Pythagorion, Samos
I took the ferry from Kusadasi to Pythagorion on Wednesday. The ferry travels to Samos island daily, but only to Pythagorion on Wednesdays and Fridays; the other days it goes to Samos city. Pythagorion, named after one of its famous sons, is the ancient city and the home of the great Hera Temple, which is the reason for my wanting to come. From the ferry it is a E10 taxi ride to the formerly Great Heraion Temple. Today only one tall column juts into the sky, but there are sufficient foundation stones throughout the site to give a sense of the vastness of the sacred pilgrimage destination. Myths abound in this region and one of the main ones is that the goddess Hera was born in this marshy tract of land by the river under a willow tree. Willow trees were always special to Hera lore as are peacocks, which adorn the reliefs on the stones.
The site was home to early goddess worship. According to Pausanias, the Mycenaeans brought the first wooden stature of the Mother Goddess “begetter of all” from Argos to Samos, but there are even earlier 3rd M artifacts that have been found at the northern end of the Sacred Way to the Great Temple. The first construction dedicated specifically to Hera is from the 8th C BCE. The foundation of the Hekatompedos lies across the path from the Great Temple. Over the millennia and a half the site was used for worship it underwent considerable fluctuations in importance and economic success. The ruins also testify to the vagrancies of state induced worship practices, from the Hellenic gods and goddesses to Roman Emperors to a Byzantine Church to a parish church. Two of its most influential periods were during the mid 500s BCE when the Great Temple was started, and during the early decades of Imperial Rome. The Great Temple was also affected by these political fluctuations, as it was probably never completed. Polykrates, who initiated the construction on top of an earlier earthquake destroyed temple, died in 522 BC and the period that followed was filled with dissension, as there was no clear successor.
The Great Temple, incomplete or not, was a major tourist attraction and pilgrims from across the ancient world came here to worship. The importance of the Hera Temple on Samos inspired King Croesus of Lydia to build the Artemision in his newly conquered Ephesus on the nearby coast. The Artemision, dedicated to the goddess Artemis, is also on historically sacred marshland. The Samian marble columns that inspired the new goddess site were originally 20 m tall with Ionic capitals. The center of the temple had a large altar measuring 36.5x16.5m. The Romans renovated the early limestone superstructure with marble. According to the brochure: “The altar was a courtyard surrounded on three sides by a protecting wall (height 5-7 m) that concluded above in a cymatia (ovolo moldings). The interior was decorated with a relief frieze featuring scenes of battles with wild animals and sphinxes. Both ends of the wall were adorned with elaborate crowning elements. The top of the altar was covered by a slab of fireproof green serpentine. It was on this altar that cows were sacrificed, as may be concluded from the large number of bovine bones found during excavation.“ The excavators were astonished to find huge piles of ash on the altar. Beyond the altar the greater temple was 55.16x108.63 m with columns separating the aisles into three parts. According to Herodotus in 460 BCE it was, “The largest of all the temples known to us.” Today there are fragments of a temple to Apollo and over life-sized votive statuary on the right side of the Sacred Way leading to the temple. On the left are remnants of the Great Altar and behind that the outlines of a three aisled Christian basilica that was destroyed in the 6th C. At the end of the Sacred Way there is a small museum by the cliffs to the sea. Birds fly in abundance around the site, and I was warned not to go traipsing through the Temple, not because it was forbidden, but because the guard had found some dangerous vipers living in the bushes and one with a bunch of eggs under a large circular capital on the temple platform. As I was in sandals, I heeded his advice. The goddess is associated with snakes, but I don’t have any desire to be bitten by one.
In addition to providing warnings, the guard was also helpful in calling a taxi to take me back to town. The first stop was at the new museum that has a nice exhibition of local artifacts from the Paleolithic through the Middle Ages. The museum also extends outside to encompass the archeological site of Ancient Samos. Up the hill from the museum are an interesting monastery, the ancient theater and the ancient water tunnels, that were unfortunately closed for renovation when I was there. It was, however, more than compensated for by the view from the hillside over the town, Mediterranean and Turkish coast, which is spectacular.
Pythagorion is a mix of old and new. Old fishing trawlers harbor next to high speed racing boats; expensive sailboats from across the large Mediterranean pond dock near rusty old freighters. Modern restaurants (with excellent Greek salads and gyros!) overlook columns that were part of buildings over 2,500 years ago. It is a timeless place of sun, sea and sky. It would have been fun to stay for a day, a week or a year, but the ferry back to the coast left at 5pm on the dot.
The Greek islands off the Western Turkish coast (esp. Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Chios) are mostly within an hour and a half ferry ride, but the differences in the modern cultures between Turkey and Greece are palpable. Turkey is less expensive, somewhat more frenetic – especially the drivers, and the minarets blare the eardrum shattering call to prayers through terrible loudspeakers. The Greek islands, on the other hand, have that laid back island attitude, but with a Greek punch and sense of frustration at the current political and economic climate. Greece is also much more expensive, but the church bells chime harmoniously, and there is Greek dance music in the restaurants. And of course, there is wine in Greece. While wine is produced and sold in Western Turkey, it doesn’t seem as acceptable or as accessible as in Greece. Both are fascinating and, thanks to good connections, both can easily be visited in one trip.
