|
 GEOGRAPHY. The holy isle of Patmos lies between
Ikaria and Leros. It is 34 sq. km. in area, has 63 km.
of coastline, 2,534 inhabitants and is 163 nautical
miles from Piraeus. There are car and passenger ferries
from Piraeus to Skala, the island's main port, as well
as connections with the rest of the Dodecanese and Samos
and there is a regular link also with Leros, Kos,
Leipsoi, Arkoi and Agathonisi. During the summer there
are hydrofoils to Rhodes, Kos, Leros and, once a week,
Samos. Many cruise liners call at Patmos in the summer.
It is one of the smaller inhabited islands of the
Aegean, merely a narrow strip of land with numerous
rocky hills, scant vegetation and two main villages:
Chora and Skala. In two other regions there is a
scattered population: Groikos and Kampos. Its mild,
healthy climate, sunshine virtually all year round,
indented coastline with delightful bays and coves and
numerous chapels testifying to the island's sanctity
combine to form a picture of unique beauty.
HISTORY.
Very little is known of the island's past though there
seems to have been an important city there in antiquity,
as testified by finds of the 6th and 4th century BC
recovered from excavations in the region between Skala
and the bays of Merika and Chachlakia. The island is
referred to as Patmos in a 5th century BC inscription
and here, according to myth. logical tradition, Orestes
sought refuge fro the pursuit of the Furies. During
Roman times Patmos was a place of exile and between and
97 AD the Apostle John was banished he and composed the
wonderful text of the Apocalypse. In the ensuing
centuries the island was constantly plagued by pirates
and was more or less abandoned. In 1088 the monk Christodoulos Latrenos arrived here with the intention
of building a monastery in honor of St. John. Even today
the three chrysoboulls with which the Emperor Alexis I
Comnenus granted the island to the monk Christodoulos
supporting it and exempting it from taxation are
preserved in the katholikon. It took five years to build
the monastery and both monks and lay folk assisted him
in this task. The Iaity were forbidden to live within
the m onastery and settled in Choridakia and Evdilos
until 1132, when the monks permitted them to live
outside its walls. In the subsequent centuries Patmos
enjoyed peace and prosperity and acquired a mighty
mercantile fleet. In 1659 it was sacked by Morosini. In
the 18th century the famous Patmian School was founded
from which many enlightened priests graduated. Between
1821 and 1832 the island enjoyed a brief interval of
independence from the Turks but they returned and
remained until 1912, when it was occupied by the
Italians. It became part of the Greek state in 1948.
SIGHTS-MONUMENTS.
From about 1600 onwards the island's main harbor has
been Skala. This is where the boats drop anchor and from
where one can visit Chora and the other villages on the
island. Its dazzling white houses with their
flower-filled courtyards and balconies compose a
pleasant picture as they cline, to the slopes of a low
hill. On the Kastelli hi above the harbor there are
ruins of the 4 century BC fortification and ancient
tombs a pottery have been found here.
The island's capital,
Patmos or Chora, is built 3 km. southeast of the harbor.
It extent beneath the impregnable walls of the monastery
of St. John, indeed an impressive sig with its white
houses, narrow streets, mansions, captain's residences
at the very edge of the rock and Neoclassical edifices.
Without doubt the most important monument is the
fortress-monastery of St. John the Theologian, built in
the center of Chora at its highest point. The imposing
mass of its walls looms large over the entire
environment. It is a purely Byzantine structure girt by
defensive walls and battlements and within its precinct
are the catholicon and five chapels.
 In one of these the
relic of Hosios Christodoulos, its founder, is housed.
The monastery library is one of the best and most modern
in Greece, of invaluable importance for scholars. It
includes some 900 codices, 2000 printed volumes and
13,000 manuscripts and papers. One of the oldest works
in its possession is the so-called Gospel of St. Mark,
dated to the 6th century, penned in gold and silver
letters on purple vellum. Thirty-three folios are in
Patmos, the rest are in Vienna, the Vatican, the
Byzantine Museum Athens and the British Museum London.
In the sacristy of the monastery many precious objects
are housed: icons (particularly valuable are those of
St. Nicholas -mosaic- and of St. Theodore), crosses,
ecclesiastical plate, jewelry and vestments. From the
monastery terrace there is an unrivalled view of the
Aegean and on a clear day one can see the islands of Kalymnos, Leros and even Amorgos, Naxos, Mykonos and
Paros, and to the east, as far as Samos and Ikaria. The
Easter celebrations in Chora are especially moving and
impressive, with the re-enactment of the Last Supper and
the ceremony of the Washing of the Feet on Maundy
Thursday by monks and the abbot of the monastery in the
main square.
About half way along the
road from Chora to Skala is the Cave of the Apocalypse
where St. John dictated the text of the Revelation to
his pupil Prochoros. Just inside the mouth of the cave
is the chapel of St. Ann, founded by Hosios
Christodoulos. Next to the cave is the building of the
Patmian School, an institution established at the
beginning of the 18th century which made a significant
contribution to the Greek Struggle for Independence in
1821. Today it is a training college for the priesthood.
5 km. southeast of Chora, just before the village of
Groikos, is the chapel of St. John the Theologian, built
on top of a Roman building. Kampos, 11 km. north of
Chora, is one of the most fertile villages on Patmos in
the midst of verdant countryside.
One can sail all round the
island in a caique and discover the beautiful beaches at
Kathi ma tou Apollou, the bay of Lambi, Livadi ton
Kalogiron, the gulf of Lefki and Merika. The beach at
Groikos is also suitable for swimming and has golden
sands, just as at Kallikatsou with its weird rocky
landscape. A caique sails from Groikos to the lovely
beach at Diakofti on the south coast.
 There are also
secluded sandy beaches on the neighboring islets of Arkoi (8 nautical miles northeast of Patmos with only 68
inhabitants but very nice beaches) and Agathonisi (a
little island east of Patmos ideal for those seeking
solitude) which can be reached by caique. Visitors may
stay in hotels, pensions, rooms or apartments .
Yet another group of tiny
islands, the main one being oi or Leipso, lying
between Leros and Patmos. 16 sq. km. in area, with 35
km. of coastline and a population of 574. There is no
provision for tourists and only basic amenities for
those seeking peace and quiet close to nature. One can
reach Leipsoi from Piraeus with the boat on the Piraeus
- Kavala route to the outlying islands (once a week)
which also links it with the Cyclades, the islands of
the northeast Aegean, Kavala, Crete and the rest of the
Dodecanese. There is a local service once a week to
other isles of the archipelago and Samos. Small craft
operate between Leipsoi and Patmos (every day during the
summer), Arkoi and Agathonisi. The lovely sandy beaches
and sparkling sea are marvelous for both swimming and
fishing and accessible on foot. There is a hotel and few
rented rooms. The natural harbor is a safe anchorage for
yachts but the only refueling facilities are on Patmos.
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March 2009
Greek
Orthodox Calendar
|
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
1
Forgiveness Sunday
Eudokia the Martyr of Heliopolis
Andonina the New Martyr |
2
First Monday in Lent
Hesychios the Martyr
Our Holy Father Nicholas of Plana |
3
First Tuesday in Lent
Eutropios, Kleonikos, Vasiliskos, Zenos, &
Zoilis the Martyrs
Theodoretos the Holy Martyr of Antioch
|
4
First Wednesday in Lent
Gerasimos the Righteous of Jordan
Paul & his sister Juliana and their Companions |
5
First Thursday in Lent
Konon the Gardener
Theodore the Recruit |
6
First Friday in Lent
42 Martyrs of Amorion in Phrygia
Finding the Precious Cross by St. Helen |
7
First Saturday in Lent
The 7 Hieromartyrs of Cherson
Lavrentios of Megara, the Righteous |
8
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Theophylaktos, Bishop of Nicomedea
Hermas the Apostle of the 70 |
9
40 Martyrs at Lake Sebaste
Caesarios the Righteous
|
10
2nd Tuesday of Lent
Kodratos the Martyr & his Companions
Anastasia of Alexandria |
11
2nd Wednesday of Lent
Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Theodora the Righteous |
12
2nd Thursday of Lent
Theophanes the Confessor
Symeon the New Theologian |
13
2nd Friday of Lent
Removal of the relics of Nicephoros, Patriarch
of Constantinople
Pouplios the Martyr, Bishop of Athens
|
14
Second Saturday in Lent
Benedict the Righteous of Nursia
Euschemon the Confessor, Bishop of Lampasakos |
15
Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas
Agapios the martyr & his Companions
Manuel the New Martyr of Crete
|
16
3rd Monday of Lent
Savinos the Martyr of Egypt
Christodoulos the Wonderworker of Patmos |
17
3rd Tuesday of Lent
Alexios the Man of God
Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland |
18
3rd Wednesday of Lent
Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Trophimos & Eukarpion, Monk-martyrs of Nicomedea
|
19
3rd Thursday of Lent
Chrysanthos & Daria the Martyrs
Demetrios the New Martyr |
20
3rd Friday of Lent
Righteous Fathers slain at the Monastery of St.
Savas
Saint Cuthbert the Wonderworker, Bishop of
Lindisfarne
|
21
Third Saturday of Lent
James the Confessor
Thomas I, Patriarch of Constantinople |
22
Sunday of the Holy Cross
Basil the Holy Martyr of Ancyra
Kalliniki & Vassilisa the Martyrs |
23
4th Monday of Lent
Nikon the Holy Martyr & his 200 Companion
Martyrs
Anatolios & Protoleon the Martyrs converted by
the martyrdom of St. George
|
24
4th Tuesday of Lent
Forefeast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos
Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow |
25
Annunciation of the Theotokos |
26
4th Thursday of Lent
Synaxis in honor of the Archangel Gabriel
26 Martyrs in Crimea |
27
4th Friday of Lent
Matrona of Thessaloniki
Paul, Bishop of Corinth |
28
Fourth Saturday of Lent
Hilarion the New
Herodion the Apostle of the 70 |
29
Sunday of St. John Climacus
Mark, Bishop of Arethusa
Martyr Cyril the Deacon and Those with Him
|
30
5th Monday of Lent
John Climacus the Righteous, author of The
Divine Ladder of Ascent
Sosthenes Apollos, Cephas, Caesar, &
Epaphroditos, the Apostles of the 70
|
30
5th Tuesday of Lent
Hypatios the Wonderworker
Innocent, Enlightener of Siberia & Alaska |
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was born in May
1927 in Piraeus. He made his film debut in 1952. His first
major role was in 1962's Psila Ta Heria Hitler ("Hands
Up, Hitler"). He often plays
everyman characters, struggling to
get by, but he has also done anti-heros,
pure dramas, and on stage has acted
in Aristophanes' comedies. 
He often works with director Giorgos
Lazaridis. A documentary of his
life, which translates as "An
All-Weather Man", was made in 2004.
During
the "Golden Sixties" of the Greek
film industry he made the most
famous of his films, including the sequel
of Secret Agent 000, Papatrehas, Enas
Trellos Vengos, and many others. Most
of them by his own company Θ-Β
comedy films (Tainies Geliou).
On
a personal level, he was exiled from
1948 to 1950 for political reasons.
(Director Nikos Koundouros was also exiled
there.) Koundouros later gave him his
debut movie role in Magiki polis
(1955). In 2000 his car crashed into
a train, but he and his wife survived. He later
did safety advertisements on the
matter. Veggos is married and has
two children.
stunt double, even for the most
dangerous ones, like hanging from a
single rope from a balcony, or
walking through a glass door. 
Just type
in
