Samos () is a
Greek island in the
North Aegean sea, south of
Chios, north of
Patmos and the
Dodecanese, and off the coast of
Asia Minor.
Geography
NASA Satellite photo of Samos
The area of the
island is , long and wide. It is separated from
Anatolia, by the approximately -wide Mycale Strait. While largely mountainous, Samos has several relatively large and fertile plains.
A great portion of the island is covered with
vineyards, from which wine is made, including that from the
Vathy grapes. The most important plains are that of Pythagorio, in the southeast, Karlovasi in the northwest, and Marathokampos in the southwest. The island's population is 33,814, which is the 9th most populous of the Greek islands. The Samian climate is typically Mediterranean, with mild rainy winters, and warm rainless summers.
The largest mountain is the Ampelos massif, which occupies the center of the island and rises to . The island's highest point is the summit of the Kerkis range, at . The mountains are a continuation of the
Mycale range on the Anatolian mainland.
According to
Strabo, the name Samos is from Phoenician meaning "rise by the shore."
Economy
The Samian economy depends mainly on agriculture and the tourist industry which has been growing steadily since the early 1980s. The main agricultural products include
grapes,
honey,
olives,
olive oil,
citrus fruit, dried
figs and
almonds, and flowers. The
Muscat grape is the main crop used for wine production. Samian wine is also exported under several other appellations. Samian wines have won several international and domestic awards.
Government
With the neighbouring islands of
Icaria and
Fourni, the island of Samos is administered as part of the
Samos Prefecture. Samos includes four of the eight
municipalities of the prefecture, which constitute more than 77 percent of the prefecture's population (2001 census). The island's capital and main port is the city of Vathy, most commonly called Samos; other municipalities are
Karlovasi and
Pythagoreio. The smallest of the component municipalities is
Marathokampos.
Samos has a sister town called
Samo, which is located in
Calabria,
Italy.
History
The great
kouros of Samos, the largest surviving kouros in Greece (Samos Archaeological Museum).
Early and Classical Antiquity
In classical antiquity the island was a centre of
Ionian culture and luxury, renowned for its Samian wines and its red pottery (called
Samian ware by the Romans). Its most famous building, was the
Ionic order archaic Temple of goddess
Hera - the
Heraion.
Concerning the earliest history of Samos, literary tradition is singularly defective. At the time of the great migrations it received an Ionian population which traced its origin to
Epidaurus in
Argolis: Samos became one of the twelve members of the
Ionian League. By the 7th century BC it had become one of the leading commercial centres of Greece. This early prosperity of the Samians seems largely due to the island's position near trade-routes, which facilitated the importation of textiles from inner Asia Minor, but the Samians also developed an extensive oversea commerce. They helped to open up trade with the Black Sea and with Pharaonic Egypt, and were credited with having been the first Greeks to reach the Straits of Gibraltar.
Their commerce brought them into close relations with Cyrene, and probably also with
Corinth and
Chalcis, but made them bitter rivals of their neighbor Miletus. The feud between these two states broke out into open strife during the Lelantine War (7th century BC), with which we may connect a Samian innovation in Greek naval warfare, the use of the
trireme. The result of this conflict was to confirm the supremacy of the Milesians in eastern, waters for the time being; but in the 6th century the insular position of Samos preserved it from those aggressions at the hands of Asiatic kings to which
Miletus was henceforth exposed. About 535 BC, when the existing oligarchy was overturned by the tyrant
Polycrates, Samos reached the height of its prosperity. Its navy not only protected it from invasion, but ruled supreme in Aegean waters. The city was beautified with public works, and its school, of sculptors, metal-workers and engineers achieved high repute.
Eupalinian aqueduct
thumb|Inside the Eupalinian aqueduct in one of the most spacious parts of it
In the 6th century BC Samos was ruled by the famous
tyrant Polycrates. During his reign, two working groups under the lead of the engineer
Eupalinos dug a tunnel through Mount Kastro to build an
aqueduct to supply the ancient capital of Samos with fresh water, as this was of the utmost defensive importance (since being underground, it was not easily detected by an enemy who could otherwise cut off the supply). Eupalinos' tunnel is particularly notable for being the first tunnel in history to be methodically dug from both ends. With a length of over 1km, Eupalinos' subterranean aqueduct is today regarded as one of the masterpieces of ancient engineering. The aqueduct is now part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site, the
Pythagoreion.
Persian Wars and Persian rule
After Polycrates death Samos suffered a severe blow when the Persian
Achaemenid Empire conquered and partly depopulated the island. It had regained much of its power when in 499 BC it joined the general revolt of the
Ionian city-states against Persia; but owing to its long-standing jealousy of Miletus it rendered indifferent service, and at the decisive battle of Lade (494 BC) part of its contingent of sixty ships was guilty of outright treachery. In 479 BC the Samians led the revolt against Persia.
Peloponnesian War
During the
Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), Samos took the side of
Athens against
Sparta, providing their port to the Athenian
fleet. In the
Delian League they held a position of special privilege and remained actively loyal to Athens until 440 when a dispute with Miletus, which the Athenians had decided against them, induced them to secede. With a fleet of sixty ships they held their own for some time against a large Athenian fleet led by
Pericles himself, but after a protracted siege were forced to capitulate. It was punished, but Thucydides tells us not as harshly as other states which rebelled against Athens. Most in the past had been forced to pay tribute but Samos was only told to repay the damages that the rebellion cost the Athenians: 1,300 talents, to pay back in installments of 50 talents per annum.
At the end of the Peloponnesian War, Samos appears as one of the most loyal dependencies of Athens, serving as a base for the naval war against the Peloponnesians and as a temporary home of the Athenian democracy during the
revolution of the Four Hundred at Athens (411 BC), and in the last stage of the war was rewarded with the Athenian franchise. This friendly attitude towards Athens was the result of a series of political revolutions which ended in the establishment of a democracy. After the downfall of Athens, Samos was besieged by
Lysander and again placed under an oligarchy.
In 394 the withdrawal of the Spartan navy induced the island to declare its independence and reestablish a democracy, but by the peace of Antalcidas (387) it fell again under Persian dominion. It was recovered by the Athenians in 366 after a siege of eleven months, and received a strong body of military settlers, the
cleruchs which proved vital in the
Social War (357-355 BC). After the
Lamian War (322), when Athens was deprived of Samos, the vicissitudes of the island can no longer be followed.
Famous Samians of Antiquity
Perhaps the most famous persons ever connected with classical Samos were the philosopher
Pythagoras and
Aesop. In 1955 the town of Tigani was renamed Pythagoreio in honor of the philosopher.
Other notable personalities include the philosopher
Epicurus, who was of Samian birth and the
astronomer Aristarchus of Samos, whom history credits with the first recorded
heliocentric model of the
solar system. The historian
Herodotus, known by his
Histories resided in Samos for a while.
Samos is also notable in the history of art, having produced a school of sculptors and architects that included
Rhoecus, the architect of the temple of Hera, and the great sculptor and inventor
Theodorus, who is said to have invented with Rhoecus the art of casting statues in bronze.
The vases of Samos were among the most characteristic products of lonian pottery in the 6th century.
Hellenistic & Roman Eras
For some time (about 275-270 B.C.) Samos served as a base for the Egyptian fleet of the
Ptolemies, at other periods it recognized the overlordship of
Seleucid Syria. In 189 B.C. it was transferred by the Romans to their vassal, the
Attalid dynasty's Hellenistic kingdom of
Pergamon, in
Asia Minor.
Enrolled from 133 in the Roman province of Asia Minor, Samos sided with
Aristonicus (132) and
Mithridates (88) against its overlord, and consequently forfeited its autonomy, which it only temporarily recovered between the reigns of
Augustus and
Vespasian. Nevertheless, Samos remained comparatively flourishing, and was able to contest with
Smyrna and
Ephesus the title first city of lonia; it was chiefly noted as a health resort and for the manufacture of pottery. Since Emperor Diocletian's
Tetrarchy it became part of the Provincia Insularum, in the diocese of
Asiana in the eastern empire's pretorian prefecture of
Oriens.
Byzantine & Genoese Eras
thumb|[[Pythagoreion|Pythagoreio, on the south-eastern coast of Samos]]
As part of the
Byzantine Empire, Samos became the head of the Aegean theme (military district). After the 13th century it passed through much the same changes of government as
Chios, and, like the latter island, became the property of the Genoese firm of Giustiniani (1346-1566; 1475 interrupted by an Ottoman period).
Ottoman Rule
During the early years of the
Ottoman Empire most Samians abandoned the island. Those remaining lived inland in small settlements up in the mountains, hiding from pirates and other invaders. Around the 17th century Samos was granted the status of a semi-independent state. Many Greeks of Samian decent as well as others from Greek speaking territories settled on the island. The village of Mytilinioi for example, was inhabited by people from the island of
Mytilini. Other settlers followed from various provinces in mainland Greece and as far away as Albania. A substantial population came from
Ipiros and therefore the accent of the Samians even till the present day resembles that of mainland Greece. Samos, (
Ottoman Turkish: سيسام
Sisam) belonged to the
Ottoman Empire since 1533, as part of the Elayet of
Djeza'ir-i Bahr-i Sefid i.e. "of the White Sea" (Mediterranean) until the year 1821.
Greek Revolution
During the Greek War of Independence, Samos played a conspicuous part, setting up a revolutionary government under the following heads of local government:
- April 1821 - April 1828 Lykourgos Logothetis (1st time)
- February 1829 - October 1829 Dimitrios Christides
- October 1829 - July 1830 Ioannis Kolettis (2nd time)
- July 1830 - 1833 Lykourgos Logothetis (2nd time)
In July 1824, an ottoman army assembled to invade the island, but Greek naval victories off
Samos and at
Gerontas averted the threat. The island remained free for the remainder of the war. Nevertheless, the treaties concluding the war, which established the independent
Greek kingdom, again put Samos under Turkish suzerainty.
The autonomous Principality
thumb|right|150px|Flag of the Principality of SamosIn 1835, the Samians achieved self-government as a semi-independent state tributary to Ottoman Turkey, paying the annual sum of £2700. It was governed by a Christian of Greek descent though nominated by the Porte, who bore the title of "Prince." The prince was assisted in his function as chief executive by a 4-member senate. These were chosen by him out of eight candidates nominated by the four districts of the island: Vathý, Khōra, Marathókampos, and Karlóvasi. The actual legislative power belonged to a chamber of 36 deputies, presided over by the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan. The seat of the government was the port of Vathý.
The consecutive 'princely' governors were:
- April 1854 - 1859 Ion Ghica (b. 1817 - d. 1897)
- 1873 Georgios Georgiadis (1st time) (acting)
- August 1907 - January 1908 Georgios Georgiadis (2nd time)
The population in 1900 was about 54,830, not including the 15,000 Samians living nearby on the mainland. The predominant religion was the Greek Orthodox. The metropolitan district included Samos and Ikaria. In 1900 there were 634 foreigners on the island (523 Hellenes, 13 Germans, 29 French, 28 Austrians and 24 of other nationalities).
The modern capital of the island was, until the early 20th century, at
Khora, about from the sea and from the site of the ancient city.
After reconsidering political conditions, the capital was moved to Vathý, at the head of a deep bay on the North coast. This became the residence of the prince and the seat of government.
Since then a new town has grown, with a harbour.
Modern Era
thumb|160px|The union with the Kingdom of Greece in 1912
The island was finally united with the
Kingdom of Greece in 1912, with the outbreak of the
Balkan Wars. During World War II, the island was occupied by Italian and later German troops.
On
August 3 1989, a
Shorts 330 aircraft of the Olympic Airways (now
Olympic Airlines) crashed near Samos Airport; thirty-one passengers died. In the summer of 2000 a fire burned about 30% of the island's forests.
Architecture
The island is the location of the joint
UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the
Heraion of Samos and the
Pythagoreion which were inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1992.
Notable people
Ancient
- Pythagoras (6th century BC) philosopher and religious leader
- Theodorus (6th century BC) sculptor and architect
Modern
See also
Classical authors:
