Pythagoreion

Pythagoreion occupies the site of the ancient capital of Samos, renamed for Pythagoras, who was born on the island around 570 BC. Under the tyrant Polycrates in the sixth century BC the city built three works that Herodotus called the greatest in the Greek world: a harbour mole still underlying the modern breakwater, a tunnel over a kilometre long bored through a mountain to carry water, and the great temple of Hera across the plain. UNESCO inscribed the town together with the Heraion in 1992. The modern village around the old harbour is a pleasant, low-rise resort with fish tavernas, a castle built in the nineteenth century by a local leader, a Roman bath complex, and a small archaeological museum, with the ancient walls climbing the hill behind.

History

The oldest finds at the site go back to the 4th millennium BC, though the settlement itself began around the 16th century BC, when Minoans colonised Samos; after the Trojan War the naval and economic power of Samos grew to its height in the 6th century BC, and although the Persians conquered it soon after, the town remained an influential trading centre until the 3rd century AD. Its best-known monument is the Tunnel of Eupalinos, the ancient aqueduct cut through the hill, and together with the Heraion of Samos the site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992 (Wikipedia, Pythagoreion).

The main sights

• The ancient harbour - the sixth-century BC mole beneath the modern quay.
• The city walls - fortifications climbing the hillside above the town.
• The Roman baths - excavated thermal buildings near the shore.
• The harbour village - a low-rise resort around the old port.

When to go

Spring and autumn for comfortable sightseeing; summer brings package visitors and heat, though the harbour front stays pleasant in the evening. Individual monuments keep different hours.

What to expect

The monuments are scattered and separately ticketed, and some are fenced. The modern village is a working resort rather than an archaeological park. Add the Eupalinos tunnel and the Heraion to make a full day.

Nearby

The Eupalinos tunnel is on the hill above; the Heraion lies 6 km west across the plain.

Key facts