The Archaeological Museum of Samothraki

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The Archeological Museum of Samothraki is in Paleopoli (Palaiopoli), right next to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods and is well worth a visit if you want to better understand the history of the island.

It's a small building, erected by the American School of Classical Studies of Athens between 1939 and 1955. Its architect was Stuart M. Shaw from the Metropolitan Museum of New York. A new wing was added in 1960-1961, under the supervision of the same architect.

Most exhibits are discoveries made during the digs by The American School of Archeology, and the rest are random findings by the inhabitants or donations by the island-born scholar Nikolaos Fardys.

The Archeological Museum is right near the Sanctuary of the Great Gods

At the moment, the museum consists of 5 rooms and is financed by the Greek state.

From 2014 the museum was closed for restoration. In 2020, rooms A and B once again opened to the public. Room C (Γ) followed in August 2021.

Room A contains fragments and partial reconstructions of three of the most important buildings of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods: Hieron (the temple used in the second stage of initiation), the Altar Court and the Rotunda of Arsinoe.

Entablement with a drain hole in the shape of a lion head and a cornice with plant patterns

Room B holds photographs and information about the archeological research on the island and a video with a 3D rendering of the buildings of the Sanctuary.

Room A contains restored fragments from some of the Sanctuary's buildings, while in Room B there's a photo-video exhibition

Room C, which reopened in 2021, houses recently restored fragments from the building dedicated to the Great Gods by the descendants of Alexander the Great: his stepbrother Philip the 3rd Arrideus and his son Alexander the 4th.

Rooms D and E are expected to be opened for visitation in the near future.