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Island of Patmos

ISLAND OF PATMOS
The Island of Patmos is arguably one of the most important places in the Bible. It is the location of St John's confinement when he received his Revelation. According to a tradition preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, St John was exiled here in AD95 during 14th year of the reign of Domitian. A year later he returned to Ephesus. Patmos is an arid Aegean island to which Rome exiled political criminals. It is approximately 24 square miles (62 sq. km) in area and roughly 40 miles (64 km) from the mainland of Asia Minor. Since antiquity, it has possessed a working protected harbor near its centre (modern Skala) and other places for small boats to anchor. Inscriptions and archaeological remains indicate the existence of a fortress before St John's arrival, and the clear presence of the Artemis cult afterward. The limited population of the island during St John's day was probably largely pagan. St John may have been granted some freedom of movement on the island even though he lived in cave.
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