Temple of Hera

Ruins of the ancient Hera ion, or Temple of Hera at Ireon

The Via Sacra or Sacred Road

Six kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Samos (present day Pythagoria) and near the shore of the Aegean Sea, there are several vast hectares of architectural rubble with a single massive column jutting up out of the wild flowers and foundation stones that surround it.  It is the focal remnant of the once magnificent Temple of Hera or, latest and greatest of the many temples erected on this plain, to the goddess Hera, over a period of several millennia.

Leading up to the column you can still see long sections of the stone paved Sacred Road which once connected the ancient city to the temple complex.  The road itself had been lined with an impressive array of votive shrines, inscribed stelae, and marble statuary.  The Kouros of Samos, the largest statue of its kind in Greece, was excavated from near the Sacred Road in 1980 and now stands in the Archaeological Museum in Vathy.

The temple campus is seated in a low fertile plain, created by silting from the river Imbrassos.  It was on the bank of this river in the shade of a willow tree that, according to mythical tradition, the Greek goddess Hera was born.  This was an important sacred site to the ancients, and it has become a ‘must see’ destination for thousands of the international tourists who visit the island each year.

The site of the ruins, the Island of Samos, the willow tree, and the peacock, were all sacred to the cult of Hera.  Images of willow branches and peacocks are still used to identify depictions of Hera on ancient coinage, and wild peacocks still populate the island.  Last week we narrowly missed being slammed into by one that was flushed from a mountain road by our rented car.  Vestiges of the tradition are still everywhere, if you know what you are looking for, or at. 

The Kuros of Samos

Since the 19^th century, progress has been made to excavate, document and conserve what remained of the building foundations and the finely carved marble fragments that were salvaged, but the fact is, most of the temple has been carted off over the years to become building material for farmhouses, paving stones for streets, and watering troughs for livestock.  I once saw a rural cottage with a big carved slab of solid marble that functioned as an outdoor laundry sink, and I know it didn’t come from the Home Depot.

Nothing happens quickly here, but as old buildings start coming down over the next few centuries, there is no telling what might show up.  Somewhere on the island a grand architectural fragment could surface that had been used as a cornerstone for someone's long forgotten chicken coop; it wouldn't surprise me 

 

photos by Newell - 2014