Patmos

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File:Chora di Patmos con il Monastero di San Giovanni "il teologo".JPG]]

According to a legend in Greek mythology, the island's original name was "Letois", after the goddess and huntress of deer, Artemis, daughter of Leto. It was believed that Patmos came into existence thanks to her divine intervention.

Artemis frequently paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmus. There she met the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and hence to life. Selene finally convinced Artemis, who then gained her brother Apollo's help to persuade Zeus to allow the island to rise from the sea.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

Zeus agreed, and the island emerged from the water. The sun dried up the land and brought life to it. Gradually, inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it "Letois" in honour of Artemis.[http://www.patmos.gr/index.asp Patmos – official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915161648/http://www.patmos.gr/index.asp |date=15 September 2008 }} Legendary folk tales and mythology. Retrieved on 4 September 2008.File:Jacopo vignali, san giovanni evangelista a patmos.jpg.]]

Patmos is seldom mentioned by ancient writers. Therefore, very little is known about the earliest inhabitants. In the Classical period, the Patmians prefer to identify themselves as Dorians descending from the families of Argos, Sparta and Epidaurus, further mingling with people of Ionian ancestry.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

During the 3rd century BC, in the Hellenistic period, the settlement of Patmos acquired the form of an acropolis with an improved defence through a fortification wall and towers.[http://www.patmos.gr/index.asp Patmos – official website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915161648/http://www.patmos.gr/index.asp |date=15 September 2008 }} Retrieved on 2008-09-04.

Patmos is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible. The book's introduction states that its author, John, was on Patmos when he was given (and recorded) a vision from Jesus. Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle.Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 81.4 For this reason, Patmos is a destination for Christian pilgrimage. Visitors can see the cave where John is said to have received his Revelation (the Cave of the Apocalypse), and several monasteries on the island are dedicated to Saint John.

After the death of John of Patmos, possibly around 100 AD, a number of Early Christian basilicas were erected on Patmos. Among these was a Grand Royal Basilica in honour of Saint John, built c. 300–350 AD at the location where the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian stands today.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

Early Christian life on Patmos, however, barely survived Muslim raids from the 7th to the 9th century.{{citation needed|reason=all refs seem to say 6th century. But the latter is impossible since there were no Muslims then|date=October 2011}} During this period, the Grand Basilica was destroyed. In 1088, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos gave Christodoulos Latrinos the complete authority over the island of Patmos, as well as the permission to build a monastery on the island. The construction of the monastery started in 1101.[https://www.patmos.gr/history/?lang=en Patmos.gr] – Patmos history. Retrieved on 7 February 2023.

Population was expanded by infusions of Byzantine immigrants fleeing the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and Cretan immigrants fleeing the fall of Candia in 1669.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

The island was controlled by the Ottoman Empire for many years, but it enjoyed certain privileges, mostly related to tax-free trade by the monastery as certified by Ottoman imperial documents held in the Library.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Ottoman rule in Patmos ("Batnaz" in Ottoman Turkish) was interrupted by initially Venetian occupation during Candian War between 1659 and 1669, then Russian occupation during Orlov Revolt between 1770 and 1774 and finally during the Greek War of Independence.

In 1912, in connection with the Italo-Turkish War, the Italians occupied all the islands of the Dodecanese (except Kastellorizo), including Patmos. The Italians remained there until 1943, when Nazi Germany took over the island.{{cite book|author1=Clyde E. Fant|author2=Mitchell G. Reddish|title=A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=248rXe16v9YC&pg=PA94|date=23 October 2003|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-513917-4|pages=94–}}

In 1945, the Germans left and the island of Patmos remained autonomous until 1948, when, together with the rest of the Dodecanese Islands, it joined the independent Greece.

In September 2008, the municipality of Patmos refused landing to a group of undocumented refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq when they were taken there for processing and care after a sea rescue. The administration refused them permission to land. Eventually they were sent to the island of Leros where they were processed and given humanitarian aid.[http://www.nylou.com/html/ent/319/ent.45319.1.asp Nylou Editorial][http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44017 Interpress Agency: Refugees Kept At Sea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015010016/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44017 |date=15 October 2008 }}

Forbes magazine, in 2009, named Patmos "Europe's most idyllic place to live", writing that "Patmos has evolved over the centuries but has not lost its air of quiet tranquility, which is one reason why people that know it return again and again".Forbes, webpage:[https://www.forbes.com/2009/09/03/europe-most-idyllic-places-lifestyle-real-estate_slide_11.html].

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Patmos is situated off the west coast of Turkey and the continent of Asia. It is one of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex. It is further west than its nearby neighboring islands.

It has an area of {{convert|34.05|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The highest point is Profitis Ilias, {{convert|269|m|0|abbr=off}} above sea level.

Patmos' main communities are Chora (the capital city) and Skala, the only commercial port. Other settlements are Grikou and Kampos.

File:Chora of Patmos1.jpg

Patmos's economy is largely reliant on tourism during the summer months with Christian pilgrims frequently visiting due to the island's connection with the apostle John and the writing of the Book of Revelation.{{cite web | url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/feb/12/revelations-at-patmos/ | title=Revelations at Patmos: Visiting the site where the Apocalypse of John was penned | date=12 February 2022 }}

The Monastery of Saint John and the Cave of the Apocalypse are among the sites most often visited by pilgrims.{{cite web | url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/places-to-visit/what-to-do-in-patmos-greeces-mysterious-holy-island | title=What to do in Patmos, Greece's mysterious holy island }} However, the beaches and quiet natural beauty have also led to an increase in tourists.

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As one of the quietest Greek Islands, the island's natural beauty and UNESCO World Heritage monuments, combined with its intense spirituality, have a profound impact on visitors and leave them deeply moved.Times: Andros, Patmos and 8 other islands singled out for a quieter Greek getaway. (2022). TornosNews.GR. https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tornos/trends/47577-uk-times-andros-patmos-and-eight-other-islands-singled-out-for-a-quieter-greek-getaway.html

For emergencies, Patmos has a medical centre, with several medical doctors on the premises. When residents require hospitalization beyond first aid, they are airlifted out of the island by helicopter (in emergencies) to nearby hospitals or, if the weather permits, they are transported by ferry.Greece links islands with 24hr health units as it opens to tourists. (2020, June 12). GTP Headlines. https://news.gtp.gr/2020/06/12/greece-links-islands-with-24hr-health-units-as-opens-to-tourists/

The Island of Patmos has regular ferry services, which connect it to the following ports: Agathonissi Island, Mykonos Island, Paros Island, Piraeus (the main port of Athens), Pythagoreio and Karlovassi on Samos Island, Syros Island, Leros Island, Naxos Island, Arkoi, Lipsi Island, Symi Island and Rhodes Island.

• John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelation
• Patriarch Jeremias III of Constantinople
• Patriarch Neophytus VI of Constantinople
• Patriarch Jacob of Alexandria{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}
• Emmanuil Xanthos, founder of Filiki Eteria
• Teddy Millington-Drake, English artist{{cite news |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-teddy-millington-drake-1448310.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-teddy-millington-drake-1448310.html |archive-date=2022-05-25 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Obituary: Teddy Millington-Drake |first=Jonathan |last=Hope |date=12 September 1994 |access-date=13 October 2018}}
• Robert Lax, American poet
• Emmanuel Carrère, French novelist{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/emmanuel-carrere-avec-yoga-inspirer-pour-ne-pas-expirer_2133458.html|title = Emmanuel Carrère : Avec "Yoga", inspirer pour ne pas expirer|date = 28 August 2020}}
• Laurence de Cambronne, French journalist{{Cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/m-actu/article/2016/06/10/une-annee-a-leros-le-journal-de-bord-sur-facebook_4947697_4497186.html|title = Une année à Leros : Le journal de bord sur Facebook|newspaper = Le Monde.fr|date = 10 June 2016}}
• Amphilochios (Makris) of Patmos, A 20th-century saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Greece}}

Patmos is twinned with:

• {{flagicon|BEL}} Auderghem, Belgium
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Grottaferrata, Italy{{cite web|url=http://www.kedke.gr/uploads/twinnedcities.pdf|title=Twinnings|access-date=2013-08-25|work=Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece|archive-date=2016-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115172503/http://www.kedke.gr/uploads/twinnedcities.pdf|url-status=dead}}
• {{flagicon|UK}} Glastonbury, United Kingdom

• Icaria – island to the northwest
• Patmos, Arkansas

{{reflist|2}}

• Tom Stone: The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A Memoir, Simon & Schuster, New York NY 2003, {{ISBN|0-7432-4771-X}} (Stone brings readers into the tiny Greek island world of Patmos.)

{{Commons category|Patmos}}

• {{Official website|http://www.patmos.gr/}} {{in lang|en|el}}
• https://www.patmosweb.gr/
• [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/uwVxXWBlazB0yw The Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint-John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos]{{snd}}UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
• [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/greece/patmos/articles/patmos-travel-guide/ Patmos Travel Guide](English)
• [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/28/t-magazine/travel-diary-irene-neuwirth.html?_r=0 Irene Neuwirth's eight great days in Greece](English)

{{Dodecanese Islands}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Greece}}

{{Kallikratis-South Aegean}}

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Category:Municipalities of the South Aegean

Category:Populated places in Kalymnos (regional unit)

Category:Landforms of Kalymnos (regional unit)

Category:Islands of the South Aegean

Category:Islands of Greece

Category:Dodecanese

Category:New Testament places

Category:Book of Revelation

Category:Greek city-states