In the third book of Ovid's Metamorphoses, the gods show that they can take revenge in horrible ways when humans refuse to worship them properly, and this tells us that these gods are very much like human beings. Let's look at some examples of this.

When Tiresias sides with Jupiter in a debate with Juno, Juno takes her revenge by making Tiresias blind. This proves her to be selfish and spiteful. Jupiter does not reverse his wife's action, but he does give Tiresias the gift of prophecy to make up for it, although this in itself is a questionable gift.

The story of Pentheus even more graphically reveals the nature of a god's vengeance. Pentheus is strongly against the worship of Bacchus, and he tries to convince others not to honor this god. He even threatens to kill Acoetes, one of Bacchus's worshipers. Pentheus, however, tastes the bitterness of his resistance. The god will not tolerate such insults, and when Pentheus goes to spy on the rites of worship, he is torn to pieces by his own mother and aunt in the midst of the frenzy.

Indeed, these stories show that the Roman gods are very human, taking offense easily and demanding revenge for any slight.