representations of thunderbolts]] A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors Clube V. & Napier B. 1982, The Cosmic Serpent, pg.173ff, , although this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation it has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in many mythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism and semiotic representations of electricity. Lightning plays a role in many mythologies, often as the weapon of a sky and storm god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in most mythologies. The most familiar thunderbolt weapon in the West was that of Zeus or Jupiter. His thunderbolts, manufactured by the cyclopic

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