The castle of Panteli

Glossary (1)

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 (4)

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 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.
The island: Down the centuries, the beauty of the Aegean landscape and the bountiful natural resources on Kos contributed to its emergence as an island with a long history and rich cultural heritage perhaps disproportionate to its small size. The island’s present-day character owes much to the material witnesses of the past: the classical antiquities, the plethora of early Christian monuments and the architecture and urban layout from the Italian occupation. Lying between Karpathos and Nissiros, Kos is the third largest island in the Dodecanese. The first signs of human presence and activity have been confirmed by archaeological finds from the Neolithic settlement in Aspri Petra cave, and the fortified Early Bronze Age settlement on Serai Hill in the island capital. Burials rich in ceramic grave goods bear witness to the presence of Mycenaeans on the island, backed up by a reference to Kos in the Iliad, in the catalogue of cities that took part in the expedition against Troy. Historic times found Kos participating alongside Cnidos, Halicarnassus and three Rhodian cities in the Doric Hexapolis, a federation of cities settled by the Dorians of the Peloponnese. The island subsequently passed into Persian hands, even taking part in their campaign against Greek cities. After the Persians were defeated in 478 BC, Kos became part of the Delian League. At that time it would appear that the island capital was Astypalaia, on the site of present-day Kefalos. Excavations at Astypalaia have revealed temples dating to the 5th century BC, dedicated to Demeter, Asclepius and Omonoia, as well as a theatre and a wall. In 366 BC, while under the control of Mausolus, the famed ruler of Caria, the island's oldest villages were settled and new capital was founded at Meropis, on the site of the present-day capital. Despite discord over its political allegiance vis-à-vis the successor kingdoms of Alexander's empire, in Hellenistic times Kos and its large temples (including the panhellenic sanctuary of Asclepius) served as a major religious centre. This was also the heyday of Ancient Alasarna, a settlement on the site of what is now Kardamena. From its inception in the 2nd century BC, the Roman period on Kos was hallmarked by high taxation, elaborate public works projects and modifications and additions to the ancient temples. Major events in the first Christian centuries include the arrival of the Apostle Paul in to preach Christianity in 57 AD, and a powerful earthquake in 142. In the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305), Kos was incorporated into the Kingdom of Caria (Regio Cariae) and the Province of the Islands (Provincia Insularum). As Christianity spread in the Aegean, Kos was organized into a diocese relatively early on - sources confirm that bishops Meliphron and Julian took part in the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451) respectively. The beginning of the Early Christian era on Kos can apparently be traced to another powerful earthquake, in 469, which caused severe damage across the island and resulted in many ancient temples being abandoned. The impressive number of basilicas built in the 5th and 6th century is not only indicative of the predominance of Christianity, but also of contemporary wealth and prosperity. To date, eighteen basilicas and settlements have been excavated in three rural areas (Mastichari, Kardamena and Kefalos) and at least sixteen others have been located; in Kos town, excavations have brought to light private buildings with elaborate mosaic floors. Together with the production of marble architectural members and mosaics, small scale installations such as pottery kilns and glass workshops give an indication of the inhabitants’ commercial activities, attesting to the vitality of both town and country. The previously held view that the flourishing Christian era on Kos was brought to an end by an earthquake in 554 is gradually being abandoned, since recent excavation data have revealed that life continued until the mid-7th century, when the Arabs raided the island in 654/655. From the early 5th to the early 7th century Kos suffered raids by the Vandals, Isaurians, Onogurs, Bulgarians and probably the Avar Slavs. The 7th century was marked by assault and plundering by the Persians of Chosroes II and the Arabs of Moab. Very little is known of the period up until the mid-11th century, the so-called "Dark Ages" of systematic Arab raids on the Aegean islands, which resulted in dwindling settlements and a general climate of fear and uncertainty. Existing information notes the administrative integration of Kos into the Theme of Kibyrrhaiotai. Following the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert (1071), and Seljuk and Turkmen raids in Asia Minor, Kos played host to refugees, including Christodoulos Latrenus, the monk who later founded the Monastery of St John the Theologian on Patmos. A chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted the monk two areas “[…] the one known locally as Kastelon, and that called Pilés’ place”, where Christodoulos founded the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, also known as Monastery of Our Lady of Kastrianon (“the Castle dwellers”), and erected Palaio Pyli Castle on the hill. In the 12th century the Venetians laid claim to Kos. From 1124 to 1126 the island suffered raids after John II Comnenus refused to grant them privileges in the islands; a chrysobull issued by Emperor Alexius III Angelus in 1198 finally ratified Venetian economic privileges in parts of the empire including Kos. After the fall of Constantinople to the Franks in 1204, the Partitio Romaniae assigned Kos to the rule of the Latin emperor, though there is no written record of a Latin diocese being established. The island was briefly recaptured by John Vatatzes in 1224, and then passed back and forth between the Byzantines and the Venetians before coming under the more permanent control of the latter in 1284. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in Kos between 1306 and1309. Another round of exchanges between the Byzantines, the Venetians and the Hospitallers ended in a lasting victory for the Knights from 1337 onwards. In the 14th century they proceeded to shore up the island’s defences. Among other things they repaired the existing walls at Antimachia and Kos town, and even erected a strong perimeter wall with bastions around Kos Castle, also known as Nerzantzia Castle. In the first half of the 15th century the island was plagued by attack from the Egyptians (1440 and 1444). From the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II up until the end of the century it was the turn of the Ottomans to launch repeated raids on the island. The most significant assault was in 1457, when a siege on the castle at Antimachia resulted in the countryside being razed and depopulated. A major earthquake in 1493 rounded off the distressing picture of dereliction. Kos was surrendered to the Ottomans under Suleiman the Magnificent three decades later, in 1523, a year after the Knights Hospitaller capitulated on Rhodes. Now subject to poll tax, Kos lost its fertile lands, which were granted to the Ottomans as fiefs or vakufs.

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