Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
than the gateway. Half an hour or so can be whiled away at the charming
folklore
museum
(late May to late Sept daily 9am-2pm & 6-10pm; €1), which contains a
motley collection of clothing, domestic items and miscellany.
9
The Sanctuary of the Great Gods
Daily 8.30am-3pm; museum Tues-Sun only • €3 combined ticket •
T
22510 41474
Hidden in a stony but thickly wooded ravine between the tiny hamlet of
PALEÓPOLI
- 6km northeast from Kamariótissa, and 3km directly north from Hóra - and the
plunging northwestern ridge of Mount Fengári, lie the remains of the
Sanctuary of the
Great Gods
. From the late Bronze Age (around the eighth century BC) until the early
Byzantine era (fifth century AD), the mysteries and sacrifices of the cult of the Great
Gods (see box, p.658) were performed on Samothráki, in ancient Thracian, until the
second century BC. Little is known of this dialect except that it was a very old
Indo-European tongue, related to and eventually replaced by ancient Greek. The
spiritual focus of the northern Aegean, the importance of the island's rituals was
second only to the Mysteries of Eleusis in all the ancient world. The well-labelled site
strongly evokes its proud past while commanding views of the mountains and the sea.
Archeological museum
Closed Mon
For an explanatory introduction, it is best first to visit the
archeological museum
,
whose exhibits span all eras of habitation, from the Archaic to the Byzantine.
Highlights include a frieze of dancing girls from the propylaion of the Temenos,
entablatures from different buildings, and Roman votive offerings such as coloured
glass vials from the necropolis of the ancient town east of the sanctuary. You can also
see a reproduction of the exquisitely sculpted marble statue, the
Winged Victory of
Samothrace
, which once stood breasting the wind at the prow of a marble ship in the
Nymphaeum. Discovered in 1863 by a French diplomat to the Sublime Porte, it was
carried off to the Louvre, where it remains a major draw.
Alexandhroúpoli
SAMOTHRÁKI
Paleópoli
Karyótes
Loutrá
(Thermá)
Sanctuary of
the Great Gods
Gría
Váthra
Kamariótissa
HÓRA
(Samothráki)
Alónia
Xiropótamos
Mt Fengári
(1611m)
Profítis Ilías
Lákkoma
N
Kípos
Kremastá Nerá
Vá tos
0
5
Pahiá Ámmos
kilometres
