Samos and Ikaria

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Samos, one of the most easterly Aegean islands just a stone's throw from the coast of Asia Minor, is renowned for its wines, particularly for the white muscat wine found nowhere else.
The birthplace of many philosophers and mathematicians of antiquity, such as Epikouros, Aristarches, Pythagoras and others, Samos delights today's visitors with its lush greenery, varied landscapes and fascinating archaeological sites.Among the island's first inhabitants were the Pelasgians, who established the worship of the goddess Hera on Samos. Samos reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates, becoming one of the most powerful city-states of Ionia, dominating the seas with its famous samaines, boats with five tiers of oarsmen.

Ikaria, a mountainous, thickly forested island, perpetuates the myth of Ikarus and his fall into the sea near its shores after his bold attempt to reach the sun with his waxen wings. In antiquity the island was called Makri (Long) and Aeoliki because of its rectangular shape, and Ichthyoessa because of its abundant fish. The south coast of the island is barren with steep cliffs, while the north is somewhat more gentle. Its scenery is wild and rugged, with the Atheras mountain range (called Pramios in antiquity) running the length of the island, furrowed by lush ravines, gorges and gullies that descend all the way to the coast.

Eastern Sporades. Greece.