OLYMPUS

The idea developed that there two levels of air: the lower air (aer) and the upper fiery air (aither, as we have just seen). It seemed to Cook that a mountain such as Olympus, visibly rising above the rain clouds, must have been seen as reaching the very ether where the gods lived. It is a tempting thought. Certainly, ancient writers commented on how the ashes from sacrifice at extreme height on the peak of Mt Olympus were undisturbed by rain or wind, and letters which it was the custom to write in the ashes remained till the next occasion. 39 They surely had in mind the magical lines of Homer: Olympus, where they say the secure seat of the gods for ever abides; it is neither shaken by wind nor ever soaked by rain nor does snow come there, but it is utterly clear weather40, cloudless, and a bright radiance is cast over it and on it the blessed gods rejoice for all time.