ISLAND OF PATMOS. 39 
strongly fortified, and it is proof against any 
attack of that nature 2 . A Commissary of the 
French army proposed to accompany us upon 
this expedition; and, as the plan was highly 
approved, we set off, without further delay, for 
the Convent. The ascent is steep and rugged, 
but practicable for asses and mules ; and upon 
the backs of these animals we proposed to 
convev the trunks. When we arrived at the ^ ona8ter y 
J % of St. John. 
Monastery, we were quite struck by its size and 
substantial appearance. It is a very powerful 
fortress, built upon a steep rock, with several 
towers and lofty thick walls; and if duly 
mounted with guns, might be made impreg- 
nable. According to Tournefort, it is said to 
have been founded by Alexius Comnenus, in con- 
sequence of the persuasion of St. Christodulus 3 \ 
but Dapper relates, that the saint himself 
founded the Monastery, having obtained per- 
mission to this effect from Alexius, towards the 
(2) " Palmosa, Patmo anticamente detta, insula pesta nell'Arcipe- 
lago : sopra loquale : S. Joannis Evangelista scrisse il sacro Apoca- 
lypsi : essendo stato mandate in exilio da Domitiano Imperat. In 
memoria delquale, im bellissimo Monasterio del suo nome, da suoi 
Diseipoli fu fabricato : et da caloiri hora habitato : conservandosi da 
corsari essere offeso." Martin. Crus. Turco- Gratia, lib. iv. p. 302. 
Annot. Epist. Macar. Basil, sine anno. 
(3) Voyage <\u Levant, torn. II. p. 141. Lyon, 1717. 
