Municipality in Greece
Samothrace
(also known as
Samothraki
;
Greek
:
Σαμοθρ?κη
,
[samo?θraci]
) is a
Greek
island
in the northern
Aegean Sea
. It is a
municipality
within the
Evros regional unit
of
Thrace
. The island is 17 km (11 mi) long, 178 km
2
(69 sq mi) in size and has a population of 2,596 (2021 census).
[2]
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 1,611 m (5,285 ft). The
Winged Victory of Samothrace
statue, which is now displayed at the
Louvre
in
Paris
, originates from the island.
History
[
edit
]
Antiquity
[
edit
]
Samothrace was not a state of any political significance in
ancient Greece
, since it lacks natural harbours, and most of the island is too mountainous for cultivation: Mount
Fengari
(literally 'Mt. Moon') rises to 1,611 m (5,285 ft). 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
.
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)
[3]
took place which were open to both slaves and free people (similar to the
Eleusinian Mysteries
).
Demetrios of Skepsis
mentions the Samothracian Mysteries;
[3]
as does
Aristophanes
in his
Peace
.
[4]
The traditional account from antiquity is that Samothrace was first inhabited by
Pelasgians
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
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
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
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 from Troas to 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.
[5]
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 and spent one night there on his way to Macedonia.
[6]
The island is mentioned in the
King James Version
of the Bible, with the name
Samothracia
.
[7]
Middle Ages to Modern era
[
edit
]
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
Semadirek
in
Turkish
. In the era of
Kanuni Sultan Suleyman
the Island became a
vakıf
for the
Suleymaniye Mosque
and its
Imaret
in ?stanbul. During the Ottoman period, it was one of the islands open to settlement among the Bo?azonu 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.
[8]
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.
[9]
According to Charles Vellay a rebellion against the Ottoman Rule and Muslim Population by the local population during the
Greek War of Independence
(1821?1831) led to the
massacre
of 1,000 inhabitants.
[10]
The island came under Greek rule in 1913 following the
Balkan Wars
. It was occupied temporarily by
Bulgaria
during the
Second World War
, from 1941 to 1944.
Today
[
edit
]
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
Myrina
. 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
.
[11]
Landmarks
[
edit
]
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
. It is now headless and is displayed at the
Louvre
in
Paris
. The Winged Victory is featured on the island's municipal seal.
Communities
[
edit
]
Province
[
edit
]
The province of Samothrace (
Greek
:
Επαρχ?α Σαμοθρ?κη?
) was one of the
provinces
of the Evros Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality.
[12]
It was abolished in 2006.
Climate
[
edit
]
Samothraki has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate
. Winters are cool and rainy with occasional heavy snowstorms, especially at higher elevations.
Climate data for Kamariotissa village (90m)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
11.5
(52.7)
|
12.7
(54.9)
|
14.5
(58.1)
|
17.2
(63.0)
|
23.7
(74.7)
|
28.7
(83.7)
|
31.9
(89.4)
|
32.3
(90.1)
|
27.6
(81.7)
|
22.2
(72.0)
|
17.8
(64.0)
|
13.9
(57.0)
|
21.2
(70.1)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
6.8
(44.2)
|
7.1
(44.8)
|
8.6
(47.5)
|
10.5
(50.9)
|
15.8
(60.4)
|
20.5
(68.9)
|
23.4
(74.1)
|
23.9
(75.0)
|
20.4
(68.7)
|
15.8
(60.4)
|
12.7
(54.9)
|
9.4
(48.9)
|
14.6
(58.2)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
110.1
(4.33)
|
55.1
(2.17)
|
73.7
(2.90)
|
34.7
(1.37)
|
29.7
(1.17)
|
15.9
(0.63)
|
12.2
(0.48)
|
9
(0.4)
|
8.4
(0.33)
|
74.3
(2.93)
|
108.3
(4.26)
|
101.7
(4.00)
|
633.1
(24.97)
|
Source:
http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/samothraki/
(2019-2021 averages)
|
Historical population
[
edit
]
Year
|
Island population
|
1981
|
2,871
|
1991
|
3,083
|
2001
|
2,723
|
2011
[13]
|
2,859
|
2021
[2]
|
2,596
|
People
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Municipality of Samothrace, Municipal elections – October 2023"
.
Ministry of Interior
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Αποτελ?σματα Απογραφ?? Πληθυσμο? - Κατοικι?ν 2021, Μ?νιμο? Πληθυσμ?? κατ? οικισμ?"
[Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^
a
b
Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World
, p. 37, at
Google Books
- ^
Aristophanes.
Peace
, line 277
- ^
D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Western Thrace during the Roman Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 2005, p. 120?126
- ^
Acts 16:11
- ^
"Acts 16:11 - King James Version"
.
Bible Gateway
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-12-04
. Retrieved
2022-12-04
.
- ^
"SEMAD?REK"
.
TDV ?slam Ansiklopedisi
(in Turkish).
Archived
from the original on 2022-11-10
. Retrieved
2022-11-10
.
- ^
Randolph, Bernard (1687). "The Present State of the Islands in the Archipelago".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford, England: Theater. p. 42.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/23114
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ^
Charles Vellay,
L'irredentisme hellenique
, 1913, 329 pages. page 131:
[1]
Archived
2023-02-01 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Associated Press
(October 7, 2019).
"Tens of thousands of goats munch island into crisis"
.
Morning Ag Clips
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-10-18
. Retrieved
2019-10-18
.
- ^
"Detailed census results 1991"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-03-03
. Retrieved
2012-09-19
.
(39 MB)
(in Greek and French)
- ^
"Απογραφ? Πληθυσμο? - Κατοικι?ν 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμ??"
(in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
- Michel Mourre,
Dictionnaire Encyclopedique d'Histoire
, article "Samothrace",
Bordas
, 1996
- Marcel Dunan,
Histoire Universelle
,
Larousse
, 1960
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Samothraki
.
Samothrace
travel guide from Wikivoyage
|
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- Area
- 14,157 km
2
(5,466 sq mi)
- Population
- 608,182 (as of 2011)
- Municipalities
- 22 (since
2011
)
- Capital
- Komotini
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Regional unit of
Drama
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Regional unit of
Evros
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Regional unit of
Kavala
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Regional unit of
Rhodope
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Regional unit of
Thasos
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Regional unit of
Xanthi
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First journey
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Second journey
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Third journey
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International
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National
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Geographic
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