The Trojan War was cruel and long. The Greek city-states all united, wanted to take revenge for the theft of Helen the Fair, the queen of Sparta, the wife of King Menelaus. They conspired to bring her back and deliver her to her king-husband. What happened;
Paris, the charming son of Priam the King of Troy, went to visit Sparta. He was hosted by the wealthy Menelaus in the palace, but he got his eyes on the queen, the beautiful Helen. He seduced her and they left together for the famous and rich Troy, which he defended with his army and ships on land and sea. (Perhaps this dominance in trade was the real cause of the war).
Menelaus’ brother, Agamemnon, the potent king of Mycenae, began gathering the army from all the Greek city-states to bring back Helen. The famous Odysseus set out from Ithaca with his fleet to take part in the military campaign. It took him twenty years to return to his homeland.
In the northern Aegean sea, opposite the coast of Thrace and the Dardanelles, Tsanakale, there is the famous island of Samothraki. The famous statue of “Victory” was found there which is housed today in the Louvre museum. Samothraki experienced great glories, it was a naval power and the ships that fought the raging waves found refuge in its bays.
From the opposite coast of Alexandroupolis, you can see Saos, a mountain with an altitude of 1600 meters, the highest of all the Aegean islands. The peak of the Saos mountain is named “Moon”, as the full moon runs across its ridge from west to east. In Samothrace there were the Kavirian Mysteries, rites related to fertility that were said to lead to sexual intercourse. There, Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, got pregnant to her famous son.
The 12 Gods of Olympus were watching from up there, the top of Saos, the Trojan War. Some supported the Greeks and others the Trojans. Poseidon, Athena and Hera were with the Greeks. Zeus, Aphrodite and Apollo supported the Trojans. Ares, the God of war, supported both of them, because they provided him the reason to exist.
The war lasted ten years. The alliance of Greek cities could not conquer Troy with its impregnable walls and the brave warriors. It was the ingenious Odysseus who found the way to get the warriors of the Greeks into the city of Troy. The Greeks pretended to abandon the siege and hid their fleet behind an island. But they left a huge wooden horse, the Trojan Horse, as a gift from the Greeks to the Trojans. The Trojans split in two. Some believed the Greeks and others said “be afraid of the Greeks and those bringing gifts”. Finally they decided to move the wooden horse into Troy. But the gift had Odysseus and his companions hidden in its “belly”. As soon as the city fell asleep, the hidden warriors came out and opened the gates of Troy to the Greeks. Troy was destroyed and sacked. Menelaus, the cheated husband, forgave Helen and took her back with him to Sparta.
After the victory, Odysseus started his return to Ithaca, his distant kingdom, where his faithful wife, Penelope, was waiting for him. The journey with his ships, which would last ten years, began immediately in rowing and sailing ships full of spoils of war from the destroyed Troy. While sailing by Samothraki, the island of God Aeolus, who was governing the winds, strong winds arose and made Odysseus’ ships dance in the waves like walnut shells. To save themselves they threw all the spoils of war into the sea.
When the waves calmed down, a nice calm land lay before them. It was the land of the Kikons, from today’s Maroneia to Alexandroupolis. At that time Alexandroupolis was called Saliti Makri and Tempyra. Villa Odyssea, which hosts you, is located in this very historical place.
The Kikones were tough people mostly farmers, herders and fishermen who were living peacefully in this blessed land. Their great and famous cities were also Zoni and Mesimbria. Their inhabitants came from Samothrace where they have moved and founded a colony there, called Perea. Quarries and gold mines provided wealth and prosperity, while their place was a passage for caravans loaded with products and goods from the West to the East and vice versa. In the traces of that road called Ano Odos, the Egnatia road, the old and the modern, was built thousands of years later.
Odysseus’ soldiers came out hungry and suffering on this hospitable shore. They saw grain fields of vegetable gardens, vines, fruit trees, vast olive groves and pastures with lambs, goats and cows grazing carelessly.
They left nothing. They plundered the orchard, the vines, the vegetables. They grabbed two lambs each, pulled goats by the horns, slaughtered cows and pigs on the spot to grab their flesh. Finally they sat under the olive trees, grilled meat and opened the barrels of the famous Maroneia wine, filled their flasks, drank, ate, got drunk and ran after the girls and women of Kikones.
When the Kikones found out the destruction and insult of the women and the Gods, got furious and attacked them and fought them fiercely. Many of them were killed, the rest got into their ships and started their way back to Ithaca. They reached their island after ten years of wandering and fighting the waves, sea monsters, witches, sirens and one-eyed Cyclops.
We wish you to enjoy your stay at Villa Odsyssea in the famous country of Kikonos, opposite the enchanting and mysterious Samothraki Island that you see standing majestically in the blue sea. Visit the great archaeological site of Zoni and the cave of Cyclops in Makri. Meet the descendants of the Kikones, enjoy their foods, fruits, pure oil and wines. And feel completely safe. Odysseus’ warships will not come from the sea. Not even the Cyclops exist anymore.
Fishing boats and speed boats will pass peacefully in front of you and you will enjoy them from your veranda. The blue sea will invite you to dive into its crystal waters and lie on the colorful pebbles of its coast.