S A M O S Island

Today Samos boasts a rich network of facilities and services for foreign visitors. Apart from its natural beauty, lovely beaches and the lush vegetation of its mountains, which are of enormous interest to collectors of aromatic medicinal herbs, the visitor can explore its archeological sites, the Heraion and the Tunnel of Eupalinos, its museams - the Archeological and Byzantine in Samos town, the Library and Historical Archives, and the Paleontological Museum with its fascinating finds at Mytilinii. One can also visit the monasteries and view the frescoes at Megali Panayia, the Panayia Vrontiani, Agia Zoni, and Zoodochos Pighi. In addition, the old industrial buildings - the tanneries at Karlovasi, the tobacco plants in Samos town, the wineries at Agios Konstantinos, and many others - remind one of the civilization and way of life in Samos in earlier times. And do not forget that ancient Anthemousa (as the island was once called), with 1,100 known species of plants, including aromatic and medicinal herbs with a prehistory of thousands of years, has apart from its exceedingly tall plane-trees, a large number of wild orchids (about 50). Furthermore, each village with its church, school, houses clustered around the main square, gardens, vineyards and small olive groves, as well as the chapels scattered among its prettiest spots, makes a delightful picture, a magnet as it were for every foreigner who travels to Samos. At its peak, during the 6th century BC, Samos was ruled by the tyrant Polycrates. Legend has it that Polycrates used to write to his friend Amases, about his exceptionally happy life. One day, his friend urged him to change his good fate to something less fortunate, on the grounds that he would surely come to an unhappy end. Taking his dear friend's advice, Polycrates threw his most valuable and favorite ring into the sea, though it truly upset him. The next day a fisherman arrived at the palace bearing a big fish as a gift for the king. What unhappiness was this ! Within the fish's belly lay his ring. Then both Polycrates and his friend, along with all those present realised that "It's impossible to change your destiny!..". The greatest intellects and artists of the time were from Samos. The mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras, with his celebrated theorem, the cornerstone of geometry, along with Rhoikos and Theodoros, the architects of the Sanctuary of Hera and pioneering sculptors, are the best known. The four most impressive works constructed during this century of brilliant accomplishments were the Walls of Polycrates, the Tunnel of Eupalinos and the port of Heraion. Once 6,430 metres long, even the few sections of the Walls of Polycrates that have survived astound today's visitor.

The tunnel of Eupalinos

is one of the supreme technical achievements of that era that possessed minimal means and knowledge. It was constructed by the outstanding architect Eupalinos in the mid 6th century BC to supply water to the town. This tunnel, 1,036 metres long, which penetrates the mountain evokes admiration for the precision of its calculations : the excavations were conducted on both sides and met in the middle with no margin of error. The third great work of the reign of Polycrates was the town's harbour with its piers and jetties. The Temple of Hera, the largest reported by Herodotus, lay 5 kilometres west of the city. A paved road, 4 metres wide, the Sacred Way, lined with 2,000 statues and other offerings, linked the city with the goddess's sanctuary. It was 108.73 long, 54.8 m. Wide and 25 m. high. Other gods were also worshipped in ancient Samos and many sanctuaries were erected in their honour, but they were overshadowed by the grandeur of the Heraion. The Samians worshipped Poseidon on the cape near the Eptastadio strait, the present day Poseidonion as well as Dionysos, Athena Ergani, Apollo and Aprhodite. If you visit the site you will soon experience that the layout and design of this site are really unique on the web. Of course there are elements which are found elsewhere as well: the use of ASCII-characters as graphical elements for instance, the principles of a few harmonic colors, differing only in nuances, the large-scaled space between site components.... But I bet: there is no other site on the web combining so many of all these different principles in such a convincing way. If I had to find a comparison in the fields of fine arts, I would say that Ralph has created the "Arte Povera" for the WWW and is still improving that style. With every website he is more succesfully and surprisingly.

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