Patmos: Views of Island

This section contains rarely seen/visited places illustrating the terrain of the island of Patmos.

Patmos is a Greek island in the Dodecanese group, located about 40 mi. [65 km.] west of the western coast of Turkey.

It was here that John was exiled and received the revelation that he wrote about in the New Testament book of Revelation (Rev 1:9). Tradition maintains that he was exiled to Patmos during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96). He was eventually released and returned to Ephesus—located about 60 mi. [100 km.] to the northeast of Patmos.

Patmos is shaped somewhat like the letter “C”—open to the east. It is composed of three parts connected by two isthmuses. The larger northern part is connected to the central (main) part by a narrow isthmus. The island is about 7 mi. [11 km.] long, and up to 3 mi. [5 km.] wide. It is 13 sq. mi. [34 sq. km] in area and has a population of about 2,750 persons.

It is not mentioned frequently in extrabiblical sources, and none of the extrabiblical sources mention its being used as a place to which people were banished or exiled.