but that is no proof that Kasha is Acharnæ, as some superficial observers have imagined. The ancient castle of Phyle is situated higher up the mountain, an hour and a quarter from Kasha, on the road to Thebes, and eight hours from that city. In the ascent we pass over a small plain of grass and some marshy ground, occasioned by a stream. In some places the road is ancient and cut in the rock: on one side a small channel is made, about twenty inches broad and five feet deep, to let off the superfluous waters which trickle from the rocks. Diodorus1 places Phyle only one hundred stadia from Athens, which seems short of the measure; the distance being probably twelve miles, as it requires four hours to reach it from Athens. The same author calls it popsov oxupov te σpodpa, "a very strong fortress ;" and Cornelius Nepos,2 "Castellum munitissimum." Plutarch3 denominates it one of the bulwarks of Athens. It was always regarded as a place of considerable strength and importance; and when Thrasybulus had taken it by surprise, he was enabled, with a very small force, to resist the attacks of the Athenian army, commanded by the thirty tyrants. We are told, by historians, that Thrasybulus afterwards augmented the garrison to seven hundred men; which number, from the smallness of the fort, was probably its complement, though, on an extraordinary emergency, it might contain at least double that number. Phyle was ever afterwards considered as a place of consequence: and is mentioned in that light by many ancient authors. Phyle was a demos of the tribe Oineis; the town was situated near the foot of the castle hill, or Acropolis; some traces of it yet remain, which consist of the foundations of a square tower, and a transverse wall to guard the pass, and several large blocks scattered about, with a clear spring of water rippling among the ruins of the town. 1 B. 14. c. 32. 2 Life of Thrasybulus. * Strabo, b. 9. p. 404. The castle stands upon a hill accessible only on the east and south sides, which face the road; the other two sides are precipitous. To the west is a deep glen broken by tremendous precipices, crowned with the stately growth of the waving pine, and with a profusion of underwood and shrubs. The building, of which great part remains, is of an oblong form; the narrow sides facing the east and west; its length is about one hundred and seventy yards, and its breadth nearly ninety. There were two entrances; one on the east, the other on the south side; but both of them are destroyed. At the north-east angle is a round tower; on the south-east a square one; and another of the same form on the north side, projecting from the walls. The greatest length of the northern wall, in its present state, is not above two hundred and twenty-five feet; perhaps it never was continued much further the rock on this, as well as on the southern side and western end, is naturally protected by its precipitous ascent. Twenty layers of blocks are still seen in some parts of the wall. They are generally parallelograms; though the system of acute and obtuse angles, which seems to have been disused about the time of Alexander, may be occasionally remarked in this building. The date of the foundation of Phyle is unknown. Its present name is Argiro-Kastro. I never heard it called Biglia Castro, or Philio-Castro, as some have asserted.1 The other Athenian forts, whose situations still remain unknown, are Lipsidrion, Panakton, and Aphidna; the two former, it ap pears, were on Parnes; Panakton was on the borders of Boeotia.2 The first view of Athens, in coming from Thebes, is from Phyle; the plain and town, and Mount Hymettos, are seen over the crags of Parnes; the distance is terminated by the horizon of the Ægean, the island of Hydrea, and the Scyllaian promontory, with the entrance of the Saronic Gulph. 1 Chandler's Travels in Greece, c. 38. p. 173. and Stuart, vol. 3. p. 16. Having been informed, while at Kasha, of a curious cavern, high up the mountain, I resolved to visit it, though, according to all accounts, the excursion was attended with great trouble and fatigue. TO A CAVE ON MOUNT PARNES. We set off on horseback, accompanied by a shepherd of the mountain with every part of which he was well acquainted. In twenty-three minutes from Kasha, we crossed a dry water-course ; above which rises a precipice, with some remains of walls, composed of small stones and mortar; and apparently only a few hundred years old. The rock exhibits an aperture, from which a stream rises in winter, and finds its way to the Athenian plain. The rock and stream are called Janoula, from a real or imaginary lady of that name, who they say constructed an aqueduct to convey the stream to her olive groves in the plain; the aqueduct is ruined, but it does not appear to have been an ancient work. At Kasha they have many traditions relating to that powerful Archontess; there is a ruined house in the village, which, being rather more spacious than common cottages, is called her palace. Continuing our ascent of the mountain, we crossed another rapid little stream, called Goura, which falls into the Alonāki; the latter takes its source at Roumāri, a ruined village high up the mountain, and is the same which near Kasha is called Janoula. Several ancient terraces on the steep sides of Parnes are faced with walls, to support the earth; and it is probable, that when Athens flourished, and Attica abounded with houses and population, the greater part of their mountains were cultivated. Similar fences are seen on the barren sides of Aigaleos and Korydallos, and on the Marathonian side of Pentelikon. After ascending a long time to the east of Phyle, without any roads, or even paths, we came to a small plain cultivated with corn, and surrounded by a grand amphitheatre of precipices, covered with pines and evergreen oaks; the smaller trees were interspersed with the wild pear,1 different kinds of arbutus, and the other shrubs and plants which grow on Pentelikon and Hy mettos. The two most conspicuous rocks which rise from the plain, are called Tamilthi and Papǎgnà. Harma was probably situated near this spot; Strabo says it was in the vicinity of Phyle. Beyond this plain it is impossible to proceed on horseback, and it is almost impracticable on foot. Having tied our horses to a tree, we descended some steep rocks, crossed the stream Alonāki, which was rushing violently over large stones, and ascending one of the most difficult places I ever passed, arrived at the long-wished-for cavern, after a most fatiguing journey of five hours, including about an hour that we rested on the way. The cave is the work of nature; the aperture is so low and narrow, that only one person can enter at a time. Within are some spacious caverns, ornamented with stalactitic incrustations of a yellow hue. Not the least trace of art is observable, except near the entrance, where there are several niches for votive offerings; in one of which four iron cramps are still left fixed in the rock, to which a marble or a brazen tablet was attached. If we had possessed sufficient leisure, and the means of excavation, some curious antiquities might possibly have been discovered. Under most of the niches there have been inscriptions; of which only two are visible; but these have been rendered illegible by the |