was to draw water from a sacred spring and pour it on the altar of Artemis.13 In Revelation 1:9 John identifies his place of writing as the “island [nēsos, νῆσος] called Patmos.” The reason for his presence there is given next: “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” This catchphrase is used in Revelation 6:9 and 20:4 as the reason for the martyrdom of the saints. In the first century AD the Romans often used Aegean islands to exile political