Synopsis "Venus and the Crucified"
In a bold attempt to seize control of the Roman Empire the Lord God Almighty launches military strikes against Jupiter, Supreme God of Ancient Rome... The puritanical Lord God has become an angry, bitter demagogue after discovering that divine power comes not from within but from the degree of humanity's popular worship. God's strict laws and His newly composed Bible have united His people giving Him the required strength to attack Rome. He is a populist tyrant ruling with an iron fist, and with a determination to obliterate all rivals He has declared the Roman Pantheon to be 'false gods'. In contrast the Roman Republic, ruled by the liberal-minded, pluralistic Jupiter, is steeped in sensuality and self-indulgence. It allows myriad gods, spirits and supernatural entities to be accepted and worshipped. Scientific investigation, art, and philosophy are actively encouraged. Rather than control their followers the Roman gods embrace them with hedonistic love and are idolised like rock stars. God and his angels attack Jupiter at his most vulnerable moment - unprotected by his armies, stimulated by exotic substances, and surrounded only by the decadent carnality of fantasy spirits. The Lord God comes within an ace of destroying Jupiter when he is momentarily distracted by the divine sensuality of Venus, Goddess of Love and Desire. Jupiter calls on the mightiest Roman gods for assistance - Mars, Ceres, Apollo, Minerva, Diana, Vulcan, Bacchus... The Romans manage to repel God's attack but then Mercury, Messenger of the Gods, brings desperate news. The general of the Lord God's army of angels, Satan, has captured the Underworld with the aid of the ancient weapon known as the Devil's Trident. Satan has unleashed the fires of hell and has taken Jupiter's brother Pluto prisoner...
