the two terms may not have originally been distinguished ; though 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 .