Greece - Korina Miller [520]
The site’s most celebrated relic, the Winged Victory of Samothrace (now in the Louvre), was found by Champoiseau, the French consul, at Adrianople (present-day Edirne, Turkey) in 1863. Subsequent excavations were sporadic until just before WWII, when Karl Lehmann and Phyllis Williams Lehmann of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, directed an organised dig.
Exploring the Site
The site is extensive but well labelled. After entering, take the left-hand path to the rectangular anaktoron. At its southern end was a sacristy, the antechamber where white-gowned candidates assembled before going to the anaktoron’s main room for their first (lower) initiation. One by one, each initiate would then enter the small inner temple at the structure’s northern end, where a priest would explain the ceremony’s symbols. Afterwards the initiates received a sort of initiation certificate in the sacristy.
Sacrifices occurred in the arsinoein, southwest of the anaktoron. Once a grand cylindrical structure, it was built in 289 BC as a gift to the Great Gods from Egyptian Queen Arsinou. Southeast stands the sacred rock, the site’s original altar.
Following the initiations, a celebratory feast was held, probably south of the arsinoein in the temenos – a gift from Philip II. Adjacent is the prominent Doric hieron, the sanctuary’s most photographed ruin, with five reassembled columns. Initiates received their second (higher) initiation here.
Opposite the hieron stand remnants of a theatre. Nearby, a path ascends to the Nike monument where once stood the magnificent Winged Victory of Samothrace, a gift from Demetrius Poliorketes (the ‘besieger of cities’) to the Kabeiroi for helping him defeat Ptolemy II in battle. The ruins of a massive stoa, a two-aisled portico where pilgrims to the sanctuary sheltered, lie to the northwest. Initiates’ names were recorded on its walls. Ruins of an unrelated medieval fortress lie just north.
A good site map is located on the path east from the Nike monument; the path continues to the southern necropolis, Samothraki’s most important ancient cemetery, used from the Bronze Age to early Roman times. North of the cemetery once stood the sanctuary’s elaborate Ionic entrance, the propylon, a gift from Ptolemy II.
The site ticket includes the museum ( 25510 41474; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun), whose exhibits include terracotta figurines, vases, jewellery and a plaster cast of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
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AROUND SAMOTHRAKI
Loutra (Therma) Λουτρ (Θερμ)
Loutra (also called Therma) is 14km east of Kamariotissa and near the coast, and represents Samothraki’s most popular place to stay. This relaxing village of plane and horse-chestnut trees, dense greenery and gurgling creeks comes to life at night when the young people staying in local domatia or the nearby camping grounds congregate in its laid-back outdoor cafe.
The village’s synonymous names refer to its therapeutic, mineral-rich springs; the thermal bath ( 25510 98229; admission €3; 7-10.45am & 4-7.45pm Jun-Sep) reportedly cures everything from skin problems and liver ailments to infertility. The prominent white building by the bus stop houses the official bath; however, bathing for free is possible at another indoor bath, 50m up the road to the right, and at two small outdoor baths another 20m up the hill.
SLEEPING & EATING
Samothraki’s two popular camping grounds occupy the beach east of Loutra. They are both called ‘Multilary Camping’ (no, they don’t mean ‘Military’) and are similar. If you come out of season, you can usually stay for free.
Multilary Camping I (Camping Plateia; 25510 41784; camp sites per adult/tent €4/3; Jun-Aug) A shady, laid-back place on the left 2km beyond Loutra.
Multilary Camping II ( 25510 41491;