Ambrosia in Homer's poems nectar is usually the drink and ambrosia the food of the gods; it was with ambrosia Hera "cleansed all defilement from her lovely flesh", and with ambrosia Athena prepared Penelope in her sleep, so that when she appeared for the final time before her suitors, the effects of years had been stripped away, and they were inflamed with passion at the sight of her. On the other hand, in Alcman, nectar is the food, and in Sappho and Anaxandrides, ambrosia is the drink. A character in Aristophanes' "Knights" says, "I dreamed the goddess poured ambrosia over your
Game of the Gods and, at stanza 61, that in the grass are found tangible artifacts from an earlier time: In this context then, the gaming figures are a symbol of hope and regeneration and the survival of a new family of gods, bringing the mythology full circle. Game of the Gods In Norse mythology, the Game of the Gods is a motif associated with the golden age of the Æsir early in the mythic time cycle and with the survival of the new race of gods following the endtime of Ragnarök. The relevant passages are found in "Völuspá", the first at stanza 8