4. The Great Gods and the Mysteries of Samothrace
Samothracian Mysteries radiated throughout the Greek and Roman antiquity and achieved,
mainly thanks to the literary tradition, to retain through the ages their fascination,
which reached its peak in the epoch of Romanticism. The identity and nature of the gods of
Samothrace, who either had no names or had names strictly hidden from the public, remain
enigmatic. Ancient writers often refer to them with the name Kabeiroi, a
term which does not occur in the epigraphic record in Samothrace, where they are called
simply Gods or Great Gods. The Kabeiroi were
divinities foreign to the Greek Pantheon. Their name has been associated with Semitic kabir,
pl. Kabirim, which means the “Almighty” and which presumably corresponds with
the “Great Gods”. Only one literary source from the Hellenistic period gives the names
of the Samothracian “Kabeiroi”, apparently the secret names of the Great Gods: Axieros,
Axiokersa, Axiokersos and Kasmilos. As early as
the middle of the 4th century BC, they were 
identified by the Greeks with Demeter, Persephone,
Hades and Hermes, and they were associated with death and afterlife. Axieros
(or Axiokersa), a “Great Mother” with attributes similar to those of
Kybele, was the major figure of the cult. The “Great Mother”, a divinity of the
mountainous world, was worshipped at sacred rocks, where sacrifices were brought to her.
Cults of Aphrodite and Hecate are attested too. The fourth Kabeiros, Kasmilos
or Kadmilos, an ithyphallic fertility god attached to the Great Mother, was possibly her subordinate spouse. In contrast to the
Gods of Samothrace, the island’s heroic mythology, which is connected with the mystery
rites, is generally known. The mistress of Samothrace is Elektra
or Elektryone, the daughter of Atlas; after mating with Zeus she gave birth to Dardanos,
Aetion (Iasion), and Harmonia. The latter
celebrated on the island her wedding to Kadmos and experienced a fate parallel to
that of Persephone.
Contrasting with other mystery sanctuaries, in particular that in Eleusis, the
Sanctuary of the Great Gods in Samothrace was open even to uninitiated visitors. Streams
of pilgrims came from near and far to the great annual, probably three-day, festival in mid-summer (20-22
or 19-21 July?), where a large number of cities of the Aegean sent delegates (theoroi).
An unknown 
pre-Greek language continued to be used as lingua sacra
in the Samothracian Sanctuary long after the arrival of the Greek settlers (fig. 17).
Participation in the mysteries of Samothrace was not necessarily required of those who
came to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, which, although situated very close to the
Ancient City, it was not its official sanctuary. People of all
nations could obtain initiation into the mysteries of the Great Gods, slave and free. Like
the Eleusinian Mysteries, they had two stages of initiation, the myesis and
the epopteia. In Samothrace, too, the initiation ceremonies were nocturnal,
taking place by the light of torches and lamps and they have
been associated with the Anaktoron (fig. 27, 29: 23) and the Hieron
(15). Candidates for initiation may have changed their clothing and received a lamp
in the Sacristy (22), whereas in the central
room of the Anaktoron certain secret or sacred objects were revealed. In the
southeastern corner of the building, originally a lustration rite took place, at a later
period a libation was poured by the initiate, who, after the myesis, was led to the
northern chamber, where he must have performed some ritual action and been shown some
sacred symbols. During the ceremony of myesis, after a purification bath, the
initiate tied a purple sash around his abdomen and wore an iron ring, which represented
the direct contact with the divine power. In Samothrace the degree of epopteia
could be obtained immediately after the myesis. Before the future epoptes
was allowed to enter, through the porch, the cella of the Hieron, the priest
asked him what was the worst deed that he had ever
committed in his life, in order to judge, it seems, the
candidate’s state of purity. Immediately after entering the cella, to the right of the
entrance, a purification rite was performed. A sacred hearth may
have been associated with a sacrifice, preliminary to the rite of epopteia, which
took place in the apse of the building. It is possible that initiates were required to
fast during the ceremonies of myesis and epopteia. The breaking of that fast
took a festive character with banqueting by torch light in the dining rooms (7)
near the halls of initiation. Drinking of wine to the degree of intoxication seems to have
been a very early custom in the rites of Samothrace. The mystes hoped for good fortune,
protection from the perils of sea voyages, and perhaps he was promised a happy afterlife.
The excavations have given us a picture of the Sanctuary and its development, although many details remain doubtful. Evidence for cult activity exists from the 7th, but the construction of monumental buildings begins only in the 4th century BC. Nonetheless, neither literature nor the data of excavation are able to penetrate the veil of secrecy, which surrounds the mysteries. The details of the proceedings remain unclear and our knowledge is strictly limited.