How and Where the Gods Lived
If we look to the employment of the gods, we find that it consists chiefly in pleasant idleness; though they endeavor, like the rich among mankind, to make time fly by indulging in their favorite pastimes. They take their meals in common, and assemble for this purpose in the palace of Zeus, on the windy heights of Olympus. There they refresh themselves, while Hebe ministers to their wants, listening to the strains of Apollo’s lute, and to the songs of the sweet-voiced Muses, and entertaining themselves with pleasant conversation. Not always, indeed, is the company so peaceful and pleasant. At times these great gods quarrel finely; nay, even small conspiracies arise to interrupt the uniformity of their existence, such as that of Hera, Poseidon, and Athene against Zeus during the Trojan war, which is related in the fifteenth book of the “Iliad.”