TEMPE, a celebrated valley of Greece, in the north-east of Thessaly, through which the Peneus forces its way between the mountain-ranges of Olympus and Ossa into the sea. It forms the outlet for all the streams that water Thessaly, and is the principal pass by which entrance is obtained into that country from the north. The beauty of Tempe has been described by many authors, both in prose and verse; but it is in reality more remarkable for sublimity and wild grandeur, than for the soft and sylvan scenery generally associated with the name. It is about 5 miles in length, and in some places not more than 100 yards in breadth, leaving barely room for the road to pass along the side of the river. The cliffs on either side are lofty and almost perpendicular, broken in some places so as to afford glimpses of the wooded summits of Olympus or Ossa, and in many parts covered with wild vines and other creeping plants. The Peneus flows with a placid though deep and rapid stream; its banks are fringed with low shrubs, and frequently shaded with spreading plane-trees. A military road was made through the pass by the Romans, and the modern road follows the same course, on the right bank of the river. Four forts defended the pass, and some of the ruins are still visible. When Xerxes invaded Greece, it was intended at first to defend this pass against him, but on learning that there was another route by which he could cross Mount Olympus, the Greeks retired to Thermopylæ. It has been conjectured, both in ancient and modern times, that the pass of Tempe was formed by an earthquake,