Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace

E950511

ancient Greek religious sanctuary archaeological site mystery cult center

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace is an ancient Greek religious complex famed for its mystery cult and as the site where initiates sought protection and divine favor from the enigmatic Great Gods.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace	7
Samothrace	1
Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace	1
Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11840154 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace
Context triple: [Great Gods of Samothrace, worshipPlace, Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace]

A. Sanctuary of Hera at Samos
The Sanctuary of Hera at Samos is an important ancient Greek religious complex on the island of Samos, renowned as a major cult center of the goddess Hera and noted for its monumental architecture and historical significance.
B. Sanctuary of Artemis at Delos
The Sanctuary of Artemis at Delos was an important ancient Greek religious precinct on the island of Delos dedicated to the goddess Artemis, featuring temples, altars, and associated cult structures within one of the Aegean’s major sacred centers.
C. Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia
The Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia is an ancient Greek temple complex in southern Italy dedicated to the goddess Hera, renowned for its monumental Doric architecture and historical significance in Magna Graecia.
D. Temple of Hera Lacinia
The Temple of Hera Lacinia is an ancient Greek Doric temple in Agrigento, Sicily, renowned as one of the principal sanctuaries within the archaeological complex of the Valley of the Temples.
E. Sanctuary of Zeus Naios
The Sanctuary of Zeus Naios was the central sacred precinct at Dodona in Epirus, Greece, where one of the oldest Greek oracles operated in a grove sacred to Zeus.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace
Target entity description: The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace is an ancient Greek religious complex famed for its mystery cult and as the site where initiates sought protection and divine favor from the enigmatic Great Gods.

A. Sanctuary of Hera at Samos
The Sanctuary of Hera at Samos is an important ancient Greek religious complex on the island of Samos, renowned as a major cult center of the goddess Hera and noted for its monumental architecture and historical significance.
B. Sanctuary of Artemis at Delos
The Sanctuary of Artemis at Delos was an important ancient Greek religious precinct on the island of Delos dedicated to the goddess Artemis, featuring temples, altars, and associated cult structures within one of the Aegean’s major sacred centers.
C. Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia
The Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia is an ancient Greek temple complex in southern Italy dedicated to the goddess Hera, renowned for its monumental Doric architecture and historical significance in Magna Graecia.
D. Temple of Hera Lacinia
The Temple of Hera Lacinia is an ancient Greek Doric temple in Agrigento, Sicily, renowned as one of the principal sanctuaries within the archaeological complex of the Valley of the Temples.
E. Sanctuary of Zeus Naios
The Sanctuary of Zeus Naios was the central sacred precinct at Dodona in Epirus, Greece, where one of the oldest Greek oracles operated in a grove sacred to Zeus.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	ancient Greek religious sanctuary ⓘ archaeological site ⓘ mystery cult center ⓘ
archaeologicalExcavationsBy	American School of Classical Studies at Athens ⓘ Karl Lehmann ⓘ
associatedWith	Hellenistic royal patrons ⓘ Macedonian kings ⓘ Nike of Samothrace ⓘ linked to: Winged Victory of Samothrace Ptolemaic dynasty ⓘ linked to: Lagid dynasty
associatedWithDeity	Axieros ⓘ Axiokersa ⓘ linked to: Axiokersos Axiokersos ⓘ Great Gods ⓘ Kabiroi ⓘ Kadmilus ⓘ
associatedWorkOfArt	Winged Victory of Samothrace ⓘ
country	Greece ⓘ
cultType	mystery cult ⓘ
devotedTo	Great Gods of Samothrace ⓘ
floruitCentury	3rd century BCE ⓘ 4th century BCE ⓘ
function	place of pilgrimage ⓘ site of initiation into Samothracian Mysteries ⓘ
hasStructure	Anaktoron ⓘ Hall of Choral Dancers ⓘ Hieron ⓘ Propylon of Ptolemy II ⓘ Sacred Way ⓘ Stoa ⓘ Theatre ⓘ altar complex ⓘ initiation halls ⓘ temenos walls ⓘ
heritageStatus	major archaeological site of Greece ⓘ
knownFor	Hellenistic monumental architecture ⓘ esoteric rituals ⓘ initiation rites ⓘ promise of protection at sea ⓘ promise of safety in life and afterlife ⓘ
locatedIn	Greece ⓘ North Aegean ⓘ linked to: northern Aegean Sea Samothrace ⓘ
locatedOnIsland	Samothrace ⓘ
nearWaterBody	Aegean Sea ⓘ
periodOfUse	Classical period ⓘ Hellenistic period ⓘ Roman period ⓘ
religion	ancient Greek religion ⓘ
terrain	mountainous ravine ⓘ
visitedBy	Hellenistic elites ⓘ Olympias ⓘ Philip II of Macedon ⓘ

How these facts were elicited