6 Best Sights in The Northern Aegean Islands, Greece

Samian sculptures from past millennia were considered among the best in Greece, and examples here show why. The newer wing holds the impressive kouros from Heraion, a colossal statue of a male youth, built as an offering to the goddess Hera and the largest freestanding sculpture surviving from ancient Greece, dating from 580 BC. The work of a Samian artist, this statue was made of the typical Samian gray-and-white-band marble. Pieces of the kouros were discovered in various peculiar locations: its thigh was being used as part of a Hellenistic house wall, and its left forearm was a step for a Roman cistern. The statue is so large (5 meters [16½ feet] tall) that the gallery had to be rebuilt specifically to house it. The museum's older section has a collection of pottery and cast-bronze griffin heads (the symbol of Samos). An exceptional collection of tributary gifts from ancient cities far and wide, including bronzes and ivory miniatures, affirms the importance of the shrine to Hera.

The mastic shrub has dominated Chios life, economy, culture, and destiny for centuries, and its role is explained in depth in well-designed exhibits in a stunning glass, stone, and wood pavilion overlooking a wide sweep of mastic groves. Aside from learning about how the valuable resin is cultivated and processed, you will see artifacts and photographs of village life and learn about the tumultuous history of the island, including times when hoarding even a sliver of mastic gum was a crime punishable by death.

Superseding the previous Neoclassical mansion that housed the old museum, Mytilini's new archaeological museum contains the permanent collection "Lesvos from Hellenistic to Roman Times" featuring finds from prehistoric Thermi, enchanting mosaics from Hellenistic houses, gold funeral offerings, and reliefs of comic scenes from the 3rd-century Roman house of Menander, as well as temporary exhibits.

In a purpose-built modern building, next to the site of the ancient town of Samos, this impressive collection shows off over 3,000 local finds, including headless statues, grave markers with epigrams to the dead, and human and animal figurines, in addition to some notably beautiful portrait busts of the Roman emperors Claudius, Caesar, and Augustus.

The only intact mosque in this part of the Aegean, complete with a slender minaret, dates from the 19th century and houses the Byzantine Museum. The main room has artifacts from the early Christian, Byzantine, and Genoese periods, while the porch and courtyard are dotted with richly inscribed Jewish, Turkish, and Armenian gravestones, including one depicting St. George slaying the dragon. Also on display are column capitals unearthed across the island and some delightful 18th-century Byzantine murals in which three sleeping girls await the miracle of St. Nicholas.

Livanos, Karas, Chandris, Onassis: many of the world-famous shipping families were based or born on Chios. Exquisite ship models and portraits of vessels that have belonged to Chios owners over time celebrate the sea-based heritage of the island. One exhibit highlights the Liberty ships and others constructed during World War II that contributed to Greece's booming postwar shipping industry.