Samothrace

This place is very mysterious, especially because it is very difficult to find any information about the place. BUT - never fail.. a bit of information is available :

First of all, it is the first stop on Paul's agenda. Significant.

(See festival)

Additionally, this greek island is associated with the rites of Dionysus.

This mountainous island is located northeast of Greece in the Agean Sea. It is also northeast of the island of Lemnos. According to the Encarta Encyclopedia, the highest point on the island is Mt. Fengari and that's at about 5249 ft.

Trivia: In the Iliad, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, watched the battles around Troy from this mountain.

Before the time of the Greeks, it was the center of religious cults, specifically, Cabiri, a deity of Dionysus. (This is a relative point -- about the only one on this page)

I hate trivia, take me back to Hugh!

More trivia:

Samothrace is also the name of the main town of the island where in 1863 the statue, "Winged Victory" was found.

Another relative point: Check out Stanza four. Note that by beginning this stanza with the word "Even," # connects this idea closely to that of "change" in the previous stanza: -- "All things are a flowing . . . " so is he saying that the message of Christ -- the Christian beauty -- could nott be left alone by man? That the rituals of Dionysus were separate before Paul arrives in Samothrace. Now there has been a debasement of both ideas by combining the two?

Lemnos trivia:

Edith Hamilton explains on pg 120 that on the island of Lemnos there were no men. Any guesses why that was? Its because the women killed them all!!

HEAR THAT GUYS???