldiers of this population were Muslims. The fact that neighborhoods, which are the main features of Ottoman towns and cities, were established in this last date indicates the process of becoming a town. However, in the mid-17th century, Bernard Randolph, while describing the island with Thasos and Imbros, states that all three of the Islands were neglected because they were flooded by pirates, and there were only two or three villages in each of them. According to Charles Vellay a rebellion against the Ottoman Rule and Muslim Population by the local population during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

(1821–1831) led to the massacre of 1,000 inhabitants. The island came under Greek rule in 1913 following the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

. It was occupied temporarily by Bulgaria during the Second World War, from 1941 to 1944.

Today

The modern port town of Kamariotissa is on the north-west coast and provides ferry access to and from points in northern Greece such as Alexandroupoli and Kavala. There is no commercial airport on the island. Other sites of interest on the island include the ruins of Genoese forts, the picturesque Chora (literally ''village'') and Paleapolis (literally ''Old Town''), and several waterfalls. A 2019 article estimated that the current population of goats on the island outnumbers humans by about 15 to 1, resulting in unwanted erosion as a result of overgrazing.

Landmarks

The island's most famous site is the Sanctuary of the Great Gods (Greek: ''Hieron ton Megalon Theon''). The most famous artifact from the temple complex is the 2.5-metre marble statue of Nike (now known as the Winged Victory of Samothrace), which dates from about 190 BC. It was discovered in pieces on the island in 1863 by the French archaeologist

Charles Champoiseau The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

. It is now headless and is displayed at the Louvre in Paris. The Winged Victory is featured on the island's municipal seal.

Communities

* Alonia (pop. 291 in 2011) * Ano Karyotes (22) * Ano Meria (57) * Dafnes (16) * Kamariotissa (1,069) * Kato Karyotes (41) * Katsampas (15) * Lakkoma (317) * Makrylies (12) * Palaiopoli (36) * Potamia (6) * Profitis Ilias (189) * Samothrace/Samothraki (Chora) (653) * Therma (106) * Xiropotamos (29)

Province

The province of Samothrace ( el, Επαρχία Σαμοθράκης) was one of the provinces of the Evros Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

Climate

Samothraki has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Winters are cool and rainy with occasional heavy snowstorms, especially at higher elevations.

Historical population

People

Aristarchus of Samothrace Aristarchus of Samothrace ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σαμόθραξ ''Aristarchos o Samothrax''; c. 220 – c. 143 BC) was an ancient Greek grammarian, noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the h ...

(), ancient Greek grammarian and Homeric scholar * Theophanes the Confessor () *

Nikolaos Fardys Nikolaos ( el, Νικόλαος, ') is a common Greek given name which means "Victor of People", a compound of νίκη '' nikē'' 'victory' and λαός laos' 'people'. The connotation is "people's champion" or "conqueror of people". The English ...

(1853–1901), Greek scholar

Gallery

File:Samothraki GS 5.jpg, Fonias waterfall File:ΣΑΜΟΘΡΑΚΗ 05.jpg, Flowing river on the slopes of Mount Fengari File:Mount Saos.jpg, Mount Fengari (Saos) File:Nike of Samothrake Louvre Ma2369.jpg, The '' Winged Victory of Samothrace'', one of the best-known ancient Greek statues ( Louvre) File:Samοthraki.jpg, Chora (Samothraki) File:20020800 Paleopolis Samothrace island Thrace Greece.jpg, Venetian towers File:Greek flag (black cross).svg, Flag of the revolutionaries of Samothrace during the

File:Samothraki Holocaust.JPG, ''The Holocaust of Samothraki'' (1821) by François-Auguste Vinson

References

*Michel Mourre, ''Dictionnaire Encyclopédique d'Histoire'', article "Samothrace", Bordas, 1996 *Marcel Dunan, ''Histoire Universelle'', Larousse, 1960

External links

Official Samothrace webpage
(in Greek)
Samothraki Visitor Information Website
(in English) {{Authority control Islands of Greece Municipalities of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Provinces of Greece Landforms of Evros (regional unit) Islands of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Populated places in Evros (regional unit) North Aegean islands Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Ionian colonies in Thrace Samian colonies Members of the Delian League Thracian Sea Territories of the Republic of Venice Territories of the Republic of Genoa Hellenic Navy bases Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands