Difference between revisions of "Samos prefecture"

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Samos Prefecture

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-'''Samos''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] Σάμος) is an island in southeastern [[Greece]] in the [[Aegean Sea]], off the coast of Turkey. It is located between the island of [[Chios]] to the North and the [[Dodecanese]] Islands to the South. Products include tobacco, wine, honey, olive oil, and citrus fruit.  The [[Muscat grape]] is a main crop used for wine production.  With the neighbouring islands of [[Ikaria]] and [[Fourni]], the island of Samos is administered as part of Samos [[prefecture]] ''(nomos)''. Its capital and main port is the city of [[Vathi]], also called Samos; other ports are [[Karlovassi]] and Pythagoreion, formerly called Tigani.   The nearest [[List of airports in Greece|airport]] is [[Samos Airport]].
+#REDIRECT[[Samos Prefecture]]
-The area of the island is 468 square kilometres, and it is forty-three kilometres long thirteen kilometres wide.  The population is about 42,000, about 80% of the prefectural population.  The highest point is the [[Kerketeus]] (1,433 metres).
-==History==
-In classical times the island was a centre of [[Ionia]]n culture and luxury, known for its wines and its red pottery (called [[Samian ware]] by the Romans). Its most famous building, for a brief time, was the archaic Ionic Temple of Hera (the Heraion), built by the architects Rhoikos and Theodoros  c. [[540 BC]], which stood opposite the cult altar of Hera in her sanctuary. It was a ''dipteral'' temple, that is with a portico of columns two deep, which surrounded it entirely (''peripterally''). It had a deep square-roofed ''pronaos'' in front of a closed ''cella.'' Cella and pronaos were divided into three equal aisles by two rows of columns that marched down the pronaos and through the temple. The result was that Hera was worshipped in a temple fitted within a stylized grove of columns, eight across and twenty-one deep. The columns stood on unusual bases that were horizontally  fluted.
-The Heraion of Samos was the first of the gigantic Ionic temples. Unfortunately it stood for only about a decade before it was destroyed, probably by an earthquake. One of the [[kouros|giant statues]] from the Heraion survives in the Samos Archaeological Museum.
-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 [http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Eupalinos.htm tunnel] through Mount Kastro to build an aqueduct for supplying Tigani (the capital of Samos) with water, which was of utmost stragetic importance. It is not documented, which method [[Eupalinos]] employed to make the two groups meet in the middle of the mountain. With a length of 1,036 metres, the tunnel today is known as one of the masterpieces of ancient engineering.
-Even so, the island followed the fate of the [[Ionia]]n cities, being subjugated to the Persian Empire. During the [[Peloponnesian War]] ([[431 BC|431]]&ndash;[[404 BC]]), Samos took the side of [[Athens]] against [[Sparta]], providing their port to the Athenian fleet.
-Perhaps the most famous persons ever connected with classical Samos were [[Pythagoras]] and a slave who belonged to Iadmon, whose name was [[Aesop]] (famous for [[Aesop's Fables]]). In 1955 the town of Tigani was renamed [[Pythagorio]] to honour the famous mathematician.  Other notable personalities include the philosopher [[Epicurus]], who was born on the island.  The astronomer [[Aristarchus]], whom history credits with the first recorded [[heliocentric model]] of the solar system, lived on Samos.  As did the great sculptor and inventor [[Theodorus of Samos|Theodorus]]. [[Herodotus]]  (known for his book [[The Histories of Herodotus]]) lived in Samos for a time.
-Samos was part of the Roman Empire, [[Byzantine Empire]], then Ottoman Empire until [[1832]] when it became a semi-independent principality under a Christian head of state, but still paying tribute to the Ottomans.
-In [[1913]] it was included in Greece as a result of the [[First Balkan War]].
-On [[August 3]] [[1989]], a [[Shorts 330]] of the Olympic Airways (now [[Olympic Airlines]]) crashed near Samos Airport; thirty-one passengers died.
-==Climate==
-[[image:Pythagoreion harbour.jpg|thumb|250px|Pythagorio, on the south-eastern coast of Samos]]
-Its climate is mainly Mediterranean.<!--  Winters are rarely found in the higher elevations.  ??-->
-<!--==Transportation==
-*[[Greece Interstate |GR-]]
-==Communications==
-===Television===
-==Famous inhabitants of the Lesbos prefecture==-->
-<!--
-==Archaeological sites==-->
-==Municipalities==
-{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
-|- bgcolor="#efefef"
-! Municipality !! YPES code !! Seat !! Postal code !! Area code
-|-
-| Agios Kirykos || 4601 || [[Agios Kirykos]] || 833 00 || 22750-2
-|-
-| Evdilos || 4603 || [[Evdilos]] || 833 02 || 22750-3
-|-
-| Fourni Korseon || 4608 || [[Fourni Korseon]] || 833 01 || 22750-5
-|-
-| Karlovassi || 4604 || [[Karlovassi]] || 832 00 || 22730-3
-|-
-| Marathokampos || 4605 || [[Marathokampos]] || 831 02 || 22730-3
-|-
-| Pythagoreio || 4606 || [[Pythagoreio]] || 831 03 || 22730-6 thru 9
-|-
-| [[Raches (Samos), Greece|Raches]] || 4607 || [[Christon Rachon]] || 833 01 || 22750-4
-|-
-| '''Vathy''' || 4602 || [[Vathy]]/Samos || 831-00 || 22730-2
-|}
-See also: [[List of settlements in the Samos prefecture]]
-==External links==
-*[http://homepages.cwi.nl/~aeb/math/samos/ Tunnel of Eupalinos]
-*[http://www.travel-to-samos.com Travel to Samos] Samos guide
-*[http://www.samosin.gr samosin.gr]
-*[http://www.samosnet.gr/index.php?newlang=eng samosnet.gr]
-*[http://www.samos.be/there/ Allways new pictures of Samos]
-*[http://www.holiday.gr/place5.php?place_id=44 Samos info] Samos by Holiday.gr
-[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
-[[Category:Prefectures of Greece]]

Difference between revisions of "Samos prefecture"

Latest revision as of 13:53, December 10, 2005

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