Warning! This page contains spoilers for The Last Fallen Star.
Prophecies are predictions of the future. Usually, a prophecy will foretell some form of a major event about to happen or an event that will happen much later in the future.
Description
A prophecy, or prophecies in general, is 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 times, 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 leads 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. Other Oracles include the Oracle of Dodona, controlled by the Titaness Rhea, located in the woods of Camp Half-Blood, the Oracle of Trophonius, located in the Bluespring Caverns south of Indianapolis, and the Herophile, the Oracle of Erythaea, who speaks prophecies in the form of word puzzles.
The Roman Legion, however, relies 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. 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" ). Recently, the Romans have found the harpy Ella, who had memorized parts of the Sibylline Books before they burned. She is working to transcribe the books by tattooing them on Tyson's skin.
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 descendant 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: they are cryptic. A prophecy will never say exactly what will happen and there is usually some level of choice given to those involved that will affect how a prophecy will come to pass (such as how the Great Prophecy foretold that Percy's choice would save or destroy Olympus). People who usually try to defy or attempt to prevent it from happening will often unintentionally set it in motion. While it is not a requirement, prophecies usually rhyme as well. This is true of prophecies told by the Oracles of Delphi, Dodona, and Trophonius 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 are known as the Norns' utter prophecies of future events for the warriors of Valhalla.
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.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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, which consists of rhyming couplets and no discernible meter:
1. You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,
2. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,
3. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,
4. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- 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.
- 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.
- Luke Castellan 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.
- In the end, Percy failed to save his mother. He had to leave her in the Underworld with Hades as he only had three pearls. Hades returns her after receiving his Helm of Darkness.
The Sea of Monsters
In book two of the series, The Sea of Monsters, Clarisse La Rue is given the prophecy as follows, which consists of rhyming couplets and no discernible meter:
1. You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,
2. You shall find what you seek and make it your own,
3. But despair for your life entombed within stone,
4. And fail without friends, to fly home alone.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- 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.
- She is trapped in Polyphemus' stone cavern and despairs for her life.
- She's destined to fail without Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, but if the quest succeeds she will end up flying back alone.
The Titan's Curse
In the third book of the series, The Titan's Curse, Zoë Nightshade is given a prophecy to save Artemis, which consists of rhymed couplets with the first in dactylic and the last in iambic meter:
1. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
2. One shall be lost in the land without rain,
3. The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
4. Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
5. The Titan's curse must one withstand,
6. And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- 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 captivity.
- Bianca sacrificed herself in the desert to save the group against a defective prototype of Hephaestus' robot, Talos.
- 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.
- 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)
- In order to win the battle at Mount Othrys, someone will have to take the Titan's Curse and free Artemis of her burden so that she can fight. Percy Jackson withstands the Titan's Curse after realizing he has no chance to beat Atlas, partly.
- In the end, Zoë was killed by the poison from the dragon Ladon cause of her Titan father Atlas.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
In book four of the series, The Battle of the Labyrinth, Annabeth is given the prophecy as follows, which consists of rhyming couplets with no discernible meter:
1. You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,
2. The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.
3. You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,
4. The Child of Athena's final stand.
5. Destroy with a hero's final breath,
6. And lose a love to worse than death.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and Tyson enter the Labyrinth to find Daedalus. The Labyrinth goes on forever, ever-changing and expanding.
- Nico, son of Hades, raised the dead; Ethan Nakamura, the traitor, was spared; and Pan's spirit and the message are spread into the world.
- 'The Ghost King' was Nico (since he is a son of Hades, the 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.
- A child of Athena's final stand refers to Daedalus, one of Athena's children, because he dies during the Battle of the Labyrinth.
- 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.
- Annabeth loses Luke to Kronos. Seeing a loved one used as the vessel of the evilest entity imaginable is far worse than them merely dying.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Jason's prophecy to rescue Hera in The Lost Hero, which consists of rhyming couplets, with the first in a vague dactylic rhythm and the second in iambic tetrameter:
1. Child of Lightning, beware the earth,
2. The giants' revenge, the seven shall birth,
3. The forge and dove shall break the cage,
4. And death unleash through Hera's rage.
Unraveling the Prophecy
The prophecy unfolds throughout the story like this:
- Jason, a child of Jupiter, has to beware of the awakening of Gaea (the Earth).
- The Giants rise to defeat the Olympians and cause the appearance of the seven heroes of the Great Prophecy.
- 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.
- Hera goes into her Divine Form and kills all the monsters in the area, except Porphyrion who flees once Hera was freed. She also unintentionally kills Jason, who could not close his eyes in time. However, he returns from death because Thanatos was held captive by Gaea.
The Son of Neptune
Frank's prophecy, given to him by Mars, his father, in The Son of Neptune:
1. Go to Alaska.
2. Find Thanatos and free him.
3. 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:
- Frank, the leader of the quest, Hazel Levesque, and Percy Jackson make it to Alaska after several different trials and close calls.
- 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.
- 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, consisting of a rhyming couplet with no discernible meter:
1. To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown.
2. 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, although he was unharmed as Percy can't actually drown as the son of Poseidon. (this is most likely because the prophecy mentioned "falling from ice"); or
- As Hazel suggests, that Percy may drown his enemies as 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, which consists of rhyming couplets with alternating trochaic-iambic tetrameter in the first two and trochaic in the last:
1. Wisdom's daughter walks alone,
2. The Mark of Athena burns through Rome.
3. Twins snuff out the angel's breath,
4. Who holds the key to endless death.
5. Giants' bane stands gold and pale,
6. Won through pain from a woven jail.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- Annabeth, daughter of Athena, had to complete her own quest alone - without friends or special powers.
- The Mark of Athena, a coin that led Annabeth through Rome to find the Athena Parthenos.
- 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. Nico is referred to as the angel due to his last name.
- 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.
- 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.
- Annabeth and the crew of the Argo II retrieved the Athena Parthenos from the chamber of Arachne, who was trapped in Chinese handcuffs of her own creation, woven with 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 Blood of Olympus
Ella mentions part of a sibylline prophecy while at Camp Half-Blood:
1. The fall of the sun,
2. The final verse.
- This line refers to Zeus revoking Apollo's divinity.
- This refers to Delphi, Camp Half-Blood's main source of prophecy, being cut off by Python.
This prophecy is repeated by the Grove of Dodona in The Hidden Oracle.
The Trials of Apollo
The Hidden Oracle
The Limerick Prophecy
The prophecy was given when Apollo and Meg went to the Grove of Dodona. According to Apollo, limerick prophecies are the worst.
1. There once was a god named Apollo
2. Who plunged in a cave, blue and hollow
3. Upon a three-seater
4. The bronze fire-eater
5. Was forced death and madness to swallow
Unraveling the Prophecy
- The quest was Apollo's, who was transformed into a human named Lester Papadopolous as punishment for defying his father, Zeus.
- The "cave, blue and hollow" referred to the Oracle of Trophonius (the "Dark Oracle"), located in the Bluespring Caverns in Indiana.
- Festus was capable of seating three people: Apollo, Leo Valdez, and Calypso.
- Festus can also eat and spew fire and is made of Celestial Bronze.
- In order to save Meg McCaffrey from the plague of Trophonius ("was forced"), Apollo uses mouth-to-mouth resuscitation ("to swallow") techniques to draw the hallucinatory plague smoke ("death and madness") out of Meg's lungs.
Partial Prophecies
This prophecy was given when Apollo first entered the Grove of Dodona, when the trees were still insane, and consists of rhyming couplets. It appears to potentially be applicable to more than just the journey to the next Oracle.
1. Caves of blue.
2. Strike the hue.
3. Westward, burning.
4. Pages turning.
5. Indiana.
6. Ripe banana.
7. Happiness approaches.
8. Serpents and roaches.
Unraveling the Prophecy
- The Oracle of Trophonius was located in Bluespring Caverns.
- Unknown.
- Apollo goes west with Meg and Grover to the Burning Maze in southern California.
- Unknown.
- The Bluespring Caverns are in Indiana.
- Unknown.
- Festus means happy in Latin. Given that Festus returns to Camp Half-Blood at the end of The Hidden Oracle, this line can be taken as having that meaning.
- Python (a serpent) has re-taken the Oracle of Delphi. Also, in The Caves of Trophonius, Meg sings to the snakes which both charmed them and summoned Trophonius. The meaning of "roaches" is unclear.
The Dark Prophecy
The Sonnet Prophecy
This prophecy is given to Apollo and Meg through the Oracle of Trophonius and is spoken by Meg once she is placed on Mnemosyne's Throne of Memory. It is also known as the "Dark Prophecy". This prophecy is in the form of an English sonnet, Apollo says it conveys only the most elaborate prophecies with multiple moving parts, but none of them are good.
1. The words that memory wrought are set to fire,
2. Ere new moon rises o'er the Devil's Mount.
3. The changeling lord shall face a challenge dire,
4. Till bodies fill the Tiber beyond count.
5. Yet southward now the sun must trace its course,
6. Through mazes dark to lands of scorching death
7. To find the master of the swift white horse
8. And wrest from him the crossword speaker's breath.
9. To westward palace must the Lester go;
10. Demeter's daughter finds her ancient roots.
11. The cloven guide alone the way does know,
12. To walk the path in thine own enemy's boots.
13. When three are known and Tiber reached alive,
14.'Tis only then Apollo starts to jive.'
Unraveling the Prophecy
- The Sibylline Books, reconstructed from Ella's memory are being tattooed on Tyson's skin via superheated tattoo needles.
- The attack on the Sibylline Books will occur during a new moon. Devil's Mount is a nickname for Mount Diablo, near Camp Jupiter (where Leo, Piper, and Jason fought Enceladus), corroborating the probability that the first line refers to the Sibylline Books.
- The “changeling lord” refers to Frank Zhang, who is a shapeshifter, who single-handedly turns back Caligula's forces.
- During he Battle of the New Moon, the undead forces of Tarquin cannot cross the freshwater of the Little Tiber. The dead are unable to be counted because they are turned into vrykolakai.
- Apollo and Meg must go to southern California.
- Apollo believes they must use the Labyrinth to get to a desert area, revealed to be Palm Springs where the "Burning Maze" is causing wildfires and droughts.
- Refers to Caligula whose horse Incitatus is white and his name means "Swift".
- This states that the next Oracle to be freed is the Erythraean Sibyl, known for giving prophecies in the form of crosswords.
- This confirms that this is the emperor who has laid claim to the western third of the US, and implies that Apollo must attack this emperor's palace, which is actually a string of yachts.
- Meg returns to her childhood home and is revealed to be a descendant of Plemnaeus, a famous botanist and one of Demeter’s favorite mortals.
- Meg summons Grover, the lead satyr in the Council of Cloven Elders, to guide them through the Labyrinth.
- The only way to get to the oracle without Medea's permission is to use Caligula's Caligae.
- Apollo suspects that he and Meg must find out who the third emperor is, free the Oracle and survive the trip to Camp Jupiter in order to complete the prophecy.
- Apollo hopes that he might re-attain his godhood if they successfully complete the quest.
The Burning Maze
Jason's Prophecy
During a conversation between Apollo and Jason in Edgarton Day and Boarding School, the Roman demigod reveals to the former god that, when he found the Sibyl in the Labyrinth, she gave to him a dreadful prophecy: if Jason chooses to face Caligula, either he or Piper would die. Also, apparently the Sibyl said the word die with such an intonation that could only mean permanent death, much to Apollo's horror.
Unraveling the prophecy
During the confrontation with Caligula and Medea, the prophecy eventually becomes true when Jason unleashes his demigod powers to save Apollo, Meg, and Piper from the villains and chose to remain behind to battle Caligula alone in order to give time to his friends to escape. However, despite managed to hold back the god-turned emperor for a while on his own, Jason was grievously wounded by Caligula's arrows and died after falling from Tempest's back when the emperor threw his golden spear into Jason's back. Caligula went so far to stab Jason's corpse with his spear after the fall, in order to make sure the demigod is truly dead. Apollo and Meg later confirm to a grieving Piper that there's no available way to resurrect Jason, fulfilling the prophecy.
The Crossword Puzzle Prophecy
In the Labyrinth, Herophile guided Apollo to where she was being held through a series of word puzzles. The number of letters of the answer determined the number of tiles of the path they should choose. Herophile spouted multiple word puzzles that, combined, say the following:
Apollo faces death in Tarquin's Tomb unless the doorway to the soundless god is opened by...
Upon solving the word puzzles, Grover, Meg, and Apollo reached Herophile in her chains. Almost immediately, Medea also entered the room, ready to strip Apollo of his immortality. Meg freed Herophile from her shackles and chains, which only made the chains grab on to Apollo, thus making him his own Oracle. He began spouting the following lines:
- 1. Bronze upon gold
- 2. East meets west
- 3. Legions are redeemed
- 4. Light the depths
- 5. One against many
- 6. Never spirit defeated
- 7. Ancient words spoken
- 8. Shaking old foundations
- 9. Destroy the tyrant
- 10. Aid the winged
- 11. Under golden hills
- 12. Great stallion's foal
- 13. Harken the trumpets
- 14. Turn red tides
- 15. Enter stranger's home
- 16. Regain lost glory
While those words illuminated the floor tiles, Meg noticed that they were an acrostic that spelled out "Bellona's Daughter" making the full prophecy this:
Apollo faces death in Tarquin's Tomb unless the doorway to the soundless god is opened by Bellona's Daughter.
Unraveling the prophecy
Bellona's daughter refers to Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, the senior praetor of the twelfth legion. During their quest to Sutro Tower, she lends Apollo her strength to rip open the doors to the shipping container Harpocrates was imprisoned in. She would help Apollo convince Harpocrates to give up his immortal essence to use in the Ceremony to Call for Divine Help, which he succeeded and summoned his sister Diana for assistance to stopping Tarquin and healing him of his zombie poison. However, there is more hidden in the longer version of the prophecy:
- This refers to the earlier war between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood.
- This line refers to Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood meeting after having been forced apart by the gods.
- This refers to one of two things:
- The retrieval of the Twelfth Legion's gold eagle standard from Alaska.
- The legions of fallen soldiers raised by Nico di Angelo with Diocletian's Scepter.
- Apollo goes underground with Meg McCaffrey, Hazel Levesque, and Lavinia Asimov to Tarquin's Tomb.
- This could refer to Frank single-handedly turning the tides in the Assault on Camp Jupiter.
- This line refers to how Rome refuses to bow to Commodus and Caligula.
- This refers to the prophecies from the Sibylline Books being remembered by Ella.
- This line could refer to Apollo, Meg, Lavinia, and Hazel's infiltration into Tarquin's tomb.
- Tarquin must be destroyed to save the Twelfth Legion Fulminata and New Rome.
- Apollo frees two mutilated Pegasi, flying horses, by freeing them from Commodus and Caligula.
- This line could refer to the Caldecott Tunnel which is under the Berkeley Hills.
- This line refers to one of two things:
- This line could refer to the battles the demigods had to fight against Triumvirate Holdings.
- This could refer to the losses of the god-emperors, such as losing Commodus and Caligula in the Battle of San Francisco Bay.
- This line refers to Apollo and Meg entering Nero's Tower to prevent him from burning New York City.
- This refers to Apollo regaining his godhood after defeating Python and nearly falling into Chaos.
The Tyrant's Tomb
Tarquin's Tomb
A wildcat near the spinning lights,
The tomb of Tarquin with horses bright.
To open his door,
two-fifty-four.[tarquin 1]
Unraveling of the Prophecy
The prophecy refers to the merry-go-round in Tilden Park just off Wildcat Drive. CCLIV, 254 in Roman numerals, is the code to open the entrance to Tarquin's tomb as it is the year of Tarquin's death.
Sibylline Firewood Prophecy
"Firewood"
"Fire with ... something, something bridge. Twice something something ..."
Unraveling of the Prophecy
- Frank Zhang's life depends on a firewood.
- At the end of The Tyrant's Tomb, he sets himself on fire under a bridge to kill Commodus and Caligula.
Frank later tells Hazel Levesque and Apollo that the prophecy meant that only fire could stop the emperors, kindled by the most precious firewood, on the bridge to camp, which Frank guessed meant the Caldecott Tunnel.
The Tower of Nero
Terza Rima Prophecy
After the Battle of San Francisco Bay, Apollo and Meg go to Cyclops Books to get a prophecy from Ella. After hearing the partial version, Apollo realizes the rest of the prophecy will be at their destination. It is in the form of an English sonnet with some irregularities in the meter, chiefly in lines 6, 13, and 14.
1. O son of Zeus the final challenge face
2. The tow'r of Nero two alone ascend
3. Dislodge the beast that hast usurped thy place
4. The son of Hades, cavern-runner's friend,
5. Must show the secret way unto the throne.
6. On Nero's own your lives do now depend.
7. A Dare reveals the path that was unknown,
8. And bears destruction; lion, snake-entwined,
9. Or else the princeps never be o'erthrown.
10. Apollo's flesh and blood shall soon be mine.
11. Alone he must descend into the dark,
12. This sibyl never again to see his sign,
13. Lest grappling with me till his final spark,
14. The god dissolves, leaving not a mark.
Unraveling the prophecy
- This is Apollo's final challenge to regain his godhood.
- Apollo and Meg McCaffrey will surrender to Nero in order to enter the tower and go through with Lu's plan.
- Apollo must fight Python and remove him from Delphi in order to restore the Oracle and unlock the full power of prophecy
- Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, is a friend of the Troglodytes.
- The troglodytes must enter the Tower of Nero through an underground passage and destroy the vats of Greek fire.
- It means that once Meg and Apollo turn themselves in, their fates are now in Nero's hands. What happens to them now is up to Nero.
- Rachel Dare had blueprints to Nero's Tower. Her ability of clear sight paired with knowing the ins and outs of the buildings made her the perfect guide.
- The leontocephaline guards Nero's Fasces, whose destruction will end the third emperor's immortality and his life.
- If Apollo and Meg don't continue with Lu's plan, Nero can not be stopped from destroying Manhattan. That's because, in order to gain access to the fasces someone with a divine power would have to give up their immortality to the guardian. Lu makes this sacrifice and by doing so unbinds the full immortality from herself, the rest of the Gauls, and Nero.
- This references Python and Apollo battling. Python changed the meaning of the line to insinuate that Apollo would die trying to defeat him.
- This references Apollo would be fighting Python alone to free Delphi, the main objective of his quest-
- This means that unless Apollo goes to fight Python, Rachel will continue to lack the abilities of the Oracle.
- This references Apollo's fight with Python, in which he attempted to strangle Apollo to death. Lest may be short for Lester.
- This references Apollo and Python falling all the way to the brink of Chaos. However, Apollo rises again by being returned to his godhood, while Python is destroyed.
Camp Half-Blood Confidential
Apollo recites a prophecy to Rachel Elizabeth Dare to demonstrate how confusing prophecies can be.
1. Pinochle and Ping-Pong, ambrosia squares and nectar,
2. An attic with an Oracle, a disembodied leopard,
3. A centaur in a wheelchair, a wine dude, serving time,
4. The omphalos of Half-Blood will welcome offspring half-divine.
Unraveling of the Prophecy
- The first line refers to Pinochle and Ping-Pong being played in the Big House and it containing Ambrosia and Nectar.
- The second line refers to the original Oracle of Delphi when she was a corpse in the attic and Seymour the leopard head.
- The third line refers to Chiron and his wheelchair and Dionysus serving his punishment at Camp Half-Blood.
- The fourth line refers to how Camp Half-Blood trains demigods who have one godly parent.
The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
Rachel Elizabeth Dare repeats this prophecy twelve times before it finally stops when Nico di Angelo and Will Solace go on their quest. It's later revealed that Hades sent the prophecy to his son so that he would rescue Bob the Titan.
"Go forth and find the one who calls out your name,
Who suffers and despairs for refusing to remain;
There leave something of equal value behind,
Or your body and soul no one will ever find."
Unraveling the Prophecy
- This refers to Bob calling out to Nico for help from Tartarus and Nico going to rescue him.
- Nyx is attempting to force Bob to regenerate back into Iapetus, causing him to suffer as he resists her efforts to force him to remain as he was over Bob's desire to change.
- In order to escape from Nyx and Tartarus with Will, Bob and Small Bob, Nico gives his cacodemons - literally the manifestation of his inner demons - their freedom, thus leaving his demons behind as Nico escapes with his life. The act of releasing them fulfills this part of the prophecy even though the demons aren't literally left behind. They use their new freedom to decide to go with Nico which he didn't expect.
- This likely refers to what would have happened if Nico gave in to Nyx: he would've stayed in Tartarus where no one would've ever found his body or soul.
Great Prophecies
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
- Main article: Great Prophecy
In book five of the series, The Last Olympian, the Great Prophecy is revealed, which consists of rhyming couplets in iambic tetrameter:
1. A half-blood of the eldest gods,
2. Shall reach sixteen against all odds.
3. And see the world in endless sleep,
4. A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.
5. A single choice shall end his days,
6. Olympus to preserve or raze.
Unraveling the Prophecy
This prophecy unravels throughout the story:
- Percy was a half-blood child of Poseidon, one of the Big Three.
- Percy reaches sixteen despite all of the numerous times he was almost killed by Luke/Kronos and his monsters.
- Percy finds the whole city of Manhattan asleep from Olympus, so the war can go on without any of the humans interfering.
- 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.
- 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.
- Percy's choice would result in the destruction of Olympus or preserving Olympus the way it is.
The Prophecy of Seven
- Main article: 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, which consists of rhyming couplets in a vague iambic rhythm:
1. Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
2. To storm or fire, the world must fall.
3. An oath to keep with a final breath,
4. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
Unraveling the Prophecy:
- 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.
- 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, and Frank speculated that he might be the fire the prophecy refers to due to his life force being connected to a piece of driftwood that, if burnt, will cause him to die, 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 life after using 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.
- It could also refer to Jason Grace's oath to Kymopoleia to honor all the minor gods, as shortly after his death, the Romans built all the shrines that he had planned.
- Gaea opened the Doors of Death to allow the evilest 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.
- This logic applies to Percy and Annabeth as well. Because of their parents' rivalry, Percy and Annabeth would be seen as children of enemies.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
The Sword of Summer
This prophecy was uttered by the Norns, and consists of rhyming couplets.
1. Wrongly chosen, wrongly slain
2. A hero Valhalla cannot contain
3. Nine days hence the sun must go east
4. Ere Sword of Summer unbinds the beast
Unraveling the Prophecy
- Magnus Chase was wrongly chosen by Loki, who thought that Magnus could be easily swayed to begin Ragnarök.
- Magnus ended up leaving Valhalla to travel around the Nine Worlds to complete his quest.
- The quest needed to be completed in nine days or else Ragnarök would begin.
- Sumarbrander cut the magical rope on the Fenris Wolf, before retying him.
The Hammer of Thor
This prophecy was foreseen by Hearthstone using his Rune Stones.
1.Blitzen
2.Bloodshed
3.Cannot be stopped
4.Before OSTARA
Unraveling the Prophecy
- This means that the prophecy is for Blitzen.
- Bloodshed refers to when Blitzen is stabbed by Randolph with the Skofnung Sword.
- The Skofnung Sword's wound can only be healed with the Skofnung Stone, which is in possession of Mr. Alderman, Hearth's father.
- OSTARA is the first day of spring, which happens be to the day Loki plans to escape during Sam's unwilling wedding to Thrym, son of Thrym, son of Thrym.
Rick Riordan Presents
The Storm Runner
After Ah-Puch was imprisoned in a ceramic owl in the volcano, the Beast, the goddess of time, Pacific, recited the Prophecy of Fire. She said that a powerful innocent with ancient blood would be born and will release Ah-Puch during a solar eclipse. The other Mayan Gods got furious as the hero twins led them to create the Sacred Oath when they instilled them with fear by making humans briefly ignore, that way the two wouldn't have any competition. So the gods erased Pacific from all accounts and documents and nearly sentenced her to death if it wasn't for Hurakan. But many years later, his son, Zane Obispo, released Ah-Puch during the Great American Eclipse to save Brooks who was injured by a Demon Runner. But according to Santiago, the Prophecy of Fire was only the beginning, fire spreads until it burns everything in its path.
Aru Shah and the Song of Death (Pandava Quintet)
Aru Shah overheard Varuni whispering this prophecy about her quest.
1.The girl with eyes like a fish and a heart snapped in two
2.Will be met in battle by a girl name Aru.
3.But take care what you do with a heart so broken
4.For uglier truths will soon be spoken.
5.You, daughter of Indra, have a tongue like a whip,
6.But be wary of those whom you serve lip,
7.For there is a tale beyond that soon you shall see.
8.But all that depends on your surviving the sea.
Unraveling the Prophecy
- Meenakshi, whose name meant "the one with fish-shaped eyes," carved out her soul song to use Kamadeva's bow and arrow to create an army of Heartless zombies.
- Meenakshi would battle Aru Shah, reincarnation of Arjuna, under the Ocean of Milk.
- Meenakshi had a broken heart, because her brother, Ravana killed her husband.
- Meenakshi would tell Aru Shah and her friends the actual true stories of her life and how the devas did injustice to her.
- Aru Shah, the soul daughter of Indra, had a tongue which spoke as swiftly and sharply as a whip.
- This is meant to caution Aru, meaning, that she should be cautious of those people she is agreeing to, because she would be torn between the sides of the devas and the rakshasas.
- This line talks about the true tale of Meenakshi, and her true self, beyond wht Aru has known and learned.
- 'Surviving the sea' can either mean surviving the army of the Heartless on the Ocean of Milk, or surviving through the Naga-Loka, which is basically under the sea.
Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quintet)
This prophecy is spoken by Sheela Jagan.
1.The scorned powers are on the rise,
2.To claim their stolen immortal prize.
3.One sister shall turn out not to be true.
4.With a single choice,
5.The world shall receive its due.
6.One treasure is false and one treasure is lost,
7.But the tree at the heart is the one true cost.
8.No war can be won without finding that root,
9.No victory had, without the yield of its fruit.
10.In five days, the treasure will bloom and fade,
11.And all that was won could soon be unmade.
The Last Fallen Star (The Gifted Clans)
The prophecy is shown by the Horangi on Campus Drive
When the blood moon and black sun appear to the gaze
To mark the start of the end of all days
In the one last divine, a weapon shall rise;
Unless the gold-destroyer ends the soul who lies
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. These presumably came from the pieces of the Sibylline Books that the Romans still had. Pluto also told his daughter, Hazel Levesque, that one day a descendant of Neptune would wash her curse away. This came true when Frank Zhang, a descendant of Neptune's Greek form Poseidon, helped to break Hazel's curse.
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.
- The Kane Chronicles is the only Riordan series so far without prophecies.
- Many of the prophecies do not conform to an established metrical pattern.
- Strangely, in line 3, the Terza Rima prophecy contains the word hast (the second person) when hath (the third person) would be more appropriate, unless the beast is referring to Apollo himself, which is unlikely. It is unclear whether or not this is an error.
- In Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Percy mentions that trying to defy a prophecy is like a creator building a mousetrap to prevent it and the creator ends up falling prey to the trap.
See also
References
- ↑ The Tyrant's Tomb, Chapter 9