Samothrace, a small island in the Aegean Sea, is now barren and only thinly inhabited. But in classical times it was the center of a fabulous religious cult. From all over the Graeco-Roman world, devotees came to worship "The Great Gods of Samothrace" and to be initiated into their ancient and secret mysteries.
The Great Gods (who never used their real names) were established on Samothrace before the Greeks arrived. For 1,000 years their priests grew fat on the votive offerings of well-heeled worshipers. Ulysses reportedly was a member of the cult; so was L. Calpurnius Piso, father-in-law of Julius Caesar. But...
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