| Ancient Sami was once one of the four great city states which ruled Kefalonia over 3000 years ago. Little remains of the settlement, although large chunks of its giant cyclopean walls (so named because people used to think that they had to be the work of giants) can be seen across the landscape.
Perhaps the most interesting location of Ancient Sami can be seen in the vicinity of the modern church of Agios Fanetes.
The ruined walls here reflect the building of three great periods in Kefalonia's past. The lowest part of the wall are Mycenean (Cyclopean) - made of giant, cut stone. Above them are Roman walls of concrete and smaller rocks and above them a Byzantine contribution in the form of small earth-fired bricks. This one wall spans a staggering 1500 years and three empires.
But perhaps the greatest contribution Ancient Sami made to the world was through the gnostic apostle, Epiphanis, who, within less than 2 years, came to dominate the whole region with his radical philosophy which he actually managed to turn into practice. With his ideas about land, animals and wealth being held in common and his liberal attitude to sex, Epiphanis was a big hit, successfully introducing a sort of radical communism 1500 year before Marx was even born.
A mere teenager, Epiphanis died withing two years of founding his new society. The emerging Christian church (never happy with its Gnostic brothers) quickly put pay to any ideas of free love and it was business as usual down in Sami once more.
The views from the precinct of both the modern church and the ruined church over Sami are beautiful. Its hard to imagine that in the third Century AD Kefalonia was at the forefront of a brand new European thought. Why not treat yourself to the Kefalonia Digital Information Pack which includes all the trails for the island, together with eight wildlife booklets. Download the Kefalonia Digital Information Pack | 
kitchen at Ancient Sami 
ancient gateway 
