Samothrace

Samothrace is a mountainous island in the northern Aegean. Around 49 C.E., after Paul saw the vision of the Macedonian man at Troas on his second journey, the party set sail that night for Europe and “made a straight run to Samothrace,” then on to Neapolis the next day. It was an overnight stopover as the good news first reached the European continent; here Luke begins using “we,” indicating he himself was aboard.

Samothrace is a rugged, mountainous island in the Aegean, lying midway along the sea route from Troas to Neapolis in Macedonia. Though small, it was a famous religious sanctuary in antiquity: its “Great Temple” was devoted to the Cabeirian deities, and pilgrims across the Hellenistic world came for refuge and initiation into its mysteries. The celebrated statue the Winged Victory of Samothrace was found here and now stands in the Louvre.The island appears only once in the Bible. On the second missionary journey, Paul and his companions were at Troas in northwest Asia Minor. One night Paul saw a vision: “a Macedonian man was standing and entreating him and saying: ‘Step over into Macedonia and help us!’” (Acts 16:9) Luke writes that as soon as Paul saw the vision, “we were eager to go into Macedonia, concluding that Jehovah God had summoned us to declare the good news to them” (16:10). From here the narrator uses “we,” showing that Luke the physician had joined the party.So the team sailed from the harbor of Troas, running northwest across the Aegean with favorable winds. With a sailor’s precision Luke records: “We put out to sea from Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis.” (16:11) “Made a straight run” indicates a good wind that carried the vessel directly through the night to Samothrace. The island’s lofty peak served as a useful seamark, and ships customarily anchored in its lee for the night before sailing on northward to Neapolis, the port of Macedonia, and then going inland to Philippi. Samothrace thus became a quiet but significant overnight waypoint as the good news entered the European continent.The Bible never mentions the island again, yet this single verse enshrines it in the story of the gospel’s westward voyage. Today Samothrace (Samothraki in modern Greek) remains an Aegean island famed for its mountains and ancient sanctuary.