Greek Island of Samos holiday Hotel and rooms to let and rent in Vourliotes. Greek Holidays at Mary's House.
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HISTORY Archaelogists believe from excavations that Samos has been inhabited since Neolithic times (circa 3000 BC). The first settlers on Samos were the Hera-worshipping Pelasgians, the Phoenicians, the Leleges, and the Carians. Those early settlers were succeeded by the Mycenaeans. Samos became a naval force to be reckoned with during the 6th century BC, under the despot Polycrates. Under his rule, the arts and sciences flourished and the Efpalinio Tunnel, a magnificent jetty and the equally impressive Temple of Hera were constructed. Samos was the birthplace of numerous notable ancient Greeks such as the astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus who was the first to prophesize that the sun was the centre of the universe, the philosopher Epicurus, Aesop and the great philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. More philosophers and scientists were born in Samos , as well as luminary Hellenic architects, sculptors and painters. During the Battle of Plataea of 479 BC, the Samians helped the Athenians achieve victory and then joined in democratic allegiance with the city state. Samos also took part in the Battle of Mykale and, together with the rest of the Greek navy, defeated the Persian naval forces. The Spartans annexed Samos during the Peloponnesian Wars. During the centuries that followed, Samos was ruled by the Romans, the Venetians and the Genoese. Along with the rest of the North-Eastern Aegean Islands , in 1453, Samos came under the domination of the Turks. In the early 1820s,the people of Samos played an essential part in the Greek Revolution against Turkish occupation However, the Great Powers reinstated Turkish rule on the island in 1830, establishing it as a semi-autonomous colony ruled by a Christian prince. This period is known as 'Hegemony' and was characterized by an economic and social upturn of the lives of the inhabitants which was helped in part by the flourishing trade in tobacco. Following the Balkan Wars, Samos was finally reunited with the rest of the Hellenic Republic in 1912. |
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