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Located in the northern part of the Dodecanese islands, Patmos is a small, barren and rocky island. Volcanic soil and infrequent rains deprive the island of vegetation and crops, thus driving the inhabitants to the sea; at the same time they made for an abstract and otherworldly landscape, suitable to accommodate the apocalyptic writings of John the Theologian.

Ancient Patmos is attested by scattered and fragmentary field findings. The archaeological record shows no Minoan or Mycenaean finds and only a few Geometric and Archaic remains, no more than hinting at the pre-Christian era on the island. To this day the most important archaeological site on the island is Kastelli, in the central part of the west coast. Pottery remains and stone tools from the Bronze Age confirm that the area was inhabited, though the signs of organization and walling date to the late classic period. Kastelli appears to have been inhabited until the Roman period. The ruins of a temple dedicated to Patmian Artemis offer solid evidence of a cult in her name, on the site later used to build the Monastery of St. John the Theologian. Like Leros, the island was a satellite of the mighty city of Miletus.

The fact that Patmos served as a place of exile in late Roman times undoubtedly determined the island’s history and development. In contrast to the archaeological evidence on most Aegean islands, only a few finds offer a glimpse of the early Christian era prior to the turning point marked by the foundation of the monastery in mid-Byzantine times. Indeed, most of the finds were preserved by being walled into the monastery and village houses. A lengthy period of abandonment is recorded in the so-called "Dark Ages" (7th-9th centuries), due to relentless raids and looting by Arab pirates.

Tradition has it that John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, was exiled to barren Patmos in around 95 AD, during the persecutions of Emperor Domitian; it was during his stay on the island that John wrote two of the religious texts central to Christian faith, the Gospel According to John and the Apocalypse. Inextricably linked to this tradition is the founding of the monastery by Blessed Christodoulos Latrinus in 1088. Having petitioned Emperor Alexius I Comnenus , he managed to secure a chrysobull granting him the island and other privileges so as to found a monastery dedicated to the Evangelist. The monastery was erected at the summit of the hill, over the remains of an ancient temple and an early Christian basilica . Over time the settlement known as Chora (the island capital) grew up around it, merging to form a densely built and labyrinthine architectural complex.

The island did not manage to escape pillage and destruction by pirates; Turks, Saracens and Normans systematically raided Patmos in the 12th century, scarring the island. Yet life held out - the settlement expanded and grew stronger, the monastery buildings were completed, and in the late 12th and early 13th centuries the refectory and Chapel of the Virgin Mary were decorated with fresco compositions. In 1309 the island was conquered by the Knights Hospitaller. Over the next century Patmos served as the theatre of war between the Venetians and Ottomans, but succeeded in maintaining its privileges via the monastery. In 1522 the islands were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, thus fostering a period of relative stability and peace for Patmos. The population grew gradually over the 16th and 17th centuries, bolstered by refugees from Constantinople and Crete. Together with greater local involvement in trade and shipping, this resulted in the rise of a new noble class linked to an era of development and prosperity on Patmos. A serious blow to recovery was dealt in 1659, when a Venetian named Morosini pillaged the island in retaliation for the monastery entering into negotiations with the Turks. With all its disastrous consequences, this diplomatic blunder on the monastery’s part shook faith in its integrity, robbing it thereafter of the centralising role it played for Patmos. The settlement began to grow and expand following the arrival of Cretan refugees from the fall of Candia in 1669, while release from monastery control lent impetus to the rise of a class of seafarers. The School of Patmos was founded in 1713. All of these factors contributed to the island experiencing an unprecedented period of economic vigour and intellectual growth.


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