Prophecies

Prophecies are predictions of the future. Usually, a prophecy will foretell some form of major event about to happen or an event that will happen much later in the future.

Description
A prophecy, or prophecies in general, are a prediction of events about to happen in the future. Prophecies can appear in a number of ways, but almost all are cryptic and their true meaning will not become clear until after the events of the prophecy have come to pass. Also, those with the ability to see the future are unable to reveal what a prophecy means, as giving the answer would make the answer irrelevant (meaning that the events in the prophecy could change if the events are told). It is also said that trying to figure out what a prophecy means or trying to force a prophecy to come to pass may result in disaster.

The most common way for a prophecy to be told is from an oracle, most notably the Oracle of Delphi. Even in ancient time, people would come from all over Greece and beyond to see the Oracle, who would speak the prophecies of Apollo. Over time the spirit of the Oracle went from host to host, eventually arriving in America. The Oracle would speak prophecies for quests for demigods, and even spoke the first Great Prophecy, warning of the possible destruction of Olympus. This prophecy eventually lead Hades to place a curse on the Oracle, trapping her in her current body. Even after death, the Oracle spoke prophecies to demigods at Camp Half-Blood until she was eventually replaced by Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who spoke the next Great Prophecy, later called the Prophecy of Seven.

The Roman Legion however relied on the Sibylline Books, a collection of books that were said to outline every major event in the history of Rome. The books however were said to be lost, with only a few pages surviving a fire. The prophecies that were saved were engraved on the floor of the Temple of Jupiter and are watched over by an Augur. Augurs are also able to see the will of the gods, usually with sacrifices of some kind (including stuffed animals). Depending on the skill of the Augur, a prophecy can appear unclear or the Augur cannot understand the message (as shown when Octavian was not sure if the message was "The Greek has arrived" or "The goose has cried" ).

There are also others that are able to give prophecies, including the gods themselves as the gods appear to be able to see at least into the near future. Some groups like the Amazons for example have a prophecy that the greatest female warrior will tame Arion and bring a new age of prosperity to them. Hazel Levesque once received a prophecy from Pluto, telling her that her curse would be lifted by a descendent of Neptune.

Prophecies themselves can take two forms. The ones given by the gods reflect the will of the gods. They decide when they are revealed and often know their meanings. The ones given by Oracles are independent of the gods. They cannot always understand what the prophecy means nor can they control when it is given. Sometimes a prophecy can be spoken without the permission of the gods including Zeus and Apollo.

Regardless of how a prophecy is received, they all have one thing in common. A prophecy is also cryptic. A prophecy will never say exactly what will happen and there is usually some level of choice given to those involved that will effect how a prophecy will come to pass (such as how the Great Prophecy foretold that Percy's choice would save or destroy Olympus). While it is not a requirement, prophecies usually rhyme as well. This is true of prophecies told by the Oracle and by the Sibylline Books. Octavian himself once commented that a prophecy given by Mars did not rhyme and was completely straight forward, with no hint of mystery at all.

Norse beings the Norns utter prophecies of future events.

Role in the Series
Prophecies have a large role in both series, with one appearing in each book released so far (even if not all of them are complete prophecies). In The Last Olympian, only the Great Prophecy is heard, while before it had only been hinted at during the other four previous books.

When someone is given a quest at Camp Half-Blood, the selected person is sent to see the Oracle, whose power comes from the prophecy deity Apollo, to go and receive a prophecy that will be used as a guideline through their quest. Percy Jackson has personally received one prophecy (The Lightning Thief) and has had one prophecy revolve around him (the Great Prophecy). Other prophecies have gone to Clarisse La Rue (The Sea of Monsters), Zoë Nightshade (The Titan's Curse), Annabeth Chase (The Battle of the Labyrinth), and Jason Grace (The Lost Hero). There is also a prophecy mentioned by Ella in both The Son of Neptune and The Mark of Athena, but they were not directed at anyone in particular and only one of these prophecies came to pass.

These prophecies always come true, but there true meaning is always left ambiguous until after the event have passed. They all rhyme in an AA, BB, CC, and so on pattern, except for the prophecy from The Titan's Curse, which only has a near rhyme for the first couplet: "...chains/...rain"

The Lightning Thief
In book one of the series, The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson is selected to visit the Oracle and to lead the quest to discover Zeus' stolen Master Bolt. When he meets the mummified oracle, he receives this prophecy:

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) Percy Jackson heads west with Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase in order to meet Hades, thinking he is the god who betrayed the Olympians and took the Master Bolt from Zeus. However, it is later discovered that Ares had aided Luke in stealing the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness in hopes it would start a war.
 * 2) Percy later finds Zeus' Master Bolt in a backpack given to him by Ares. He returns it to Zeus, as well as Hades' Helm of Darkness, which was also in the possession of Ares.
 * 3) Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes, pretended to be Percy's friend when they first met, even supplying Percy with some winged shoes to aid him on his quest (which Percy gave to Grover). It is revealed however that the shoes were a trap for Percy. The shoes were meant to pull Percy into Tartarus with the Master Bolt for Kronos. When this fails, Luke tries to kill Percy with a Pit Scorpion before leaving the camp.
 * 4) In the end, Percy failed to save his mother because he allowed her to save herself, leaving Medusa's Head with her so she could use it on Gabe Ugliano if she wanted (which she eventually did).

The Sea of Monsters
In book two of the series, The Sea of Monsters, Clarisse La Rue is given the prophecy as follows:

You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,

You shall find what you seek and make it your own,

But despair for your life entombed within stone,

And fail without friends, to fly home alone.

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) Clarisse sailed aboard the CSS Birmingham with skeleton warriors, supplied to her by her father, Ares.
 * She, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson find the Golden Fleece and take it from Polyphemus. Percy later gives Clarisse the fleece because it is officially her quest.
 * 1) She is trapped in Polyphemus' stone cavern with no way to escape.
 * 2) She would have failed without Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, but she flew back to camp alone to get there faster.

The Titan's Curse
In the third book of the series, The Titan's Curse, Zoë Nightshade is given a prophecy to save Artemis:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) The group consisting of Zoë, Thalia, Grover, Bianca, and Percy (originally Phoebe). The questers travel to Mount Othrys in the west to free Artemis from her confinement.
 * 2) Bianca sacrificed herself in the desert to save the group against a defective prototype of Hephaestus' robot, Talos.
 * 3) They followed the Ophiotaurus, which was called the bane of Olympus because if he was sacrificed in flames, the person that sacrificed it would have the power to destroy Olympus. During the quest, it keeps appearing in various bodies of water.
 * 4) The only way the quest would be successful was if campers and Hunters worked together. The quest consisted of three campers (Percy, Grover, and Thalia) and two Hunters (Bianca and Zoë)
 * 5) The curse of holding the sky above the earth had to be taken by someone (Luke took the sky from Atlas; Annabeth took the sky from Luke; Artemis took it from Annabeth; Percy took it for Artemis and Artemis forced Atlas back under the sky).
 * 6) In the end, Zoë after already suffering from being poisoned by the dragon Ladon, was killed by her father Atlas after he tossed her against a wall.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
In book four of the series, The Battle of the Labyrinth, Annabeth is given the prophecy as follows:

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,

The Child of Athena's final stand.

Destroy with a hero's final breath,

''And lose a love to worse than death. ''

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Tyson enter the Labyrinth to find Daedalus. The Labyrinth goes on forever, ever changing and expanding.
 * 2) Nico, son of Hades, raised the dead; Ethan Nakamura, the traitor, was spared; and Pan's spirit and message is spread into the world.
 * 3) 'The Ghost King' was Nico (since he is a son of Hades, god of the Underworld), who decided to help Annabeth and the rest of the campers. If he had refused, the rest of the questers would not have survived.
 * 4) A child of Athena's final stand refers to Daedalus, one of Athena's children, because he dies during the Battle of the Labyrinth.
 * 5) The Labyrinth was destroyed with Daedalus' last breath, as he and the maze's life force were tied together. Daedalus asked Nico to free his soul, in order to destroy his creation.
 * 6) Annabeth loses Luke to Kronos, since he becomes Kronos' host body. This is worse than if she would have lost him if he died.

The Lost Hero
Jason's prophecy to rescue Hera in The Lost Hero:

Child of Lightning, beware the earth,

The giants' revenge the seven shall birth,

The forge and dove shall break the cage,

And death unleash, through Hera's rage.

Unraveling the Prophecy
The prophecy unfolds throughout the story like this:
 * 1) Jason, a child of Jupiter, has to beware of the awakening of Gaea (the Earth).
 * 2) The Giants rise to defeat the Olympians and cause the appearance of the seven heroes of the Great Prophecy.
 * 3) The forge and the dove represent Leo Valdez and Piper McLean, children of Hephaestus and Aphrodite respectively. Working together, Piper uses her charmspeak to try and lure Gaea back to sleep, while Leo uses a power-saw to cut the bars, managing to break the cage Hera is trapped in.
 * 4) Hera goes into her Divine Form and kills all the monsters in the area, except Porphyrion who flees once Hera was freed.

Mars' Prophecy
Frank's prophecy, given to him by Mars, his father, in The Son of Neptune:

"Go to Alaska.

Find Thanatos and free him.

Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die."

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy is not like any others because of Mars' straightforward thinking, as well as the fact that it appears more like an order or instruction than a prophecy to serve as a guide. It is unfolded throughout the story as follows:
 * 1) Frank, the leader of the quest, Hazel Levesque, and Percy Jackson make it to Alaska after several different trails and close calls.
 * 2) Frank, while being protected by Percy, is able to free Thanatos using his piece of "life wood." With Thanatos free, monsters will not revive as fast and fewer escaped souls will be able to leave the Underworld.
 * 3) They make it back to Camp Jupiter, which was under attack by Polybotes and the Giant Army. If they had arrived any later, Camp Jupiter and everyone in it would have most likely died.

Ella's Prophecy
The real prophecy though, as recited by Ella started off with this:

"To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown.

Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown."

Unraveling the Prophecy
The next part of the prophecy was burnt before Ella could read and memorize it. The story pertaining to this part of the prophecy is:
 * Alaska is referred to as the land beyond the gods. It is also the most northern state in the United States. This is where the 12th Legion's Eagle is located, being guarded by Alcyoneus.
 * The prophecy, since incomplete, becomes quite unclear. It may refer to either of the following:
 * Percy feels that it may refer to him drowning in Gaea's territory (land) when he fell in the muskeg in Alaska.
 * As Frank assumed, Percy drowned in Alaska when he fell off the glacier while battling the shades; or
 * As Hazel suggests, that Percy may drown his enemies, like he did at the frozen Roman camp with the shades.

The Mark of Athena
This prophecy, the focus of The Mark of Athena, is introduced by Ella in The Son of Neptune, and completed in the successor:

"Wisdom’s daughter walks alone,

The Mark of Athena burns through Rome.

Twins snuff out the angel's breath,

Who holds the key to endless death.

Giants' bane stands gold and pale,

Won through pain from a woven jail."

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) Annabeth, daughter of Athena, had to complete her own quest alone - without friends or special powers.
 * 2) The Mark of Athena, a coin that led Annabeth through Rome to find the Athena Parthenos.
 * 3) The twins being Ephialtes and Otis kidnapping Nico di Angelo and placed him in a jar with no air. Nico only managed to survive by going into a death trance.
 * 4) Nico has the knowledge of where the two sides of the Doors of Death are, in the Mortal world and in the Underworld. However with the Doors of Death still open, the dead will continue to rise.
 * 5) The fifth line refers to the Athena Parthenos statue, which is made of ivory and gold. It also holds some special power to help defeat the Giants.
 * 6) Annabeth and the crew of the Argo II retrieved the Athena Pathenos from the chamber of Arachne, which was covered in spider webs. Though Annabeth initially believed the "pain" in question was the pain of breaking her ankle, she and Percy fall into Tartarus shortly thereafter. This causes considerable emotional pain to their comrades aboard the Argo II, all of whom blame themselves for failing to save Annabeth and Percy.

The Hidden Oracle
The prophecy was given when Apollo and Meg went to the Grove of Dodona.

There once was ahold named Apollo Who plunged in a cave, blue and hollow Upon a three seater The bronze fire eater Was forced death and madness to swallow

Unraveling the Prophecy

 * 1) The first line obviously means this is Apollo's quest.
 * 2) Apollo insinuates that the cave refers to the Cave of Trophonius, the site of the second Oracle.
 * 3) Festus is capable of seating three people.
 * 4) Festus can also eat and spew fire.
 * 5) The possible effects of going to the cave.

Description
Great Prophecies take the form of a warning about great future catastrophes, normally the end of the world. Only two Great Prophecies are known as of right now, but it is unknown how many there have been over the millennia.

The Great Prophecy
In book five of the series, The Last Olympian, the Great Prophecy is revealed:

A Half-Blood of the eldest gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in endless sleep.

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,

A single choice shall end his days,

Olympus to preserve or raze.

Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
 * 1) Percy was a half-blood child of Poseidon, one of the eldest gods, otherwise known as the Big Three.
 * 2) Percy reaches sixteen despite all of the numerous times he was almost killed by Luke/Kronos and his monsters.
 * 3) Percy finds the whole city of Manhattan asleep from Olympus, so the war can go on without any of the humans interfering.
 * 4) When Luke and Annabeth first met, he handed her a knife with the promise that they would always be a family and be there for each other. However, when Luke betrayed the camp and the Olympians, the broken promise cursed Annabeth's knife. The blade was then used by Luke to kill himself, effectively killing Kronos.
 * 5) Percy had to choose between giving Annabeth's knife to Luke and allow him to destroy himself, or trying to destroy Luke himself and failing, causing Kronos to burn away Luke's body as he took on his true form. Either choice would have caused Luke to die.
 * 6) Percy's choice would result in the destruction of Olympus, or preserving Olympus the way it is.

The Prophecy of Seven
At the end of The Last Olympian after the original Great Prophecy is fulfilled, and Rachel (the new host for the Oracle) reveals a new prophecy:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

To storm or fire, the world must fall.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

This prophecy becomes the driving force of The Heroes of Olympus series, but the true meaning of the prophecy is unknown as the events depicted in the prophecy have not passed as of yet.

Unraveling the Prophecy:

 * 1) The first line refers to seven half-bloods that will try and save Olympus from Gaea and her most powerful children, the Gigantes. The seven half-bloods are, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang.
 * 2) The second line refers to either Leo or Jason as the one that was destined to destroy Gaea. At first, the line could also be referring to Percy, as he had some control over the weather due to his hydrokinesis, but the meaning of the line was finally revealed when Leo, with the help of Jason, Piper, and the recently rebuilt Festus, was able to kill Gaea using his pyrokinesis, dying in the process (although he came back to live after using The Physician's Cure)
 * Leo, who died after defeating Gaea, was brought back to life with the use of The Physician's Cure. The explosion sent Leo and Festus (with his body rebuilt) to Ogygia, where Leo reunited with Calypso and completed the oath he made to take her out of the island.
 * This could also be Bob's brief promise in The House of Hades to keep Percy and Annabeth safe. He and Damasen most likely died in the end, making it the "final breath"
 * 1) Gaea opened the Doors of Death to allow the most evil people of the Underworld to rise again and monsters to revive quicker. During The House of Hades, Percy, Annabeth, the Titan Iapetus, and the peaceful Gigantes Damasen (with the help of his eternal foe, the Maeonian drakon) all meet at the Doors of Death. Gigantes, Titans, and demigods are normally enemies, but they work together to seal the Doors of Death, preventing Gaea from reviving her forces.

The Sword of Summer
This prophecy was utter by the Norns.

Wrongly chosen, Wrongly slain

A hero Valhalla cannot contain

Nine days hence the sun must go east

Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast

Unraveling the Prophecy

 * 1) Magnus Chase was wrongly chosen by Loki, who thought that Magnus could be easily swayed to begin Ragnarök.
 * 2) Magnus ended up leaving Valhalla to travel around the Nine Worlds to complete his quest.
 * 3) The quest needed to be completed in nine days or else Ragnarök would begin.
 * 4) Sumarbrander cut the the magical rope on the Fenris Wolf, before retying him.

Other Prophecies
There are other types of prophecies besides the ones given by an Oracle or an Augur. For example, the Amazons have a prophecy saying that the first female warrior able to ride Arion will bring them a new age of prosperity. It is unknown however where they got this prophecy from. The Romans at Camp Jupiter have a collection of prophecies engraved on the floor of the Temple of Jupiter. Pluto also told his daughter, Hazel Levesque, that one day a descendent of Neptune would wash her curse away.

Trivia

 * ​In The Titan's Curse, the Oracle came down from the attic, just to tell Zoë Nightshade a prophecy.
 * This prophecy also has an incorrect rhyme, as the first line ends in chains, while the second line ends in rain.
 * The Last Olympian reveals both Great Prophecies, the old one and the new one featured in The Heroes of Olympus.
 * In The Lost Hero at the campfire, Jason recited the last two lines of the Prophecy of Seven in Latin.
 * The Son of Neptune has more prophecies in it than any other story in either series. It has the prophecy spoken by Mars, two prophecies spoken by Ella (although incomplete prophecies), and the Amazons mention a prophecy about a female warrior that will one day ride Arion and bring a new age of prosperity for the Amazons.
 * The Son of Neptune is also the only book in either series without a complete prophecy to guide the protagonists. Mars' prophecy is not considered a real one, and Ella only speaks half of two different prophecies.
 * The House of Hades also has no prophecy directly related to it, but one of the lines from the Prophecy of Seven did come to pass; even if the prophecy is not the focus of the book.
 * The prophecies in The Heroes of Olympus series, all have the keyword death with the exception of the prophecy The Son of Neptune. However the prophecy is incomplete because the Sibylline Books burned before the harpy, Ella, could memorize it.