chariot of the gods

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

So the Greeks called Sierra Leone, in Africa, a ridge of mountains of great height. A sierra means a saw, and is applied to a ridge of peaked mountains. Her palmy forests, mingling with the skies, Leona's rugged steep behind us flies. j ^ CAMOE"NS: Lusiad, Bk. v.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “chariot of the gods” mean?

So the Greeks called Sierra Leone, in Africa, a ridge of mountains of great height. A sierra means a saw, and is applied to a ridge of peaked mountains. Her palmy forests, mingling with the skies, Leona's rugged steep behind us flies. j ^ CAMOE"NS: Lusiad, Bk. v.

Is “chariot of the gods” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.