Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is a collection of stories from Greek mythology told from the point of view of the demigod Percy Jackson. The book talks about the origins of the Olympian gods (and of their ancestors, the Titans and the Protogenoi) and other stories from their lives. The book was released on August 19th, 2014.
Development
On April 21, 2013, Rick Riordan announced on his Twitter that he was writing a new book based on the stories of Greek mythology from the demigod Percy Jackson's point of view.[3] He later confirmed this in his blog.[4] Riordan will be reading an excerpt from the book during his House of Hades tour. [5] While on tour for The House of Hades Rick Riordan also revealed that the book is 450 pages long, with illustrations throughout the whole entire book and will come out in August 2014. [6] John Rocco, the illustrator of the book, announced that there will be 60 full-color paintings drawn by him in the book, and gave a sneak peek of one, depicting Hades stealing Persephone. [7] A preview of the first chapter was included in the free e-book Mega-Awesome Adventures on March 4, 2014.[8] Two more previews came out from Waterstones Blog and the Guardian.[9]
Description
Who could tell the origin stories of the gods of Olympus better than a modern-day demigod? Percy Jackson provides an insider's view with plenty of 'tude in this illustrated collection.
"A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians angry at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week."
So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that."
Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume--a must for home, library, and classroom shelves--as stunning as it is entertaining. [10]
Plots
Percy Jackson explained that he wrote this book on the Greek Gods at the request of a publisher in New York. At first he declined in fear of the gods getting mad, but he decided to do it as people will know more about Greek Mythology.
Percy explained how Chaos first created the world including Gaea, Ouranos, Pontos, and Tartarus. Later Nyx, Hemera, Eros and the twelve titans. But then things started to get rough between Gaea and Ouranos, it got worse when Ouranos threw their next children, the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, into Tartarus. Gaea decided to have one of her children cut Ouranos up with a scythe. Only Kronos was willing to do it, though Koios, Krios, Hyperion and Iapetus joined in to hold Ouranos down from the sky. Kronos was successfully in chopping up his father and throwing him into the sea, but not before he cursed his son that his own children will overthrow him, in the process the Furies, Dryads and Satyrs were born.
Kronos wasn't so bad of a ruler at first, Koios, Krios, Hyperion and Iapetus each got a corner of the world for their participation. Kronos' tyranny began when he reimprisoned the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires he freed, but first the titans had children together. Oceanus and Tethys had Klymene, Iapetus and Klymene had Atlas and Prometheus, Koios and Phoebe had Leto, Hyperion and Theia had Helios and Selene, but Kronos and Rhea did not have a titan. They had a goddess named Hestia, Kronos swallowed her whole fearing Ouranos' curse, but Hestia was still alive in her stomach. It was same with their next four children, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. But when Zeus was born, Rhea gave Kronos a rock instead and gave Zeus to Amaltheia.
As soon as Zeus grew up, he came to his father to be his cupbearer. He gave him a blend of nectar and mustard for Kronos to puke out Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. The gods fled and flew into Tartarus to free the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, but this time they were guarded by Kampê. Zeus had them make the Master Bolt, which he used to kill Kampê, the Trident for Poseidon, and the Helm of Darkness for Hades. They made a base at Mount Olympus and eventually they were able to chop up Kronos and send him and his brothers into Tartarus. Zeus had Atlas hold up the sky as it would crush the world without Koios, Krios, Hyperion and Iapetus. In a game, Zeus won the heavens to rule over, Poseidon won the sea, and Hades won the Underworld.
Hestia
The virgin goddess of the hearth
Percy Jackson mentioned that almost every book about Greek Mythology started with Zeus. But instead he's going to start with Kronos' first born, Hestia. He explained that Hestia did not want to get married, especially after Zeus married Themis and had the Horai and Fates. Both Poseidon and Apollo wanted to marry Hestia, but she wanted to take care of Mount Olympus' hearth instead. Percy also mentioned the time a donkey saved Hestia from Priapus. When Prometheus stole fire from the hearth to give it to the rest of the world, Percy said that Hestia must have helped him. Nevertheless, Zeus punished the titan by having an eagle eat his liver which would always grow back.
Demeter
The goddess of agriculture
Demeter was liked by all the male gods, but she just prefered to wander the earth. After Zeus dumped Themis, he tried to get together with Demeter. They turned into serpents and a chase eventually led to Persephone being born. A few years later, the same thing happened with Poseidon, only with horses instead, they had Despoine and Arion. But then Demeter actually fell in lover with human prince named Iasion, only for Zeus to zap and kill him, although Demeter managed to give birth to Ploutos. Another prince named Erisikhthon gathered some friends of his to chop down trees in a grove of Demeter to build a mansion. The goddess first appeared as a regular sized woman then grew to a massive height and cursed Erisikhthon with eternal hunger.
Persephone
The goddess of springtime
Persephone lived with Demeter, but Hades had a massive crush on her. Alas, he knew she was out of his league and when he visited Mount Olympus, Zeus told him that talking to Demeter wouldn't gain the hand of her daughter. He suggested a kidnapping so Hades rose out of the ground in his chariot and took Persephone to the Underworld after Zeus made some flower grow to lure her away from her Nymph bodyguards. Helios saw this but did nothing, and when Hecate heard Persephone scream she waited until nightfall to cast better spells. She gave Demeter torches to help find her daughter, she stopped in Eleusis where Queen Metaneira was offering a prayer to her for her son, Demophoon. The queen's firstborn son, Triptolemus, sent riders in all four directions to spread the news. As repayment, Demeter tried to make Demophoon immortal but Metaneira inadvertently prevented it. After hearing about it from a rider, Demeter went to Helios who told her about Hades. Demeter furously went to Zeus only to find out that he was an accomplice and that there was nothing she could do. In fury, she allowed the rest of earth's crops, except Eleusis, to die. Zeus sent Hermes to bring Persephone back, she didn't like Hades but she did like his palace, power and especially his garden made by Askalaphos. Even though Hades told her about Demeter, he refused to give her back, but Hermes revealed that if she ate any food she'd have to stay there forever. Persephone just ate one third of a pomegranate, when Demeter found out she turned Askalaphos into a gecko, the gods agreed to let Persephone stay two thirds of each year with her mother. Hecate became one of Persephone’s attendants and Demeter made Triptolemus the god of farming.
Hera
The goddess of marriage and motherhood
Hera was sent off by Rhea to live with Oceanus and Tethys, when she returned Zeus tried to marry her but she kept saying no. The following night a cuckoo bird flew neat Hera who she decided to keep overnight. The next morning the bird revealed himself as Zeus, Hera agreed to marry him as long as he is a good husband to her. When a nymph named Chelone refused to attend the wedding, Hermes dropped her house on her and she changed into the world's first tortoise. Hera's last present at her wedding was a tree with golden apples that was replanted in the Garden of the Hesperides and guarded by Ladon and the Hesperides. Zeus and Hera had Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia. But then Hera got mad that Zeus was having kids with other woman, so Hera decided to have kid all by herself, Hephaestus. When Ixion visited Mount Olympus, he thought Hera was beautiful, Hera pushed him and locked herself in a room when she tried to kiss her. Zeus didn't believe her until Ixion made out with a fake Hera who had Centaurus, Ixion was made immortal and put on a flying wheel on fire. Princess Semele of Thebes was said to be as beautiful as Hera, the goddess saw Semele pregnant after Zeus left. So she disguised herself as Beroe, Semele's nursemaid, and convinced her to let her see Zeus' true godly form which resulted in her disintegrating. Zeus hid Semele's baby in his right thigh and he became Dionysus. When Aigina heard about Semele, she was worried about Hera but passed away before anything happened to her. Her son was named Aeacus and he became king, when Hera found out about Aigina she put a snake in his island's river filling it with venom. Aeacus asked Zeus to turn some ants into men for his army, they were called the Myrmidones who were soon led by Achilles. Percy Jackson finished the chapter off by mentioning how Hera can sometimes be a friend after she helped Argos after Poseidon flooded it.
Hades
The god of the Underworld
When Hades first took over Erebos, he became gloomy and decided to do some redecorating. He added five rivers: the depressing River Cocytus, the fiery River Phlegethon, the painful River Acheron, the forgetful River Lethe, and the hateful River Styx. A Daimon son of Nyx named Charon came to guide to the ghosts of the dead to the Underworld. The Judges of the Underworld determined which people would go into which group. Originally the judges were living people who judged when people were still alive, but after Hades took over he had deceased kings be the judges inside the Underworld, his first were Minos, Aiakos, and Rhadamanthys. Then he made the three furies be his enforcers, convinced Hermes to guide people to the Underworld, and had Cerberus guard the entrance. Good people went to Elysium or the Isles of the Blest, neutral people went to the Fields of Asphodel, and bad people went to the Fields of Punishment. One example was Tantalus who was forced eternal hunger in a pool with fruit for trying to feed his son to the gods after stealing ambrosia and nectar. Another was Sisyphus forced to push a boulder up a hill after Ares freed Thanatos from him when he was trying to cheat death. Persephone's daughters, Melinoe and Makaria, became the daimon in charge of ghosts and nightmares and goddess ofblessed peaceful deaths respectively.
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Characters
Protogenoi
Titans
- Kronos
- Themis
- Koios
- Oceanus
- Hyperion
- Iapetus
- Krios
- Rhea
- Metis
- Theia
- Tethys
- Phoebe
- Mnemosyne
- Leto
- Maia
Monsters
Gods
- Hades
- Persephone
- Zeus
- Hera
- Poseidon
- Dionysus
- Athena
- Demeter
- Artemis
- Apollo
- Aphrodite
- Hephaestus
- Ares
- Hermes
- Hestia
- The Fates
- Aegipan
- Ariadne
Demigods
Mortals
- Ariadne
- Teiresias
- Anaeas
Chapter List
- Introduction
- The Beginning and Stuff [11]
- The Golden Age of Cannibalism
- The Olympians Bash Some Heads
Zeus- Hestia Chooses Bachelor Number Zero [12]
- Demeter Turns Into Grainzilla
- Persephone Marries Her Stalker (or, Demeter, The Sequel)
- Hera Gets a Little Cuckoo [13]
- Hades Does Home Improvement
- Poseidon Gets Salty
- Zeus Kills Everyone
- Athena Adopts a Handkerchief
- You Gotta Love Aphrodite
- Ares, The Manly Man's Manly Man
- Hephaestus Makes Me a Golden Llama (Not Really, But He Totally Should) [14]
- Apollo Sings and Dances and Shoots People
- Artemis Unleashes the Death Pig
- Hermes Goes to Juvie
- Dionysus Conquers the World With a Refreshing Beverage
- Afterword.
Trivia
- Although Percy states that the ivory statue brought to life by Aphrodite had no name, post-classical writers call her "Galatea". [15]
- This book is written after The Last Olympian because in the afterward, Percy says that he is late to a date with his girlfriend.
Gallery
The book features 60 full-color paintings by John Rocco, which are shown below. One was released as a sneak peek on Rocco's blog[16], the other two on Rick Riordan's Instagram. [17][18]
References
- ↑ The House of Hades Tour
- ↑ RR's Blog
- ↑ https://twitter.com/camphalfblood/status/325984210512932865
- ↑ http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2013/06/update-from-athena-house.html
- ↑ http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-to-expect-and-not-expect-on-house.html Rick Riordan's blog
- ↑ The House of Hades Tour Minute 41:00
- ↑ A Novel, An Illustrated Book of Myths, and a Picture Book, Oh My...
- ↑ http://www.books.disney.com/book/mega-awesome-adventures-2/
- ↑ http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/07/preview-percy-jackson-and-the-greek-gods-part-1/
- ↑ http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2013/10/percy-jacksons-greek-gods.html Rick Riordan's blog
- ↑ http://www.books.disney.com/book/mega-awesome-adventures-2/
- ↑ http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/07/preview-percy-jackson-and-the-greek-gods-part-1/
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/interactive/2014/aug/02/first-chapter-percy-jackson-greek-gods-rick-riordan
- ↑ http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-news-round-up-from-athena-house.html
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_(mythology)
- ↑ A Novel, An Illustrated Book of Myths, and a Picture Book, Oh My...
- ↑ Some sneak peek art from Percy Jackson's Greek Gods st tonight's Disney dinner.
- ↑ One of the many awesome full-color, full-page illustrations by John Rocco.