MOUNT OLYMPUS AND OSSA, FROM THE PLAINS OF THESSALY Artist: W. Purser ____________ Engraver: J. C. Bentley |
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DESCRIPTION OF PRINT SUBJECT: Mount Olympus (also transliterated as Mount Ólympos, and on modern maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece, at 2,919 meters high (9,570 feet) and one of the highest, in real absolute altitude from base to top, of Europe since its base is located at sea level. Mount Olympus is noted for its very rich flora with several endemic species. The highest peak on Mount Olympus is Mitikas, which in Greek means "nose" (an alternative transliterated spelling of this name is "Mytikas"). Mitikas is the highest peak in Greece, the second highest being Skolio (2912 m). Any climb to Mount Olympus starts from the town of Litochoro, which took the name City of Gods because of its location on the roots of the mountain. Mount Olympus, northern Greece.In Greek mythology, Mount Olympus is considered the home of the Twelve Olympians, the principal gods in the Greek pantheon. The Greeks thought of it as built up with crystal mansions wherein the gods, such as Zeus (The King of Gods and Goddesses), dwelt. It is also known in Greek mythology that when Gaia (mother earth) gave birth to the Titans (the ancestors of the gods) they used the mountains in Greece as their thrones since they were so huge, and Cronus (the youngest and most powerful of the Titans) sat on Mount Olympus itself. Mt. Ossa (today Kissavos) is a mountain (1978 metres altitude) in the district of Larissa in Thessaly, between Pelion and Olympus, from which it is separated by the Vale of Tempe. In Greek mythology, the Giants are said to have attempted to pile it upon Mount Pellion during the Gigantomachy, in their attempt to scale Olympus.
Please note: the terms used in our auctions for engraving, etching, lithograph, plate, photogravure etc. are ALL prints on paper, and NOT blocks of steel or wood or any other material. “ENGRAVINGS”, the term commonly used for these paper prints, were the most common method in the 1700s and 1800s for illustrating old books, and these paper prints or “engravings” were created by the intaglio process of etching the negative of the image into a block of steel, copper, wood etc, and then when inked and pressed onto paper, a print image was created. These prints or engravings were usually inserted into books, although many were also printed and issued as loose stand alone lithographs. They often had a tissue guard or onion skin frontis to protect them from transferring their ink to the opposite page and were usually on much thicker quality woven rag stock paper than the regular prints. So this auction is for an antique paper print(s), probably from an old book, of very high quality and usually on very thick rag stock paper.