Patmos, Where John Received the Revelation

Two engraved signs, one in English and the other in Greek, quote Revelation 1:9 where John says he was exiled to the isle of Patmos for preaching the Word of God.

When I tell people my Greek family is originally from Patmos, most people who have heard of it know that it’s where the apostle John received the Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.

According to Greek Orthodox tradition, he received the Revelation in a cave.

Tour buses park there and tour guides lead believers and skeptics alike into the cave.

A concrete ramp zigzags down to an entrance for a building outside the cave where a guy collects a 3 Euro fee per person to enter. I don’t remember that structure being there in 2011.

The entrance then was at the bottom right of a staircase that is still there.

Once inside, it resembles the interior of a Greek Orthodox Church.

Another tradition is that John carved out a hole in the wall to lay his head and a place in the stone he used to lift himself from the ground. They enshrined the place for his head with a silver crown and enclosed all within a gate to keep people from touching.

Greek Orthodox legend is that John had a helper, like Paul, who wrote down the Revelation.

Many people light candles in memory of loved ones who have passed.

In the middle of the cave the ceiling is broken into three parts. Tradition teaches that when God spoke, His voice caused the crack, symbolizing that He is a Trinity.

It’s pretty stuffy inside except for the one open window.