34 LANDSCAPE AND IMAGINATION 



and limestones. On the north the crags and snowy 

 crests of Olympus rise high and bare above the dense 

 forests that clothe their slopes. To the eastward, 

 above the narrow chasm of Tempe, through which 

 the drainage of the great inland basin escapes to the 

 sea, the grey peak of Ossa forms the northern end 

 of a long chain of heights which, farther south, mount 

 into the ridge of Pelion. Along the southern edge 

 of the plain another vast mountain barrier sweeps 

 eastward from Mount Pindus through the lofty chain 

 of Othrys to the sea. 



No other part of Greece presents such diversities 

 of topography and of climate as are to be found within 

 the region thus encircled with mountains. The peaceful 

 beauty and spontaneous fertility of the plain offer an 

 impressive contrast to the barren ruggedness of the 

 surrounding heights. High above the gardens, mea- 

 dows, and corn-fields, sharply-cut walls and pinnacles 

 of white limestone mount out of the thick woodland 

 into the clear upper air. Nor is evidence wanting of 

 those catastrophes which from time to time convulse 

 a mountain region. At the base of the bare cliffs 

 and down the rocky declivities lie huge blocks of 

 stone that have been detached by the weather from 

 the precipices above. And, doubtless, from time 

 immemorial the dwellers on these slopes have been 

 familiar with the crash and tumult of the land- 

 slip, and with the havoc wrought by it on forest 

 and field. Along the mountain-ridges, too, clouds 

 are ever gathering, and thunderstorms are of con- 

 tinual recurrence. The lightnings of Olympus are 

 visible from Othrys, and to the inhabitants of the 



