User blog comment:SayuriDarling/Full first chapter of The Mark of Athena/@comment-5090305-20120601135555

When looking at the cover, I can't help wonder what the cover really represents; whether it is a literal interpretation of an upcoming fight between Jason and Percy, or it symbolizes the hatred between the Greeks and Romans and shows that they will begin a war between each other at one point. Or it could possibly be a dream that Annabeth keeps having, seeing the two camps fight and her mom (Athena) watching over it. It almost looks like the goddess is regulating the fight, or causing it, or at least playing some major role in it. Either way, the scene kind of reminds me of Percy's dream in The Lightning Thief, with the eagle and horse, but whether they are connected or not I have no idea. It is also clear that Percy and Jason are wearing their camp colors (orange and purple), so the picture could represent the entire camps fighting and not just the two of them.

The picture could also symbolize a division between the gods and their children, regardless of their being Greek or Roman. The gods are known for backstabbing and turning on each other on several occasions, so the stress of trying to deal with the giant army on their own must be driving them mad. Zeus doesn't want help from demigods mainly out of pride, and I'm positive he doesn't want Percy helping out again, seeing that he and Jason are basically the reason Olympus is still standing and the gods are still in control over the Titans. There is also the obvious rivalry between the three brothers (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades). Maybe each god has his or her own plan for dealing with the giants, and the picture represents them fighting each other, or at least disagreeing on the steps to take during the Giant War. That could mean that the owl eyes show Athena trying to prevent any civil wars, but somehow it doesn't look to me like she is really trying to stop the fight.

Unfortunately that's all I can see from it. We know that there is a battle going on between Percy and Jason, and it is clear that Athena (or Minarva) will play a major role in this book, but not much else can be figured out; these are mostly assumptions on my part. I'm sure that there is something that we are all missing on the cover too; maybe a face hidden in the clouds or another character we don't see yet.