Samothrace trivia: 50 amazing facts about this Greek island!

Samothrace is one of the best known greek islands with many tourists visiting its year!

So let’s find out some more trivia and facts about it!

1. Samothrace is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea
2. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace
3. The island is 17 km (11 mi) long
4. And is 178 km2 (69 sq mi) in size
5. It has a population of 2,859 (2011 census)
6. Its main industries are fishing and tourism
7. Resources on the island include granite and basalt
8. Samothrace is one of the most rugged Greek islands
9. With Mt. Saos and its tip Fengari rising to 1,611 m (5,285 ft)
10. It is also known as Samothraki
11. Samothrace was not a state of any political significance in ancient Greece
12. Since it has no natural harbour and most of the island is too mountainous for cultivation
13. It was, however, the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods
14. Site of important Hellenic and pre-Hellenic religious ceremonies
15. 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
16. The ancient city, the ruins of which are called Palaeopoli (“old city”)
17. It was situated on the north coast
18. Considerable remains still exist of the ancient walls, which were built in massive Cyclopean style
19. 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)
20. Demetrios of Skepsis mention the Samothracian Mysteries
21. The traditional account from antiquity is that Samothrace was first inhabited by Pelasgians and Carians, and later Thracians
22. At the end of the 8th century BC the island was colonised by Greeks from Samos
23. From which the name Samos of Thrace
24. That later became Samothrace
25. However, Strabo denies this
26. The archaeological evidence suggests that Greek settlement was in the sixth century BC
27. The Persians occupied Samothrace in 508 BC
28. It later passed under Athenian control
29. And was a member of the Delian League in the 5th century BC
30. It was subjugated by Philip II
31. And from then till 168 BC it was under Macedonian suzerainty
32. With the battle of Pydna Samothrace became independent
33. A condition that ended when Vespasian absorbed the island in the Roman Empire in AD 70
34. The island is mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible, with the name Samothracia
35. 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 international religious center
36. There pilgrims flocked from all over the Roman world
37. Apart from the famous sanctuary, decisive role in the great development of Samothrace played also her two ports from which passed the sea road Troas – Macedonia
38. Furthermore, an important role played as well her possessions in Perea
39. Which were conceded by the Romans at least during the imperial period
40. As evidenced by inscriptions of the 1st AD century
41. The Book of Acts in the Christian Bible records that the Apostle Paul, on his second missionary journey outside of Palestine, sailed from Troas to Samothrace
42. And spent one night there on his way to Macedonia
43. 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
44. There is no commercial airport on the island
45. Other sites of interest on the island include the ruins of Genoese forts, the picturesque Chora (literally village) and ‘Paliapoli’ (literally Old Town), and several waterfalls
46. The island’s most famous site is the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Greek Hieron ton Megalon Theon
47. The most famous artifact of which is the 2.5-metre marble statue of Nike, now known as the Winged Victory of Samothrace, dating from about 190 BC
48. It was discovered in pieces on the island in 1863 by the French archaeologist Charles Champoiseau
49. It is now—headless—in the Louvre in Paris
50. The Winged Victory is featured on the island’s municipal seal