Dodecanese · Greece's holy island
Patmos
Patmos is the holy island of the Dodecanese, where St John is said to have received the Revelation, and one of the most beautiful: a medieval Chora, charming villages and some of the most pristine, secluded beaches in the Greek islands.
According to ancient Greek mythology, this island was first named Litois in honour of the goddess Artemis. Legend says it had sunk beneath the sea, and that Artemis, with Apollo’s help, persuaded Zeus to raise it back above the surface; the inhabitants named it for her in devotion. People have lived here since around 3,000 BC, though the identity of those first settlers, Kares, Leleges, Pelasgians or Dorians, is still argued over.
The island of the Revelation
Patmos is steeped in mystery and has a strong spiritual character, yet it is anything but austere: an elongated, hourglass-shaped island only twelve kilometres end to end, with beaches that stay pristine and private in a way the busier islands lost long ago.
Explore Patmos
The Cave of the Apocalypse
The island’s most famous site is the cave where John, exiled here from Ephesus for his beliefs, is said to have received the vision recorded in the Book of Revelation, the final and most mysterious of biblical works. According to the tradition, the vision was so formidable it split the cave’s ceiling in three.
The Monastery of St John the Theologian
Established in 1088 by the monk St Christodoulos, the monastery has outlasted pirate raids, famine, earthquake and successive occupations. Its library is counted the most important in Greece outside Mount Athos, and the whole fortified complex still runs the island’s skyline.
Pairing Patmos
Patmos closes the northern end of a Dodecanese journey beautifully, a change of register after Kos or Symi, and the island our guests most often describe with the word peace.
Known first-hand
Our best picks on Patmos
- Best Bar Stoa
Under the leaping arches of a designer-converted medieval cellar in Chora sits the island's trendiest bar, also known as Theo's. Lounge, jazz, Latin and the occasional DJ night; monastic influence has a long hangover here, but Patmos is not dead by night.
- Best Beach Agriolivado
A small, secluded curve of sand and pebbles three kilometres north of Skala, wrapped in green, with water that stays calm and crystalline. Sunbeds and umbrellas when you want them, quiet when you do not.
- Best Hidden Spot The lanes of Chora
Wander the labyrinthine passageways of the medieval capital: whitewashed houses, captains' residences and mansions dating to the 15th century, stacked along alleys built to lose you beautifully.
- Best Daytrip Monastery of St John
The fortified monastery crowns the island and is visible from every part of it. Its museum holds icons, ecclesiastical treasures, embroidered vestments and relics that reward a slow morning.
- Best Local Specialty Benetos
Just outside Skala on the quiet inlet of Sapsila, Benetos and Susan Matthaiou have run their restaurant since 1997: modern Mediterranean cooking with the fish landed locally and the vegetables and herbs from their own organic garden.
- Best Wine Patoinos
The island's vineyards produce Moschato of Alexandria in white and Fokiano in red, on the gently sweet side. Visit the Patoinos winery, Domaine de l'Apocalypse, for the full story in a glass.
No airport of its own: Patmos is reached by sea, which protects its quiet. Ferries call from Piraeus and the neighbouring Dodecanese.
Design
Design your experience
Tell us the occasion, the season and who is coming. One of our Epicureans will come back with a first sketch of Patmos, and will tell you if another island suits your dates better.