Ganymede

This article is about the book character. You may be looking for the film character.

Ganymede
Biographical information
Alias	Prince of Troy (formerly) Cupbearer of the Gods God of Homosexual Love and Desire
Family	Tros (father) Callirhoe (mother) Ilos and Assarakos (brothers) Kleopatra (sister) Laomedon (nephew) Dardanos (paternal great-grandfather)
Affiliation	Troy (formerly) Olympians
Residence	Troy (formerly) Olympus
Item	Chalice
Status	Mortal (formerly) Immortal
Physical description
Eye	Brown
Hair	Black
Species	Legacy (formerly) God
Behind the scenes
Appearances	The Sea of Monsters (voice heard) (film) The Dark Prophecy (mentioned) The Chalice of the Gods

“	Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!	”
–A prerecorded message of Ganymede in The Sea of Monsters.

Ganymede was a prince of Troy, son of King Tros and Queen Callirrhoe. He was a very attractive legacy, which led Zeus to abduct him in the form of an eagle, to serve as cupbearer to the gods, replacing Hebe, the goddess of youth. He subsequently became the Greek god of homosexual love and desire, and is a frequent playmate of Cupid and Hymenaios.

History

Ganymede was once a prince of Troy. He was the son of Tros, the first king of Troy, and Callirrhoe, daughter of the river god Scamander. Ganymede was on Mount Ida one day, tending to a flock of sheep, when he was spotted by the god Zeus. Zeus, lusting for the boy, transformed into an eagle and swooped down to Earth; he then took Ganymede and carried him up to Mount Olympus. Once there, Zeus granted the handsome youth immortality, making him his cup bearer and eromenos.

Zeus later gave Tros a team of divine horses and golden vine forged by Hephaestus as compensation for kidnapping the king's son.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Sea of Monsters

Ganymede's voice can be heard advising users of the Gray Sisters' taxi service to buckle up the 'seat belt' (a black chain).

The Senior Year Adventures

The Chalice of the Gods

Ganymede tasks Percy Jackson in finding his missing chalice. Ganymede is shown to not be thought of very highly by the other gods such as Hebe and Iris and remains a target of humiliation for how he became immortal. A few days later, he goes to Alternative High School for a progress report. Percy fills him in on what they learned and what they plan on doing. Before leaving, Ganymede threatens to withhold Percy’s recommendation letter if he fails. A few days after that, Ganymede visits Percy again for a progress report and becomes disheartened upon learning of a feast in a week. He warns Percy that the date is subject to change and could be earlier.

With the help of Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, Percy is able to recover the chalice from Geras just in time and sneaks into Zeus's Palace on Olympus to give it to Ganymede just as Zeus is holding a brunch for his mother Rhea. Percy manages to sneak in with the help of Zeus' kitchen staff and gets Ganymede alone with the unexpected help of Athena. In return, Ganymede gives Percy a blank piece of magical paper on which to write his own recommendation letter which adds Ganymede's signature once it's done. Eudora later tells Percy that it's made of Arachnean-silk fiber with eggshell finish and triple weave which will make quite the impact on the admissions committee. Percy is able to compose the actual letter with the help of Annabeth, Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis.

The Trials of Apollo

The Dark Prophecy

Ganymede is mentioned by Apollo.

Appearance

Ganymede has short-cropped black hair, large brown eyes, and coppery skin. He was dressed in ripped jeans, a skintight black tee, and various bits of gold: rings, earrings, necklace, nose ring and wrist bangles. The laces of his boots even glittered gold. Percy describes him as looking like he had stepped out of an ad for a Madison Avenue boutique. Later, when meeting with Percy, he wore nothing but a Greek chiton and strap-up sandals.

Personality

Ganymede has the personality of an angsty teenager as he was frozen forever at the age and maturity level that Ganymede had reached before his abduction by Zeus and being made immortal.

Ganymede doesn't enjoy his job due to the harassment that he receives from the other gods, particularly Zeus and Hera. According to Ganymede, it was one thing when he was just required to serve drinks at feasts, but he is now required to deliver drinks to the gods at various locations which he finds frustrating and annoying. Ganymede is also looked down upon by the other gods who hate him for being an upstart kid made immortal. The other gods consider Ganymede to be a gold digger, but Percy Jackson wonders if there is something to that because of the twenty pounds of gold that the god is wearing when they first meet. As a result of their attitude towards him, Ganymede is incredibly distrusting of the other gods, but he trusts Percy because the demigod had rejected immortality and thus wouldn't desire Ganymede's Chalice for himself. Although Ganymede suspects Iris and Hebe, the two goddesses who had Ganymede's job before him, neither is actually interested in having it back and they are both relieved to not be the cupbearer of the gods anymore, although Iris and Hebe both still look down on him for it.

Ganymede has unresolved trauma from his abduction by Zeus.

Although generally easy-going, Ganymede has a moment of godly anger glowing in his eyes, a sign that Ganymede has more to him than just good looks and bling.

Ganymede is shown to have incredible anxiety, particularly about his job, the theft of his chalice being found out, and the consequences if it is. As a result, Ganymede is increasingly a nervous wreck as time goes on.

At times, Ganymede appears to be compelled to fill the drinks of people around him, including random mortals. However, it's unclear if this is just a personality quirk or if it's because of his job as the cupbearer of the gods.

Abilities

He presumably possesses the standard powers of a god.

• Amokinesis (limited): As the God of Homosexual Love and Desire, Ganymede has absolute control and divine authority over love, passion, and desire, though not as much as Aphrodite or Eros/Cupid, since his powers are only limited to same-sex romance.
  • Sexuality Manipulation: As the God of Homosexual Love and Desire, he is able to make anyone fall in love with the same gender.
• Hydrokinesis (limited): Ganymede has a limited form of hydrokinesis related to drinks due to his job as the cupbearer of the gods. At one point, when he gets especially anxious, all of the drinks in the vicinity react to Ganymede's emotions and jump out of their cups.

Trivia

• According to many, he became the god of desire upon ascending to Olympus.
• In Greek mythology, Ganymede was the male lover of Zeus and ironically, the only one to be made immortal.
• In poetry, Ganymede became a symbol for the beautiful young male who attracted homosexual desire and love.
• Though he has no Roman counterpart, the Roman equivalent of his name is "Ganymedes" and also "Catamitus", from which the English word catamite comes from.
• Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter and the largest satellite in the solar system, is named after him.
• The astrological sign Aquarius is sometimes identified as Ganymede.
• He was a legacy through both of his parents - his father was Tros, son of Erichthonius, while Erichthonius was the son of Dardanus, and Dardanus was a son of Zeus by Electra, one of the Pleiades (daughters of the Titan Atlas), while his mother was the naiad Callirrhoe, daughter of the river god Scamander.
• As seen in The Chalice of the Gods, Ganymede sweats Greek Fire when he's nervous.
• In The Chalice of the Gods, it's revealed that Ganymede harbors a fear of eagles which is revealed to be a reference to how Zeus abducted him using the form of an eagle.
• In The Chalice of the Gods, Ganymede mentions that he had gone to the effort of putting clothes on in order to blend in while meeting with Percy, suggesting that he's usually naked.