Camp Half-Blood (Greek)

"Keeping Young Heroes Safe from Harm (Mostly) For Over Three Millennia"

Camp Half-Blood is a secret Demigod sanctuary and training camp located on Long Island, New York. It is led by Dionysus, who calls himself "Mr. D" (he chased an off limits nymph so, as punishment, Zeus sent him down to the camp as camp director), and Chiron, the centaur, legendary trainer of heroes. The camp has magical borders enforced by the Golden Fleece (found and discovered by Grover Underwood, a satyr and friends of Percy and Annabeth and taken from Polyphemus's island), which ensure that no monsters gain access to the camp. It is described as being the only safe haven for half-bloods. The half-bloods live in cabins (one for each Olympian), and eat in the dining pavilion. There is also an archery field, swordplay arena, and climbing wall for training. Its cover name is Delphi Strawberry Service, a reference to the name of the Oracle's spirit.

Address
Mr. D, Camp Director

Chiron, Activities Director

Half-Blood Hill, Farm Road 3.141

Long Island, New York 11954

Even though it is not mentioned in the books, Camp Half-Blood is in Montauk, at the end of the Long Island. It is in Montauk because the zip code is 11954, the zip code for some areas in Montauk, Long Island. Also, Percy, Sally, and Grover drive from their cabin at the beach in Montauk and it does not take them very long to get to Camp Half-Blood. Camp Half-Blood is located on the North Shore of Long Island, referenced many times in the books.

History
According to various camp members, Camp Half-Blood has trained some very famous figures, possibly including a couple of United States Presidents(ex. George Washington). It is a sanctuary for demigods, with borders that keep out monsters as well as mortals. Five years before Percy arrived at the camp, Thalia Grace - a daughter of Zeus - came close to dying on the border, willing to sacrifice herself to allow her friends - Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan, and Grover Underwood - to reach the safety of the camp. In her dying moments, her father took pity on her and turned her into an enormous pine tree, sustaining her lifeforce within the tree. Her tree's position on the border enabled her spirit to strengthen the borders of the camp, even as she did in her last moments. In The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover set off to the west coast to recover Zeus's main weapon(a lightning bolt made by the Cyclops) before the winter solstice or else Zeus and Poseidon, Percy's father, will go to battle. In the end, however, Percy returns to camp a hero and the campers celebrate. But Luke Castellan, after awarding Percy his first bead, betrays him and the rest of the campers and joins Kronus, the Lord of Time. The Sea of Monsters features a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece after Thalia's Tree is poisoned and the protection is fading. The Fleece, robust vitality and life-force incarnate, heals Thalia's tree from near-death within a few minutes and, by the end of the night, it restored Thalia's physical body - although she was in a dangerous physical condition upon arrival, just as she had been when she'd been transformed. Afterwords, it continues to maintain the borders at their usual strength, even without Thalia's spirit.

Cabins


There are twelve cabins in total, one honoring each god or goddess. The cabins include Demeter, Dionysus, Hermes, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hera, Zeus, Artemis and Poseidon. There was no cabin for Hades. Hera's cabin is a courtesy because she's the goddess of marriage and doesn't have demigod offspring. Artemis's cabin is empty because she is one of the virgin goddesses, but does sometimes play host to her huntresses. The cabins honoring Zeus and Poseidon are supposed to be empty, but Percy Jackson and his cyclops half brother Tyson (occasionally) occupy Poseidon's cabin, and Thalia used to occupy Zeus' cabin, before she joined Artemis's Huntresses to prevent her from being the child of the prophecy. After The Last Olympian, the layout of the cabins changed dramatically, due to the deal Percy made with the gods. Now, each minor god and Hades (fortunate for Nico di Angelo) have their own cabins which means that the amount of campers will double or triple, to Mr. D.'s dismay. (Luckily by this time, Zeus cut his remaining time to 50 years instead of 100.) Also, now the gods are obligated to claim their demigod children, by age 13. This will make for a much less crowded Hermes cabin.

Big House
Camp Half-Blood is home to The Big House, where the Oracle of Delphi lived in the attic, before Rachel Elizabeth Dare took the Oracle into her own body. It also is a main meeting place for the leaders of the cabins, and Dionysus and Chiron enjoy playing pinochle on the front porch, the only true game (except Pac-Man and gladiator fighting) according to Dionysus.

Climbing Wall
The lava wall, a climbing wall, is said to pour lava out for an “extra challenge” if the camper does not get to the top quickly.

Camp Borders
The camp borders are designed to keep mortals, monsters, bad weather and many other things out of the camp. Only campers, gods, monsters, and some mortals (such as May Castellan and Rachel Elizabeth Dare in The Last Olympian) who was given the permission by a camper (as Annabeth Chase did to Tyson) may enter through the border. Once, the border was protected by many things, the most notable being a strong copper dragon. In modern times, it is passively - but effectively - defended by the magical barrier generated by Thalia's tree, created from her in her dying moments.

In The Sea of Monsters, Thalia's Tree was poisoned by Luke Castellan with elder python venom from the pit of Tartarus. As the tree weakened, so did the strength of the borders. Percy manages to rescue Grover as well as stealing the Fleece from Polyphemus the cyclops. The Fleece healed Thalia's tree and restored Thalia to her original body while leaving the tree in place.

During the Demigod files, which took place about a few weeks after the Battle of the Labyrinth took place, where Percy, Annabeth, Charles Beckedorf and Silena Beaugard found the Myrmekes - ancient Greek ants the size of a terrier carrying the head of mechanical bronze dragon. The marks of the head digging on the ground reveal a massive crater with the neck of the bronze dragon. Annabeth reattached the dragons head and led the dragon to help rescue Beckendorf, who was captured by the ants. The dragon then went berzerk and Beckendorf worked with Percy to shut it down. Then it was fixed and reprogrammed to guard the Camp Half-blood, adding an active, physical guardian as well as a passive magic defense.

Dining Pavilion
The dining pavilion is where the campers eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food served is a diet primary of Grapes, chesse, bread, and extra lean barbecue. Each cabin has their tables and campers are not allowed to sit at a table that is not their cabin's. At the center of the Pavilion is the Bonfire. It is lit during the dinners and how brightly it is lit is dependent on the moods of the campers at the pavilion. At the beginning of each meal, each cabin takes turns going up to the fire and dropping in a share of their food as an offering for the gods (because the gods like the smell). Hestia gets a portion of each offering.

Stables
This is where they store the pegasi. The Demeter cabin is in charge of the lessons but Aphrodite's cabin helps every now and then. Every few times, some demigod(s) would take pegasi lessons from one of the other demigods from Aphrodite's cabin.

Armory
This is where camp Half-Blood gets all its weapons. Hephaesteus' cabin is in charge and are seen there most of their day.

Camp Traditions
The camp has several traditions derived from its Greek roots. Winners and victors are given laurel wreaths and paraded around camp. More poignantly, anytime a camper goes on a quest, their siblings/cabin mates weave them a funeral shroud in case their sibling does not survive - if the camper has no siblings, another cabin may volunteer to do it. Should they return victorious, they get to burn the shroud.

But the most prominent tradition is the camp beads. At the end of every summer session, the senior counselors vote on the biggest event of the summer and paint it on the bead.

The Lightning Thief - A black bead with a green trident. Percy's first year.

The Sea of Monsters - The golden fleece. Percy's second year.

The Titan's Curse - There was no bead. The events of this book took place in the same year as the Sea of Monsters, during the winter.

The Battle of the Labyrinth - An intricately designed maze to represent the Labyrinth. Percy's third year.

The Last Olympian - The Empire State building with the names of the deceased in tiny Greek letters. Percy's fourth year.

There are five beads on Annabeth's necklace at the start of 'The Lightning Thief', from years taking place prior to the books. The ones described are Thalia's tree, a centaur in a prom dress, and a Greek trireme on fire. Percy interrupts Annabeth in her explanation so the last two beads are not described. Because Luke arrived the same year as Annabeth, it can be assumed he has the same set.

Notable Campers

 * Percy Jackson - Demigod son of Poseidon
 * Annabeth Chase - Demigod Daughter of Athena
 * Grover Underwood - Satyr and member of the Council of Cloven Elders
 * Rachel Elizabeth Dare - A ordinary human who became the new Oracle due to her ability to see through the Mist
 * Clarisse La Rue - Demigod daughter of Ares
 * Nico di Angelo - Demigod son of Hades
 * Charles Beckendorf- Demigod son of Hephaestus
 * Silena Beaugard- Demigod daughter of Aphrodite and Beckendorf's love; however, she betrays the campers to Luke/Kronos

Trivia

 * The road address, Farm Road 3.141, is the first four digits of pi.
 * Due to the magical barrier protecting the camp, precipitation does not fall on the camp unless desired. It also keeps out mortals.
 * Mr. D can control the precipitation and weather in the camp such as snow, rain, etc. to fall on the camp.
 * The cover name for camp is "Delphi Strawberry Co."
 * To pay their expenses, the camp grows strawberries thanks to the help of Mr D, who has an effect on fruit bearing vines (the only reason they don't grow grapes is because he is not allowed to).

Camp Schedule
''The activities at Camp Half Blood are numerous and change daily. Below is only a sample of what a typical day might look like.''