Titanic

[steepholm]

In the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans (and possibly in the remake, which I haven't seen) the scene reverts repeatedly to Olympus, where the gods, headed by Laurence Olivier as Zeus, are engaged in a game of chess, with mortals as the pieces. Just as Perseus seems to be making headway, Hera will drop a sea monster next to his ship, to even things up a bit.

I can't help being reminded of that film when I hear the Western nations umming and aahing about whether to arm the Libyan rebels, or fire a few more schools and cottage hospitals cruise missiles onto Gadaffi's troops. Just as the rebels seem about to lose, Zeus decides to lend them a pair of flying sandals or an invisibility cloak. Of course, the Olympians themselves aren't under threat - they're able to watch the whole thing from a distance on a little screen. But they do really care what happens, because some of those humans are related to them, and Seriphos happens to be the source of 10% of the world's nectar.

Perhaps this will work out with a satisfactorily-swift checkmate, but even for the gods things don't always go according to plan. Eating with a long spoon usually turns out to be a messy affair..