The Archaeological Museum of Samothraki

The Archaeological Museum of Samothraki is in Palaiopoli, right next to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. The small building was 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.

To get to the museum follow the path to the Sanctuary. It starts in the parking lot by the church of Agia Paraskevi in Paleopoli. The museum is right before the entrance to the archeological site and is open for visitation daily from 8:30 to 15:30.

Admission is free and pets are not allowed. The phone number is (+30) 255 104 1474.

The museum consists of 5 rooms and is financed by the Greek state. In 2014 the museum was closed for restoration. In 2020, room A opened once again to the public. Rooms B and C followed in August 2021. Rooms D and E are expected to open for visitors in the near future.

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

Room A contains fragments and partial reconstructions of 3 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 Rotonda of Arsinoe.

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

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, born after his death.

In the autumn of 2021, a copy of the statue of Niki of Samothraki was placed in front of The Archeological Museum. The original is at the Louvre. The statue has the same size and was carved out of Thassos marble by a machine using the model supplied by the Louvre Museum.