The powerful messages described in the Book of Revelation initially inspired and frightened thousands of Greco-Roman people. Devout converts began arriving to see where John had his inspirations. Ever since, the cave and later the monastery have been the destination for Christian pilgrimages. In 1981, the Greek Parliament designated Patmos as the Holy Island. Patmos is also called the Sacred Land of the Aegean, the Jerusalem of the Aegean and the Island of the Apocalypse.
