Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/919

 SAMOS. from various otlier places ; wlience the names of some of the modern villages in the island, Metelinous, AUiantiicori, and Vourlotes {Vouria giving the name to some islands at the entrance of the bay of Smyrna). Samos was much injured by the ravages of ilorosini. In Tournefort's time the largest part of the island was the property of ecclesiastics; and the number of convents and nunneries was con- siderable. He reckoned the population to be 12,000; now it is estimated at 50,000, nearly the whole being Christian. Samos performed a distinguished part in the War of Independence. The Turks often attempted to effect a landing: the defences con- structed by the Saniiotes are still visible on the shore: and the Greek fleet watched no point more carefully than this important island. On the 17th of August, 1824, a curious repetition of the battle of Mycale took place. Formidable preparations for a descent on the island were made by Tahir-Pacha, wlio had 20,000 land-troops encamped on the pro- montory of Mycale. Canaris set fire to a frigate near Cape Trogillium, and in the confusion which followed the troops fled, and Tahir-Pacha sailed away. At this time the Logothete Lycurgus was Tvpauvos of the island " in the true classical sense of the word," as is observed by Ross, who describes the castle built by Lycurgus on the ruins of a mediaeval fort, adding that he was then (1841) re- siding with the rank of Colonel at Athens, and that he was well remembered and much regretted in Samos. This island was assigned to Turkey by the treaty which fixed the limits of modern Greece; but it continued to make struggles for its indepen- dence. Since 1835 it has formed a separate Bey- lick under a Phanariot Greek named Stephen Vogorides, who resides in Constantinople with the title of " Prince of Samos," and sends a governor as his deputy. Besides other rights, the island has a .separate flag exhibiting the white Greek cross on a blue ground, with a nan'ow red stripe to denote de- pendence on the Porte. It does not appear, how- ever, that this government of Greeks by a Greek for the Sultan is conducive to contentment. The present inhabitants of this fruitful island are said to be more esteemed for their industry than their honesty. They export silk, wool, wine, oil, and fruits. If the word Sammet is derived from this place, it is probable that silk has been an object of its industry for a considerable time. Pliny (xiii. 34) mentions pomegranates among its fruits. At the present day the beans of the carob-tree are exported to Russia, where a cheap spirit for the connnon people is made from them. We might suppose from the name of Mount Ampelus, that the wine of the island was celebrated in the ancient world ; but such a conclusion would be in direct contradiction to the words of Strabo, who notices it as a remarkalde fact, that though the wine of the surrounding islands and of the neighbouring parts of tlie mainland was excellent, that of Samos was inferior. Its grapes, however, under the name of S/xouriXiSes or a/xa/iTjAiSes, are conmiended by Athenaeus (xiv. p. 653; see Poll. Onomast. vi. 11), and now they are one of the most valued parts of its produce. Ross saw the.se grapes {aTa<piSa) drying in large quantities in the sun; and other authorities speak highly of the Malmsey or sweet muscato wine exported in large quantities from Samos. Its marble is abundant; but it has a greater tendency to sjilit into small fragments than that of Pen- telicus or Pares. A stone found in the island is SAMOS. 899 said by Pliny (xxxvi. 40) to have been used for polishing gold. He also mentions in several places (I. c, also xxviii. 53, 77, xxxi. 46, xxxv. 19, 53) the various medicinal properties of its earth. Tlie Samian earthenware was in high repute at Rome (" Samia etiamnum in esculentis iaudantur," Plin. xxxv. 46), and the name has been traditionally given by modern writers to the '■ red lustrous pot- tery '' made by the Romans themselves for domestic use. (See Marryatt's Pottery and Porcelain, London 1850, pp. 286,' 290.) For the natural Flora and Fauna of the island we must be content to refer to Tournefort, who says, among other facts, that tigers sometimes swim across to it from Mycale, which Chandler describes as a mountain infested with wild beasts. The woody flanks of Mount Kerkis still supply materials for shipbuilding. It is said in Athenaeus (J. c.) that the roses and fruits of Samos came to perfection twice a year; and Strabo informs us that its general fruitfulness was such as to give rise to the proverb (pipn /cot opviQuiv ydu. The archaeological interest of Samos is almost en- tirely concentrated in that plain on the S., which con- tained the sanctuary of Hera at one extremity and the ancient city on the other. This plain is terminated at the SW. by a promontory, which from its white cliffs is called &(nrpo KiiSo by the Greeks, but which received from the Genoese the name of Cajje Colonnu, in consequence of the single column of the Ileraeum which remains standing in its immediate neighbour- hood. Virgil tells us (^Aen. i. 16), that Samos was at least second in the affections of Juno ; and her tempte and worship contributed much to the fame and affluence of Samos for many centuries. Hero- dotus says that the temple was the largest he had seen. It was of the Ionic order ; in form it was decastyle dipteral, in dimensions 346 feet by 189. (See Leake, Asia Minor, p. 348.) It was never entirely finished. At least, the fluting of the columns was left, like the foliage on parts of our cathedrals, incomplete. The original architect was Rhoecus, a Samian. The temple was burnt by the Persians. After its restoration it was plundered by pirates in the Mithridatic War, then by Verres, and then by M. Antony. He took to Rome three statues attributed to ]Iyron ; of these Augustus restored the Athene and Heracles, and retained the Zeus to decorate the Capitol. The image of the goddess was made of wood, and was supposed to be the work of Smilis, a contemporary of Daedalus. In Strabo's time the temple, with its chapels, was a complete picture gallery, and the hypaethral portion was full of statues. (See Orig. c. Cels. 4.) In the time of Tacitus, this sanctuary had the rights of asylum. {Ann. iv. 14.) When Pausanias was there, the people pointed out to him the shrub of Agnus Castus, under the shade of which, on the banks of the river Imbrasus, it was believed that Hera was born. (Pans. I. c.) Hence the river itself was called Par- thenias, and the goddess Iiubrasia. (Comp. ApoU. Rhod. i. 187, 'ixipaaivs e6os"Hp7)s.) The anclior- .age in front of the sanctuary was called Sp^oy 'Hpai'TTjs. (Athen. xv. p. 672.) The temple was about 200 paces from the shore, according to Ross, who found its whole basement covered with a ma.ss of .small fragments of marble, among which arc portions of the red tiles with which the temjile was roofed. He discovered hanlly anything of interest, except an inscription with tiic word vaonolai. The ajipcarance of the watercourses of the Im- brasus shows that they are often swollen by rains, 3 ii 2