Norwich bulletin., 1917-01-01

the Ionian Union, thanks to the exc
cutfve ability and judicial wisdom of
the famous tyrant Polycrates, who
prosecuted many successful wars with
the chiefs of adjacent colonies and
who was at one time in alliance with
the powerful Egyptian king Amasis.
"Herodotus Is sponsor for the ia
nliliar story that Amasis, becoming
alarmed at the extraordinary course
of good fortune which attended all the
enterprises of his ally, wrote to Poly
crates urging him to disarm the envy
of the gods by sacrificing his most
treasured possession. The tryrant
took his friends advice and threw in
to- the sea a precious ring which he
priced above all his other jewels. A
few days later a fisherman brought
ruler, and when it was being prepared
for PolycrateS table the ring was
found inside. and was thus restored to
it's owner. 1t is said that when ANA
Immediately broke his treaty with
Polycrates. being Convinced that the
jealous gods would visit some terrible
calamity on this too-fortunate mortal.
were fully verified, for a short time
after these happenings the tryant was
6ecoyed to Magnesia where he was
seized by a Persian satrap and cru
ely crucified-
Many of the most magnificent ed
ifces of ancient Samos were built
during Polycrates' time. When he
died the prestige of the island began
to wane. 1t came successfully under
the dominion of the Athenian Greeks,
the Romans. Byzantines. Arabians.
Nenetians, Genoese and Turks. In
the Greek war of independence it took
arms against it's Turkish masters.
After peace was declared 1t became
an autonomous principality. paying a
tribute to Turkey, but being ruled by
a prince of Samos', who was a Greek
nominated by the sultan In April of
1912, while the Tripolitan war was in
progress, two Italian wsarhips entered
the harbor of Vathy and torpedoed the
Turkish tstationaire', which had been
kept there at the disposal of the
prince. During the Balkan war the
garrison of a few hundred Turks was
compelled by Cretan and Samian in
surgents to retire to the mainland,
and at the close of the war the Sam
ians declared themselves in union
with Greece
1.-The little town of Tigani stands
near the harbor of the ancient city of
Samos, where the immense moles
constructed by Polycrates have been
and the celebrated underground
aqueduct are the chief remains of the
ancient capital. The former, which
Chamber over the ridge in rear of the
of China. Thirty of it's towers still
stand. Considering the age in which
it was constructed, the aqueduct is
marvel of engineering skill.
The Temple of Hera, of which a
solitary column alone remains stand
ing was one of the most magnificent
edifices of ancient times.
Even had Polycrates never ruled in
Samos the island would have been
famous for here was born the great
Samian Sage, Pythagoras, he who
never smiled and who always wore
white robe and a golden crown. It
IS to Pythagoras, it is said, that we
owe the word philosopher. Being
asked ON one occasion of what branch
of knowledge he was a master he re-
piled that he was simply a 'philoso-
pher'-a lover of wisdom. His doc
trine of the transmigration of souls is
supposed to have been the outgrowth |
Of his early years spent in studying
the mysteries Of Egypt. 1t is to this |
SamiaIl. also, that we are indebted for |
the idea of the music of the spheres
for as a corollary to his theory of the |
solar system, which. by the way, an
tedated Copernicus by 1000 years, he |
imagined that the heavenly spheres, |
by their swift motion through space
produced musical notes which were
too beautiful to be heard by callous
human ears"