upon the clouds. Lower
down he painted Jove in anger, slaying the proud Giants with his
thunderbolts, and below him is Juno, assisting him; and around them are
the Winds, with strange countenances, blowing towards the earth, while
the Goddess Ops turns with her lions at the terrible noise of the
thunder, as also do the other Gods and Goddesses, and Venus in
particular, who is at the side of Mars; and Momus, with his arms
outstretched, appears to fear that Heaven may be falling headlong down,
and yet he stands motionless. The Graces, likewise, are standing filled
with dread, and beside them, in like manner, the Hours. All the Deities,
in short, are taking to flight with their chariots. The Moon, Saturn,
and Janus are going towards the lightest of the clouds, in order to
withdraw from that terrible uproar and turmoil, and the same does
Neptune, who, with his dolphins, appears to be seeking to support
himself on his trident. Pallas, with the nine Muses, stands wondering
what horrible thing this may be, and Pan, embracing a Nymph who is
trembling with fear, seems to wish to save her from the glowing fires
and the lightning-flashes with which the heavens are filled. Apollo
stands in the chariot of the sun, and some of the Hours seem to be
seeking to restrain the course of his horses. Bacchus and Silenus, with
Satyrs and Nymphs, betray the greatest terror, and Vulcan, with his
ponderous hammer on one shoulder, gazes towards Hercules, who is
speaking of this event with Mercury, beside whom is Pomona all in
dismay, as are also Vertumnus and all the other Gods dispersed
throughout that Heaven, in which all the effects of fear are so well
expressed, both in those who are standing and in those who are flying,
that it is not possible, I do not say to see, but even to imagine a more
beautiful fantasy in painting than this one.

In the parts below, that is, on the walls that stand upright, underneath
the end of the curve of the vaulting, are the Giants, some of whom,
those below Jove, have upon their backs mountains and immense rocks
which they support with their stout shoulders, in order to pile them up
and thus ascend to Heaven, while their ruin is preparing, for Jove is
thundering and the whole Heaven burning with anger against them; and it
appears not only that the Gods are dismayed by the presumptuous boldness
of the Giants, upon whom they are hurling mountains, but that the whole
world is upside down and, as it were, come to i