Epigraphic evidence
A selection of thirty-two epigraphic texts, representing the basic categories of the Samothracian inscriptions, is exhibited in the courtyard. The records of Greek and Roman initiates (mystai and epoptai), including a record of theoroi-proxenoi, constitute the most substantial group. The most important dedicatory inscriptions are a dedication by the Thessalian League and the base for a monumental bronze statue of King Philip V. Of the decrees, two of Samothrace, one in Aeolic dialect and one praising King Lysimachos, and the decree of Maroneia are particularly significant. Finally, the stele where the female name of the deceased is followed by the adjective ἱερά, meaning “sacred”, which may have been the title of a role in the mysteries of the Great Gods, is the most distinctive of the funerary inscriptions.
The Samothracian mysteries and the records of initiates
Initiation at Samothrace, at least from the 2nd to the 1st century BC, was associated with securing a privileged place in the underworld; the ancient historian Diodorus (1st cent. BC) tells us that it made people more pious and more just.
Initially, the main benefit known to have come from initiation at Samothrace was safety at sea. Those initiated included slaves, freedmen, ordinary citizens, high governmental or sacred officials, and royalty. The earliest initiation record dates to the 180’s BC; the last precisely dated list of initiates is May or June of AD 186. The records of initiation provide rich prosopographical information including the initiates’ places of origin, cultic experience, social status, and dates of initiation. Most records of initiation were inscribed on stelai, some appear on bases, and several on blocks of unclear origin. The stones were used and re-used, often many times. The most probable locations for the display of initiation records are the area around the Stoa on the Western Hill, the road from the city to the Sanctuary, and the city itself.
