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Samos (/ ˈ s eɪ m ɒ s /, [2] also US: / ˈ s æ m oʊ s, ˈ s ɑː m ɔː s /; [3] [4] [5] Greek: Σάμος, romanized: Sámos) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the 1.6-kilometre-wide (1.0 mi) Mycale Strait.
- Early Settlement
- Polycrates The Tyrant
- The Delian League
- Hellenistic & Roman Periods
- The Heraion
- Archaeological Remains
Samos was first occupied in the Neolithic period, and a late Bronze Age presence is attested by Mycenaean remains. Carians followed next in the 10th century BCE. The Greeks themselves recorded that in the Archaic period colonists arrived from Ionia. According to Thucydides those settlers themselves had originally come from Attica. A city was founde...
During the reign of Aeaces' son, Polycrates (c. 535-522 BCE), Samos particularly flourished, controlling that part of the Aegean and the Cyclades with its 100 warships and the help of its Egyptian ally Ahmose II. The city also gained a reputation as a cultural centre, attracting poets such as Anacreon and Ibycus, and was home to the famous architec...
In 478 BCE Samos became a member of the Delian League. As the League gradually transformed into the Athenian empire and members were compelled to pay tribute, some sought to leave and Samos was one such disaffected city-state in the 440's BCE. However, Athens, at the time led by Pericles, besieged the island c. 440 BCE and forced Samos to remain, e...
In 322 BCE, at the end of the Lamian War between Macedon and a Greek coalition led by Athens, the island became independent. Catching the eye of several rulers during the Successor Wars, Samos eventually came under the control of the Ptolemies of Egypt from 281 BCE. There followed a period of re-building of both the city and the Heraion. As so ofte...
The cult of Hera on Samos dates back to Mycenaean times when a stone altar was set up in honour of the goddess. Hera was the patron of Samos, and in Greek mythology she was born there, daughter of Cronus and Rhea. The site became more grandiose over the next few centuries until the first substantial temple was built in the sacred complex known as t...
Samos has several other architectural features of interest. The first is the 1 km long tunnel constructed by Eupalinus of Megara in the 6th century BCE, which functioned as an aqueduct and carried water to the city. The mole built by Polycrates survives, as do parts of the fortifications built in the same period. Areas of the city have been excavat...
- Mark Cartwright
The Greek philosopher Melissus of Samos is active. 440 BCE. Pericles leads the Athenian navy in the seige against Samos. 407 BCE. Athenian general Alcibiades makes his naval base on Samos. 405 BCE. Athens grants Athenian citizenship to the population of Samos. 366 BCE. Athens regains control of Samos from Sparta.
- Mark Cartwright
- Publishing Director
Samos became a great power during the 6h century BC when it was ruled by the tyrant Polycrates who managed to turn the island into a huge naval power. Under its rule, the arts and sciences flourished and the Eupalinus Tunnel and the magnificent Heraion (Sanctuary of Hera) were built. The history of Samos has been marked by some famous ...
The island later became part of the Roman Empire, continuing to thrive as a center of trade and culture. Key Archaeological Features. Heraion: The Heraion of Samos is one of the most significant archaeological sites on the island. This large sanctuary was dedicated to Hera, the wife of Zeus, and was a major religious center in antiquity.
Conquest of Samos by the Spartans. Expulsion of the Athenians from the island …. 352 B.C.. The return of the Athenians, and the recapture of the island by the Spartans…. 338 – 131 B.C. Alexander the Great ceded Samos to the Athenians. In 131 BC Samos was declared a Roman province with the name Asia…. 70 B.C.
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After the battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C. Samos was ceded by the Romans to Eumenes II of Pergamon; from 129 B.C., when the reign of Pergamon fell, it became part of the Roman province in Asia. The first archaeological expedition to Samos was undertaken in 1764. Systematic excavation was initiated in 1910, and continues today.
