The island


Leros is one of the islands in the Dodecanese, at the eastern edge of the Aegean. Archaeological evidence has revealed the active presence of humans there since prehistoric times, in finds dating to the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. In historical times the evolution and character of Leros were heavily influenced by its close relations with Miletus, whose people settled the island. It later came under Spartan and then Roman rule, while archaeology has also confirmed the presence of Macedonians. The official religious shrine in the classical era was at Partheni, in the northern part of the island. This was associated with the worship of a maiden called Iocallis, who connects the island with the myth of the Meleagrids and is considered synonymous with the goddess Artemis. Architectural remains from antiquity include two major fortifications at Partheni and Xirokambos, as well as the island’s principal settlement at Agia Marina.

The transition to the Christian era found Leros being administered as part of the Province of the Islands (Provincia Insularum), under the command of Asia Minor. The spread of Christianity throughout the Dodecanese did not exempt Leros, if at some delay, since the cult of Artemis remained strong for a considerable time. After the new religion prevailed the island was organized into a diocese. The Diocese of Leros formed part of the Metropolis of Rhodes, and was definitely founded before 553, when Bishop John I of Leros took part in the Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople convened by Justinian to condemn heretical writings.

The early Christian period was marked by intense building activity. Factors such as the dominance of Christianity and the organization of living areas favoured the construction of numerous basilicas and the establishment of many new settlements, at Agia Marina, Partheni, Alinda and Lakki. The archaeological record from this period is not merely limited to abundant architectural remains, which testify to extensive rebuilding on the island, but also includes artefacts (coins, pottery), numerous mosaic fragments, votive inscriptions and scattered architectural members.

The era of prosperity experienced by the islands in the first Christian centuries was violently interrupted by the invasion and advance of Arabs in the Aegean. The years that followed up until the 10th century were ones of decline and stagnation. Sea routes became dangerous, commercial activity grounded to a halt and many settlements and trading posts were laid waste. On Leros this turbulent period was reflected in the abandonment of many villages, as the population moved into the island’s interior. Both Lepida Castle and Panteli Castle, the most important medieval monument on Leros, have construction phases dating to this period.

This dark era came to an end when Emperor Nicephorus Phocas recaptured Crete in 961, ushering in a period of renewed Byzantine power in the Aegean Sea. Large monasteries were erected on the islands and communications were re-established with the major centres in the empire. Imperial documents from the 11th century testify to developments on Leros. Typical of these was the chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius Comnenus in 1087, granting the island of Leipsoi, the suburbs of Partheni and Temenion and part of Panteli Castle on Leros to Christodoulos Latrenus, founder of the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos on Patmos – the following year he was granted the whole castle, on the order of Anne Dalassene. In 1309 the island of Leros was occupied by the Knights Hospitaller and incorporated into the region of Kos, together with the neighbouring islands of Kalymnos and Nisyros. From the late 15th to the early 16th century the knights carried out repairs to the walls and built an external wall around Panteli Castle, in order to update the island’s defences following the introduction of gunpowder weapons. Systematic pirate raids and looting in the second half of the 15th century led to Leros falling to the Ottomans in 1522.


Glossary (4)

Paleo-Christian (early Christian) era: in Byzantine history, the period that typically starts in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great transferred the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his newly-founded city of Constantinople, and ends with the death of Justinian in 565.
basilica: type of large church, divided internally into three or more naves. The central nave was usually covered by a raised roof with windows that illuminated the space.
mosaic: patterns or images composed of small, colored tesserae. Mosaic decoration can be applied to all the surfaces of a building: floor, walls or ceiling.
chrysobull: official public document or decree issued by the emperors of Byzantium, with an authenticating gold stamp on the silk band that accompanied it.


Information Texts (5)

Justinian I: Byzantine Emperor (527-565), nephew and successor of Justin I. One of his first acts was to reform the tax system and recode Theodosius’ laws. He was personally involved in religious conflicts and convened the 5th Ecumenical Council (553). Justinian considered himself primarily an orthodox emperor and took harsh measures against the remaining pagans. Many of his political and fiscal actions provoked strong reactions on the part of the senate and the factions and led to the Nika Riots. Justinian instigated numerous building projects, erecting approximately 30 churches in Constantinople, including the famous church of Agia Sophia. Regarding foreign policy, he successfully confronted the Persians and the Vandals in the East and focused on the recovery of the West. This he temporarily achieved, but at such cost that the Empire was left exhausted; the barbarians in the Balkans plundered the Greek peninsula as far as the Isthmus and barbarian tribes settled at the borders. His military operations exhausted Byzantium financially and militarily and had no real effect, as Italy and other areas he conquered were soon lost again. After his death, the weakened empire had to face new attacks, culminating in the Arab conquests, which negated the majority of Justinian’s conquests beyond the borders.
Alexius I Comnenus: Emperor of Byzantium from 1081 to 1118, founder of the Comnenian dynasty. Son of John Comnenus and Anna Dalassene, he was originally a general in the imperial army. Using this position he led a revolt supported by the army and the aristocracy, which ended in the capture of Constantinople and his ascension to the imperial throne on 1 April 1081. The empire Alexius inherited was at a very critical juncture: the aristocracy were in revolt, the Seljuks had taken over much of Asia Minor and the capital and the Danubian provinces were under attack. The raids continued at greater or lesser intensity over several years. To address these difficulties, Alexius turned to the West, and signed peace treaties with the Venetians and the Germans. With regard to domestic affairs, he attempted to reform and revitalize the economy and trade so as to stop deflation of the Byzantine currency, and overhauled the administration. The first Crusade took place during his reign. Alexius exercised diplomacy in dealing with the waves of crusaders, providing them with vessels to cross over to Asia Minor. After extensive negotiations, the crusader leaders agreed to hand back any lands they might capture that had previously belonged to the Byzantine Empire. However, Alexius failed to prevent them capture Antioch and Jerusalem. He died in 1118.
The castle of Panteli: The Castle of Panteli, an important medieval monument of Leros, is located on the east coast of the island, on the Pitis (Apityki) hill, between the villages of Platanos and Agia Marina. The two inner enclosures of the first building phase of the castle date to the middle Byzantine period. The previous confirmed chronology before the construction of the castle is the year 1087, when a chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, granted half of the castle to Christodoulos Latrinos, founder of the Monastery of John the Theologian in Patmos, on behalf of the Monastery of Our Lady Kastrianon of Kos. The existing Byzantine walls of the castle were repaired by the Hospitallers from the late 15th to early 16th century, and a new external enclosure was built, which fully complied with the requirements of the established use of firearms. The coats of arms of knight as Magisters scattered around the castle attest to the care of the Hospitallers to strengthen it. Five churches still survive inside the walls, including the church of Our Lady of the Castle. The temple, built in the late 17th century after the miraculous, according to tradition-appearance of the icon of the Virgin Mary in the gunpowder store of the castle, now houses the Ecclesiastical Museum of Leros.
The monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos: The Monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos on Patmos is a unique example of medieval monastic architecture and a place of considerable religious interest, being one of the largest monasteries in the Aegean. 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 on 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 ensemble.The monastery complex is surrounded by an irregularly shaped, many sided medieval wall 15 m in height. The interior is on several levels, including cell wings, auxiliary buildings, galleries and chapels dating to the 16th and 17th century, built around the catholicon as their focal point. The latter is a late 11th century composite four-column cross-in-square church, with attached chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Christodoulos. The surviving wall paintings are fine, rarely encountered depictions of evangelical scenes probably painted by a Cretan School artist, dating from the second decoration phase in the early 17th century. The chapel of the Virgin Mary has an important fresco ensemble displaying the monumental tendency of the late 12th century. The famed monastery library and sacristy house treasures and heirlooms of inestimable historical and artistic value, such as rare collections of Byzantine and post-Byzantine manuscripts, imperial documents, books, icons and miniature works. The Monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos on Patmos (an impressive architectural monument and repository of Byzantine culture), the Cave of the Apocalypse and Chora (Patmos town) were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999, as a prominent Greek Orthodox pilgrimage centre of outstanding architectural interest.
The island: 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.


Bibliography (4)

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2. Δρελιώση-Ηρακλείδου Α, Μιχαηλίδου Μ., Λέρος: Από την Προϊστορία έως το Μεσαίωνα, Athens, 2006

3. Στεφανίδου Α., ‘Κάστρο Παντελίου’ in Ενετοί και Ιωαννίτες Ιππότες. Δίκτυα οχυρωματικής αρχιτεκτονικής, Athens, 2001

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