96 JOURNEY TO CITH^RON 
of Flatjea. The whole of this part of the- 
plain, through which the ^sopus flows, is still 
called Platana, as far as the village of Purgos to 
the tvest; where there is one of those ruined 
towers common in the plains oi Boeotia, probably 
the remains of forts constructed for alarm and 
defence, during the period of the Roman power ; 
but as it is likely that they were erected upon 
the site, and with the materials afforded by the 
ruins of the Grecian towns, they are always 
worthy of notice. We arrived at Platana one 
hour before sun-set, and immediately set out 
Asopus. for the source of the Asopus. This river main- 
tains the character of almost all the Grecian 
streams, being only a winter torrent ; and so 
dry in summer, that it may be passed without 
observation ; a circumstance that happened to 
us in this month of December, as we journeyed 
from Marathon to Thebes \ The source of 
it is erroneously placed by geographers' in 
Mount CiTH^ROx. It does not rise in the 
mountain, but in this plain, at the foot of 
CiTH^ROiv, as we shall presently shew. A 
(1) Seetlie observation made by I>Ir. Hawkins, as contained in tlie 
extract from bis Letter to the author, given in a Note of the preceding 
Chapter. 
(2) See the Map of Bceotia by Barbie du Bocagt, published by 
Barlhelemy, &e. 
