The Nike of Samothrace and the Kaveirian mysteries
The archeological site of Paleopolis, also known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, is located in the northwestern part of the island of Samothrace, and occupies an area of about 12,35 acres. It was one of the important places of worship of antiquity, as the Kaveirian Mysteries took place here, religious ceremonies that had many similarities with the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Kaveirians, to whom it seems that important personalities such as Herodotus, Plato and the king of Macedonia Philip II were initiated, were dedicated to the Great Gods, who were not named. The statue of the Nike of Samothrace was discovered in the sanctuary of the Great Gods in 1863 and is now on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The visitors in their tour will see the Milesian Dedication (3rd century BC), the Nike monument, the Theater, the Altar Court, the Hieron, the Hall of Votive Gifts, the Hall of Choral Dancers, the Sacred Rock, the ‘Anaktoron’, the Dedication of Philip III and Alexander IV, the Theatral Circle, the Propylon of Ptolemy II, the southern Necropolis, the Doric Rotunda, the Neorion (3rd century BC), the Dome of Arsinoe II, wife of Lysimachus, the Imperial shrine or Dining room, the ‘Protoanaktoron’, the Ionic Porch and other buildings, sanctuaries and altars.
Most of the buildings date from the 4th century BC, while the area seems to have lost its cult significance around the 5th century AD.
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