Back in 1990 I hiked the slopes of Mount Fengari – whose spurs protect the site of the Samothracian Sanctuary – in search of the magnetic stones used by initiates to form rings as a sign of their having passed through the threshold of the Mysteries.
From the summit, as did Poseidon, I could see the surrounding Greek Islands and Turkish coastline. Unlike Poseidon, I could not see Troy nor watch the epic battles that unfolded at its walls.
My guidebook had indicated it was an easy two hour walk to the top. Five hours later, with one false summit after another, I finally reached the true summit – I guess I must have missed the signpost and the path!
The views were magnificent, and I found my stone, and then began my decent on one of the many scree slopes that skirted the mountain.
Part way down and in the middle of nowhere, a dog began barking and then movement attracted my attention – a man was waving at me. I approached and found an old shepherd with his very large and strong dog. He didn’t speak any English, and my Greek was not much better. He slapped his thighs with both hands, then pointed up the mountain as if to say, “how much are those thighs burning”? I nodded and smiled knowingly. He shared with me some of his bread and I gave him some of my water, and we sat for maybe a half hour in silence, possibly more, taking in the sights and the moment.
That day I glimpsed a sense of Unity.
Note: The photo was taken near the summit, and the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, as it was called, lay on the foothills above the plain to the right.
