The gods learn the price of rebellion against the supreme one.  Hughes’ re-telling of Ovid’s tales has some spectacular thunderbolt strikes from on high. 

This is a wrathful god.  Here, the top is blown off Olympus, with rocky shrapnel reducing rebel deities to so much mush. 

But not even heaven was safe.

Now came the turn of the giants.

Excited by this human novelty – freedom

From the long sight and hard knowledge

Of divine wisdom – they coveted

The very throne of Jove.  They piled to the stars

A ramp of mountains, then climbed it.

 

Almighty Jove

Mobilised his thunderbolts.  That salvo

Blew the top off Olympus,

Toppled the shattered

Pelion off Ossa

And dumped it

Over the giants.

They were squashed like ripe grapes. 

Source: Ted Hughes, ‘Creation; Four Ages; Flood; Lycaon’, Tales from Ovid (London: Faber and Faber, 1997), pp. 12-13

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