Iapetus

"I choose to be more than Iapetus. You do not control me. I am not like my brothers."

- Iapetus to Tartarus

Iapetus (also known as Japetus or Bob) is the Titan of mortal life, the brother of Kronos, the father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius by Clymene.

History
He and three of his brothers were posted at the four corners of the world (Iapetus was in the West) where they seized hold of Ouranos and held him fast, while Kronos, hidden in the center, sliced him with his weapon. Iapetus' position as a pillar of the West was later taken up by his son, Atlas.

Iapetus was the former ruler of the Underworld, and was cast into Tartarus after the war along with his brothers. Being the Titan of Mortal-Life (or rather the mortal life span), his sons Prometheus and Epimetheus were represented as the creators of mankind and other mortal creatures. His last son, Menoetius, was the Titan of Rash Action.

Offspring
The sons of Iapetus were also described as possessing some of the worst of human traits: mostly on an intellectual level, Prometheus is overly sly and crafty, Epimetheus is a guileless fool, Atlas is overly daring and arrogant and Menoetius is prone to rash and violent actions. Their natural traits led each to their downfall. Iapetus and his family were regarded as the ancestors of mankind, a race which inherited the worst qualities of these four sons: crafty scheming, foolish stupidity, excessive daring, and rash violence.

The Sword of Hades
"I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you. But now we have killing to attend to."

- Iapetus to Ethan Nakamura

Iapetus is first introduced as an enemy of the gods. He is released from Tartarus by Ethan Nakamura. He battles Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo, and Thalia Grace; and appears to be winning, but Percy grabs Iapetus with the little remaining strength he has in his injured arm and pulls himself and Iapetus in the River Lethe, which is able to wipe out a person's memory. When Iapetus comes out, Percy convinces him that his name is "Bob" and that they were good friends. Percy's memory is fine, as being the son of Poseidon, he does not actually touch the river. "Bob" notices Percy's wounded arm, grimaces, says "Owie", and heals it with just a touch. When Percy confronts Persephone about the sword, Percy threatens to toss her in the River Lethe with Bob's help, which Bob gladly agrees to do.

Iapetus is later said to be given a job in the Underworld, this time for the good of the Olympians.

The Lost Hero
He is indirectly mentioned by Annabeth Chase while she and Jason Grace were in the Hypnos' Cabin asking about losing memories and how to retrieve them. She says that Percy had told her that the River Lethe could wipe even a Titan's memory. It can be said that she was referring to Iapetus.

The House of Hades
While Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus, hopeless, they start talking trying to calm themselves and boost each other's morales. She asks Percy the name of Titan whom he had drowned in the River Lethe. Percy replies saying that it was Iapetus who he had renamed Bob.

Later, they were attacked by five empousai, one of them being Kelli. While they were in no state to fight, they tried to talk and trick them into leaving them. This worked partially as Kelli killed one empousa but still they were outnumbered. Just as two empousai were about to kill Percy, a shadow fell and Iapetus (believing he was Bob) dropped out of the sky and stomped Kelli flat. Bob used his broom to kill the other empousai. His broom could jut out a spear head from its end and could return to him as a boomerang if he wanted.

When he was asked how he came, he said that Percy called him. It is later known that when Percy left him, Hades and Persephone made him his servant. He used to sweep up bones and mop up tortured souls. This makes Percy feel guilty for not coming and visiting or even remembering about him. It is also revealed that Nico would come and tell him that Percy was a friend which also remind Percy that he used to neglect Nico, as well. He seems to recognize Tartarus as he leads Annabeth and Percy. He recognizes a shrine telling Percy and Annabeth that it was Hermes' shrine. When Annabeth asked him how he knew, Bob's smile fades and his eyes have a vacant look. This scares Annabeth as she was afraid that Bob might regain his memory and attack them.

When they stumble upon Hyperion (who was reforming), Iapetus sees how similar their features were which scares Annabeth even more. It is stated in Annabeth's description that "Take away Bob’s broom and his janitor’s clothes, put him in armor and cut his hair, change his color scheme from silver to gold, and Iapetus would have been almost indistinguishable from Hyperion." However Percy makes Bob agree that Hyperion was a bad Titan even though he was his brother. Iapetus agrees saying that he was good as there was a single good creature everywhere- Monsters, Titans, Giants. After saying this, he destroys Hyperion's reforming bubble using his spear hoping that it will reform elsewhere.

Even though Bob slowly regains his memory throughout the process, he seems to be almost disgusted with who he had once been. He becomes friends with one of the cats raised from saber tiger's teeth from The Titan's Curse and names it "Small Bob." When they reach the doors, he makes a final decision to side with Percy, sacrificing himself so his allies can escape through the Doors of Death. He defied his brothers and his previous way of life. As a final request he asked Percy and Annabeth to say hi to the sun and stars for him, as he missed them after all his time in the Underworld. They promise they will and that Bob will forever be remembered as a hero by them and their descendants.

The first night after escaping Tartarus, Percy attempts to mend the trails of his friendship with Nico, but fails. He later stands with Annabeth, looking to the stars and fulfills Bob's final wish.

As Iapetus
As Iapetus, he was very cruel and arrogant, just like his brothers. However, according to his brother Hyperion, Iapetus was always "conflicted" about helping murder Ouranos, and even describes him as "the soft Titan of the West, soft as the sunset." This implies that while Iapetus was cruel, he was never quite as brutal as his other brothers, namely Kronos and Hyperion. Although Kronos' orders were to return as soon as possible, Iapetus disobeyed it as he felt he could destroy the "weaklings" and start his vengeance. Before he could do so, Percy dragged him into the river Lethe, and wiped his memories. This erased all the effects of the Titan's rule, and Iapetus was renamed as Bob.

As Bob
After losing his memories, Iapetus is told by Percy that he is his friend, Bob. As Bob, he became more friendly, gentle, amiable and somewhat childlike. In the House of Hades, he's shown to be bored of his new duties, as Hades always orders him to clean all the mess in the Underworld. Bob is shown to have good hearing as he was able hear Percy call his name all the way from Tartarus. Even though not even the gods go to Tartarus, Bob doesn't give second thoughts and jumps into the pit, saving Percy and Annabeth's lives from the empousai.

Bob consistently helps Percy and Annabeth throughout the journey (in fact, he was the main reason they remained alive). He is shown to be very sentimental, when he bonds with a kitten and names him Small Bob. His helpful nature earns Annabeth's admiration, (which is not very easy to win so quickly), and Percy is himself ashamed for not caring for him.

Towards the end, Iapetus meets his Titan brethren, gaining his full memories in the process. Despite this, Iapetus stands up against them, and later against Tartarus, stating that he chooses to be more than a Titan, and that he's not like his brothers. Ultimately, he forces Percy and Annabeth to the Doors of Death, and despite their protests, Iapetus decides to sacrifice himself, fighting against Tartarus.

Appearance
After escaping Tartarus, Iapetus wore a tattered orange prison jumpsuit, has wild Einstein silver hair that sticks up in every direction, a scraggly long beard, pure silver eyes, and is very thin and haggard and is said to be ten feet tall.

However after he had his memory erased and started working for Hades, he wears a blue janitor's uniform and a name tag that reads "BOB" and carries around a massive push broom. He also bears great resemblance to his brother Hyperion, apart from Iapetus's signature color being silver. While in Tartarus, Iapetus's silver hair glows in the dark.

Powers and Abilities

 * Prowess in Battle: As an Elder Titan, Iapetus was a very skilled warrior, though he was defeated in the first Titanomachy. In The Demigod Files, he easily fended off Thalia and Nico's attacks, and held his own against Percy himself. In fact, Percy was only able to win by pushing him into the Lethe. In The House of Hades, Iapetus shows great mastery in wielding his broom/spear, even when having his memories erased. He's able to fight and defeat many monsters simultaneously thanks to his skill. Hence he was aptly named Iapetus, which means "Piercer/Impaler." By the time his memories has returned, Iapetus was even able to fight Tartarus himself, but only for a short time, and was severely injured in the process.
 * Enhanced Strength: Since Iapetus is one of the Elder Titans, he has very enhanced strength, speed and endurance, which allows him to survive Tartarus. Although it is later stated by Tartarus himself that Iapetus was weaker than Krios or Hyperion.
 * Pyrokinesis (to an unknown degree): When Annabeth needed to burn her note, Iapetus' spear erupted in silvery fire.
 * Healing Touch: Iapetus can heal most wounds just by touching them. This proves to be advantageous to Percy and Annabeth during their journey through Tartarus, although Iapetus could not cure Percy when the latter was poisoned by Gorgon's blood, and was forced to take him to Damasen, whose healing abilities were superior.
 * Titanic Divine Form: As an elder brother of Kronos, Iapetus' Divine Form might also be able to incinerate any being less than a god/Titan, even if they aren't looking at him and are only in his presence.

Trivia

 * Iapetus, the third largest moon of Saturn, is named after him.
 * Nico di Angelo had apparently been visiting him in the Underworld and told him how good a friend Percy was. Percy however feels bad about how bad a friend he was to Iapetus.
 * According to Hyperion, Iapetus was the least cruel of the six Elder Titans.
 * His brothers tease him because when they were restraining Ouranus he was kicked in the face.