Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes is a collection of stories from Greek mythology told from the point of view of Percy Jackson.
Development[]
This book was revealed at The Blood of Olympus tour event as a sequel to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods. Later on October 14, Rick Riordan announced the book's cover and its release date, August 18, 2015, on social media.[1]
Synopsis[]
Who cut off Medusa's head? Who was raised by a she-bear? Who tamed Pegasus? It takes a demigod to know, and Percy Jackson can fill you in on all the daring deeds of Perseus, Atalanta, Bellerophon, and the rest of the major Greek heroes. Told in the funny, irreverent style readers have come to expect from Percy, (I've had some bad experiences in my time, but the heroes I'm going to tell you about were the original old school hard luck cases. They boldly screwed up where no one had screwed up before. . .) and enhanced with vibrant artwork by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco, this story collection will become the new must-have classic for Rick Riordan's legions of devoted fans--and for anyone who needs a hero. So get your flaming spear. Put on your lion skin cape. Polish your shield and make sure you've got arrows in your quiver. We're going back about four thousand years to decapitate monsters, save some kingdoms, shoot a few gods in the butt, raid the Underworld, and steal loot from evil people. Then, for dessert, we'll die painful tragic deaths. Ready? Sweet. Let's do this.
Characters[]
- Perseus
- Psyche
- Phaethon
- Helios
- Clymene
- Heliades
- Epaphos
- Otrera
- Daedalus
- Theseus
- Aethra
- Aegeus
- Periphetes
- Sinis
- Phaea
- Crommyonian Sow
- Sciron
- Cercyon
- Procrustes
- Medea
- Ariadne
- Periphetes
- Phaedra
- Hippolytus (son of Theseus)
- Atalanta
- Calydonian Boar
- Meleager
- Iasus
- Hippomenes
- Cybele
- Bellerophon
- Cyrene
- Orpheus
- Eurydice
- Hades
- Hercules
- Eurytheuses
- Megara
- Iolaus
- Nemean Lion
- Hydra
- Erymanthian Boar
- Stymphalian Birds
- Prometheus
- Orthus
- Eurytion
- Geryon
- Ladon
- Atlas
- Deianara
- Achelous
- Hebe
- Jason
Chapter List[]
- Introduction
- Perseus Wants a Hug
- Psyche Ninjas a Box of Beauty Cream
- Phaethon Fails Driver's Ed
- Otrera Invents the Amazons (With Free Two-Day Shipping!)
- Daedalus Invents Pretty Much Everything Else
- Theseus Slays the Mighty- Oh, Look! A Bunny Rabbit!
- Atalanta vs. Three Pieces of Fruit: the Ultimate Death Match
- Whatever It Is, Bellerophon Didn't Do It
- Cyrene Punches a Lion (No Actual Lions Were Harmed in the Making of This Myth)
- Orpheus Takes a Solo
- Hercules Does Twelve Stupid Things
- Jason Finds a Rug that Really Ties the Kingdom Together
- Afterword
- List of Illustrations
- Index
Trivia[]
- The cover of the book features the Argo (top), Hercules (top left), Atalanta (bottom left), Perseus (bottom right), Otrera (top right), Percy Jackson (center).
- In this book it is revealed that after The Blood of Olympus, the Seven Heroes of Olympus have started the tradition of monthly Argo II reunion parties.
- A curious thing to note about the book is that people like Odysseus and Achilles are not among the heroes in it.
References to Popular Culture[]
Just like Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, several examples of Anachronism are within this book, which are probably intended to be merely jokes.
- Danaë did not get internet privileges.
- According to Aphrodite, Psyche was stealing all the headlines in the gossip magazines and was also getting the best pictures on artwork websites like Deviantart.
- Pscyhe's villa included an indoor swimming pool with a water slide, a gourmet kitchen, a bowling alley, and a home theatre room with overstuffed reclining seats and a popcorn machine.
- While she was staying at the villa, Pscyhe wore My Little Pegasus pyjamas, including footsies.
- Helios thought Phaethon would ask for NASCAR tickets.
- Helios told Phaethon not to call his horses Donner, Blitzen, Comet and Cupid.
- The Sun Chariot was said to have included CDS of sun-related songs like Good Day, Sunshine, Walking on Sunshine, and You Are the Sunshine of My Life.
- Two of the casualties involving Phaethon's accident were people’s vacation plans ruined and meteorologists losing their sanity.
- Zeus had his lightning bolts next to his keys.
- During Otrera's festivals, Artemis was said to look like a hip-hop fashion model who’d been shopping at King Midas’s Discount Gold Warehouse.
- When Poseidon visited Aphrodite about the Cretan bull, she was reading a fashion magazine.
- All of Daedalus inventions were trademarked, including a food processor.
- The Minotaur was given spoiled meat with Tabasco sauce and candy, that included Skittles, to eat.
- Sciron said he was number six on the Forbes list of Top Ten Richest Bandits.
- Procrustes apparently owned a shop within an outlet mall on a highway.
- After Bellerophon defeats the Chimera, he takes selfies of himself with the goat's head.
- The songs Orpheus played included Daydream Believer and the theme song to Old Yeller.
- When Eurystheus told Hercules that there's a chance he couldn't kill the Nemean Lion, creepy organ music started playing in the background.
- Upon first hearing about the Hydra, Hercules remembers the organization of the same name from a Captain America movie.
- Iolaus said he had GPS.
- Eurystheus told Hercules to Google the Ceryneian Hind.
- Before freeing Theseus and bringing Cerberus to Eurystheus, Hercules signed autographs and let Hades beat him at Hungry Hungry Hippos.
- Nessus lies about his Yelp reviews.
- One of the Argonauts apparently included a son of a partridge in a pear tree.
- Jason was said to have exchanged phone numbers with Cyzicus.
- Orpheus mistook Glaucus for that guy from The Little Mermaid.
- While passing the island with the Sirens, Orpheus played Jimi Hendrix.
Errors[]
- Daedalus' story was told a bit differently than it was in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. One difference was that Daedalus killed Perdix before Icarus was even born.
- Theseus appeared in The Battle of the Labyrinth, but Percy Jackson never mentioned that in this book.
- Despite the large part that Zoe Nightshade played in The Titan's Curse, and being involved in Hercules' 11th task, she is never mentioned in Hercules' chapter, and neither was Nereus.
- While narrating the adventures of Theseus in this book, Percy mentions Leo in the present tense, implying that a resurrected Leo had reunited with his friends sometime after the events of The Blood of Olympus and before their first monthly reunion party. However, that would contradict The Hidden Oracle since Leo returned and The Burning Maze due to the death of Jason Grace. Although, they could've had the party without them.
Gallery[]
