Map of the Roman Empire - Patmos

Patmos
N-7 on the Map

Ancient Patmos Island near Miletus off the Aegean coast of Turkey. According to tradition John the apostle was banished on the island of Patmos, and this is where he saw visions recorded in the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:9. A cave is still traditionally shown in Patmos where the apostle is believed to have received his revelations (the Cave of the Apocalypse).

Rev. 1:9 - "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Patmos (Πάτμος). One of the islands called Sporades, in the Icarian Sea, celebrated as the place to which the Apostle John was banished, and in which he wrote the Apocalypse (Pliny , Pliny H. N. iv. 69). See Tozer, Islands of the Aegean (1890). - Harry Thurston Peck. Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York. Harper and Brothers. 1898.

Patmos (Greek, Πάτμος; Italian: Patmo) is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Patmos is mentioned in the Christian scriptural Book of Revelation. 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, though some modern scholars are uncertain. As such, 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. The earliest remains of human settlements date to the Middle Bronze Age (ca 2000 BC). They consist of pottery shards from Kastelli, the most important archaeological site so far identified. Patmos is seldom mentioned by ancient writers. Therefore very little can be conjectured 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. Judging from archaeological finds, Kastelli continued to play an important role on the island throughout the Ancient Greek period (ca 750 BC-323 BC). 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. 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 ca 300-350 at the location where the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian stands today. - Wikipedia

 

Patmos
PATMOS (Πάτμος Patmo), one of the Sporades Insulae, in the south-east of the Aegean, to the west of Lepsia and south of Samos, is said to have been 30 Roman miles in circumference. (Pliny, 4.23; Strab. x. p.488; Thuc. 3.23; Eustath. ad Dion. Per. 530.) On the north-eastern side of the island there was a town with a harbour of the same name as the island, and the southernmost point formed the promontory Amazonium (Stadiasm. Mar. Mag. p. 488, ed. Hoffmann). This little island is celebrated as the place to which St. John was banished towards the close of the reign of Domitian, and where he is said to have composed the Apocalypse (Revel. 1.9). A cave is still shown in Patmos where the apostle is believed to have received his revelations. (Comp. Iren. 2.22; Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 3.18; D. C. 58.1.) The island contains several churches and convents, and a few remains of the ancient town and its castle. (Walpole, Turkey, tom. ii. p. 43; Ross, Reisen auf den Griech. Inseln, vol. ii. p. 123, foll.) - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) William Smith, LLD, Ed.