The following is a list of all the Featured Articles on the Riordan Wiki. A featured article is displayed on the front page of the Wiki from the first of the month till the first of the next month. Articles are chosen if they are well written and have plenty of information. Ideally, the articles do not contain redlinks, redirects, missing images, incomplete or empty sections and coding errors. Voting for Featured Articles may be found here.
Note that the information in the Featured Article boxes for months that are already over are not updated. Make it a habit to click (more...).
September 2023
This Month's Featured Article
Camp Jupiter is a camp designated to protect and train the children of the Roman gods and their descendants. Its entrance is a service tunnel near the main Caldecott Tunnel in the Oakland Hills, near San Francisco. The current praetors are Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. It is the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood. (more...)
April 2016
This Month's Featured Article
The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan, is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The book was adapted into a motion picture and a graphic novel in 2010.
This book tells of the main character, Percy Jackson, as he discovers a world much bigger than he has ever imagined, but is immediately handed a quest to redeem himself from a crime he never committed.
Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, and has been expelled from every school he has ever attended. While he is in sixth grade on a field trip, a classmate of his, Nancy Bobofit, bullies his best friend Grover Underwood. Percy is outraged, and suddenly, water from a nearby fountain drenches Nancy in a very unnatural way. Their pre-algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds, takes Percy for a private talk, presumably to scold him. However, she suddenly turns into a Fury, a mythical creature known from Greek mythology, and tries to kill him. The Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, charges in, and throws Percy a pen that suddenly changes into a sword when he uncaps it. Percy kills the Fury in self-defense.
For the rest of the year, everyone in the campus thinks that Mrs. Dodds had never existed, and their pre-algebra teacher is Ms. Kerr, a teacher he has never once seen before. Percy is almost led to believe this too, until he eavesdrops on Grover and Mr. Brunner saying otherwise. On his way home for the summer, he sees three very old women knitting, who turn out to be the Fates, cut a line of string, and Grover tells him this is worse than it really seems. He explains to Percy that the Fates are the ones who decide the lifespan of a being. The string in their hand is the lifeline of a person and when cut, it signifies the person's death. Percy is very frightened by this and assumes that the string of yarn that had just been cut off was his. When they make it into Manhattan, Percy ditches Grover who has to go to the restroom.
Percy comes home to his mother, Sally Jackson. She tells him that, as a treat, they would get to go on a vacation to Montauk, and that they are to leave immediately. Though they run into some complications, namely Percy's stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, they are able to leave for their destination.
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March 2016
This Month's Featured Article
Riptide is deciphered from the Greek name, Anaklusmos. It is the prized sword of Percy Jackson that is made of Celestial Bronze, a material that is only effective on gods, demigods, Titans, Giants, and monsters. It does not affect mortals, as it just passes through them harmlessly. The sword is a medium length xiphos.
Riptide was formerly owned and used by Hercules and Pleione. The sword's dormant form was originally Zoë's hair clip, which she gave to Hercules to help him fight Ladon. Riptide draws its power from the ocean, which is why it works well for ocean spirits and children of Poseidon like Percy. Hercules did not give Zoë any credit for bypassing Ladon, leaving her to face the wrath of her father and sisters alone. This betrayal was the basis for her later hatred of male demigods, and the reason why she joined the Hunters of Artemis.
Riptide is only wielded by a certain few in the series; Percy (its current owner) uses it as his main weapon; Chiron possessed it at Yancy Academy before he gave it to Percy, and Hercules used it to defeat the dragon, Ladon. Chiron also hinted that the sword has had other owners, as he claimed it had a long and tragic history.
Percy is first given Riptide to defeat the fury Alecto, who was disguised as Percy's pre-algebra teacher in his school. After the battle however, Chiron takes it back and tells Percy to bring his own writing utensil next time, trying to convince Percy into thinking the fight never happened. Then, just before Percy leaves for his quest, Chiron gives it to him, saying that the sword has "a long and tragic past." Percy has used the sword ever since against monsters and whoever else he's battled.
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January 2016
This Month's Featured Article
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is a collection of stories from Greek mythology told from the point of view of Percy Jackson. The book was released on August 19th, 2014.
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 Percy Jackson's point of view. He later confirmed this in his blog. Riordan will be reading an excerpt from the book during his House of Hades tour. 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. 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. A preview of the first chapter was included in the free e-book Mega-Awesome Adventures on March 4, 2014. Two more previews came out from Waterstones Blog and the Guardian.
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December 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film adaptation of The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan, who did not contribute to the making of this film, directed by Chris Joseph Columbus, and is the first installment of the Percy Jackson Film Series. It stars Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast that includes Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Sean Bean, and Pierce Brosnan. It was released in theaters on February 12, 2010.
The film cost $95 million to make and in its opening weekend in North America, the film ranked number two; and in its first weekend the film grossed $38.8 million. The film grossed $226,497,209 worldwide. It was not as successful as originally hoped, but a sequel to the film was released on August 7, 2013.
In June 2004, 20th, Century Fox acquired the film rights to the book. In April 2007, director Chris Columbus was hired to lead at the helm of the project. Filming began in April 2009 in Vancouver while other portions of the film were shot at the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee; A full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. Filming wrapped up on the morning of July 25, 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Digital intermediate work began in San Francisco in November 2009. Christopher Beck composed the soundtrack.
Chris Columbus has stated that each member of the cast were chosen specifically with sequels in mind. "I think with Percy Jackson it was a matter of finding the right cast to fit into these roles, sort of the perfect cast for these roles, because hopefully, God willing, we will go on to do other Percy Jackson films and you want the cast to grow with their characters."
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October 2015
This Month's Featured Article
| “ | And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. | ” |
–Rachel, speaking the last line of the Prophecy of Seven | ||
The Doors of Death are the personal gateways used by the death god Thanatos' to enter and exit the Underworld. During most of the events of The Heroes of Olympus, Gaea has control of them, but ownership is returned to Thanatos in The House of Hades.
Much like how people can pass into Olympus using a magic elevator, the Doors of Death also appear as an elevator in and out of the Underworld. However unlike the elevator to Olympus, the Doors of Death are framed in Stygian Iron, with black and silver doors etched with art deco designs, making them a complete inversion of the Olympian doors.
The Doors of Death act as a fast passage in and out of the Underworld for Thanatos, who is in control of bring people to the Underworld, as well as making sure that no one ever escapes as well. Also Thanatos is able to tell where the Doors of Death are at all times, even if they are not under his control. According to Bob, when the Doors are not chained, they move around after use which keeps them from being found and under Thanatos' control.
When the Doors of Death were in the possession of Gaea, she forced them open while Thanatos was captured and allowed monsters and evil souls to escape the pits of Tartarus in order to help her in her quest to destroy the Olympians and their children. In order to prevent Thanatos from simply moving them, they were chained in place. Also, in order for someone to pass from Tartarus into the mortal world, someone would have to hold the button for 12 minutes and someone else would have to hit the button on the mortal side, or else anything in the elevator would simply vanish. The Underworld side of the Doors were chained in the heart of Tartarus while the mortal world side of the Doors were chained in the House of Hades. Both locations were heavily guarded and both sides of the Doors needed to be freed in order for the Doors to reset. With the Doors in Tartarus, it was considered impossible to free them as no demigod could survive Tartarus and no god, not even Thanatos himself would go there.
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September 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Walt Stone is one of the new trainees that Sadie and Carter are training along with Jaz and originally comes from Seattle, Washington. He is known as a sau; a charm maker. He is one of Sadie's two love interests and as of The Serpent's Shadow, Anubis' first human host.
Walt comes from a family descended from Akhenaton. Due to Akhenaton's wish to destroy the worship of the gods, priests cursed Akhenaton and his offspring, which is why the pharoah Tutankhamen (his son), and later descendants died at an early age. Practicing magic tends to speed up the curse, so Walt uses amulets, which store magic in advance. He lived in Seattle before and is a natural sau (charm maker). His dad had died from the curse (Akhenaton is from his dad's side) and his mother was very worried about how Walt has until about age sixteen, though Tutankhanem died at eighteen. No doctors could help, though, and it seemed Walt would die soon.
Walt is seen in the beginning stealing the Khnum artifact from the Brooklyn Museum. He and Jaz were caught holding hands, and Sadie misinterprets this. Later, he is with Carter in his room after breakfast, and run off to save Sadie in London. He is then kicked out by Bes, who knows what Walt was dealing with. He comes in afterwards when Sadie and him look for the third scroll. In the end, Walt and Zia transported home while Sadie and Carter went through the Duat. The Kanes' original plan had been to interrogate Menshikov (as he was descended from the priests who cursed Akhenaton) while he was trapped, but Vlad's price was to side with Chaos. The plan failed as Vlad died, and Sadie felt guilty, much to the disappointment of Walt.
Walt is first seen in the museum examining the jewelry in the display case. Later when they go to see the scroll he stops by King Tut's throne and becomes lost in a trance. He helps to battle Apophis, but it causes him great pain as he's so near death. He joins Sadie in a quest to retrieve Bes' sheut to restore him to normal, though he is aware that this will likely be his last act. The two manage to reach the sheut, with Walt trying and failing to explain something to Sadie about his upcoming death.
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August 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Gleeson Hedge is a middle aged satyr that was formerly filling as a coach at the Wilderness School. He was the protector of Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, and Clarisse La Rue. He is also the husband of Mellie and the father of their son, Chuck Hedge (likely named after Chuck Norris due to Gleeson's love of action movies).
Hedge is mentioned when the letter he had written on a maple leaf to Grover Underwood is read by Percy Jackson. Gleeson Hedge was in Canada at the time.
He had tried to defend a park in Toronto from a giant evil badger, but had failed to summon Pan's power as Grover had advised, resulting in many dryads being destroyed because their trees were obliterated. He wrote that he was retreating to Ottawa and asked where Grover was.
Gleeson Hedge appears as a coach for the Wilderness School, looking after the students on a field trip to the Grand Canyon. While scolding some of the kids, Leo Valdez asks him to use his megaphone, resulting in the megaphone making cow sounds, much to Gleeson's irritation. When they arrive at the Grand Canyon, Coach Hedge notices storm clouds rolling in and tells the class to finish their reports quickly. Jason Grace, who had no memory of his past, notices that Coach Hedge is the only one that isn't acting like he knows him (unlike everyone else who is under the effects of the Mist). When Jason walks up to him, Coach Hedge asks him if he caused the storm clouds and wonders why Jason is here, admitting that he has never seen Jason before and he just appeared today. He wonders if he is the "special package" mentioned by camp, as an extraction team is arriving to pick up two demigods (Leo Valdez and Piper McLean), but a monster has been stalking them for days.
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July 2015
This Month's Featured Article
The Red Pyramid is a 2010 fantasy, adventure novel written by Rick Riordan and is the first installment of The Kane Chronicles. The story is told as a transcription of a recording made by Sadie and Carter Kane, detailing the rise of the Egyptian gods in the modern world.
Carter Kane has been traveling around the world since he was eight years old. He was home schooled by his father, Julius Kane, who is a famous Egyptology scientist.
On Christmas Eve, Carter and Julius head to London to visit Carter's sister, Sadie, who lives as a British student. Both siblings were separated at a very young age, Sadie to live with her grandparents, and Carter with his father. Julius picks up Sadie, and she discovers that one out of the two days of the year they get the spend together was going to be occupied by a trip to British Museum. Before heading there, Carter and Sadie spy on their dad talking to a strange man named Amos. They had no idea what the adults were talking about, but when Sadie pops out to say hi to her dad, Amos disappears. While at the museum, Sadie and Carter noticed that their dad was extremely interested in one specific artifact, the Rosetta Stone. Julius Kane ends up blowing the artifact up by trying to summon Osiris. He also accidentally releases the other children of the Demon Days: Nephthys, Isis, Horus, and Set. Set, the Egyptian god of chaos and storms and the most evil of the gods, ends up locking Julius in a sarcophagus and sending him through the floor. Meanwhile, Sadie and Carter sit by watching the entire event. The British police end up taking and "arresting" the two for questioning. This happens at Sadie's home, also her grandparents' home. Both tell the police what happened in the museum and about the mysterious man their dad had talked to earlier. Amos is revealed to be their uncle, who saved them from being taken into custody. Amos takes them to the family mansion in Brooklyn. He leaves them their to search around the house, but tells them not to go to the library, but they decide to go into the library anyway due to Sadie's recklessness. While in the library, Set's warriors attack the house and Bast the cat goddess, who was disguised as Sadie's cat, Muffin, saves them. Also in the process, they loose Philip of Macedonia, the albino crocodile. They all escape, but Bast is later overcome by Serqet, the scorpion goddess. Not shortly after, they meet Zia Rashid, who helps distract Serqet while Sadie and Carter escape through a portal. In those past couple hours, Sadie and Carter learn a lot about what has happened and that they are blood of the pharaohs.
Zia takes them to the House of Life in Egypt, to be trained as magicians. The Chief Lector, Iskandar, dies, and is replaced with Desjardins, the Kanes have to flee again, as the House of Life sees them as a threat. They are godlings, meaning they host the gods Horus and Isis (hosting the gods is against the beliefs of the House). They go to Paris and retrieve a book from Desjardins' property which tells them how to defeat Set and save their dad. They find out that they need the Feather of Truth to help defeat Set; they then go to the Egyptian underworld, the Duat, to retrieve the Feather of Truth. On the way out they are attacked by Sobek the crocodile god but they escape when Bast (who turned out not dead) sacrifices herself to save Carter and Sadie.
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June 2015
This Month's Featured Article
The Last Olympian is a novel by Rick Riordan, published on May 5, 2009. It is the fifth and final installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
This conclusion to the saga revolves around Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, as he leads his friends in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus and the rest of the world from Kronos and his army of monsters.
Percy and his friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare drive to a ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There, Rachel reveals that her father is trying to get her to go to a finishing school, Clarion Ladies Academy, that she does not want to go to. She asks if Percy has decided whether he would go with her and her family for vacation or not. Before he could answer, Blackjack, Percy's pegasus, lands on the hood of the car with Charles Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus, on his back. Beckendorf announces that it is time for them to take out the Princess Andromeda.
Rachel kisses Percy and wishes him good luck. The two demigods then leave. In good humor, Beckendorf states that the kiss might be better left a secret to Annabeth Chase to which Percy agrees. The two see the ship and sneak onto it. They then set Greek fire explosives in the engine room. Percy leaves the room to distract the monsters on the ship, telling Beckendorf to meet him at the air pad.
Percy is captured and brought before Luke, who is now housing Kronos from the events of The Battle of the Labyrinth. The Titan duels Percy for the fun of it, and he mentions a spy in camp. A few minutes later, Beckendorf appears. It is revealed that all the other explosives are already in place and there would be no time to escape the ship once they explode. This is realized by the enemy forces a moment too late as Beckendorf had made it look like he was only about to plant the bombs when he got captured.
He silently convinces Percy to flee, but Percy refuses to leave him behind. Suddenly, a dracanae notices the trigger on Beckendorf’s arm. Beckendorf moves to detonate the bomb, leaving Percy no choice but to escape the ship. He jumps off and wills the currents to speed him away. The ship explodes, and Percy blacks out, thinking only of Beckendorf.
Percy dreams as he drifts unconscious through the ocean. His dream takes place on Mount Othrys during a conversation between Krios and Hyperion. The two Titans talk of their plans to destroy Mount Olympus. After they conclude their conversation, the scene shifts. Percy sees Nico di Angelo eavesdropping on the Titans as well. Nico then asks Percy how exactly he intends to defeat the Titans without the former’s plan before Percy comes to. Percy realizes that he is in Poseidon's kingdom and is being tended to by his half-brother, Tyson.
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May 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Alecto is one of the three Furies, the three chief servants of Hades, and the head torturers in the Underworld. The translation of her name is "Implacable anger". She's the one sent after Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief.
While Nyx claims to be the mother of the Furies, it is said in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods that Alecto and her sisters were born from Ouranos' ichor when he was murdered by Kronos. They fled into the darkness of Tartarus, but when Hades became king of the Underworld, he hired the Furies to be his enforcers. Alecto, in particular, would carry out her master's most important duties.
Alecto is disguised as Mrs. Dodds, a pre-algebra teacher at Yancy Academy. She disliked Percy Jackson and it was later discovered that she was actually one of the Furies and not really human at all. When Percy did his first act of inhuman powers (making the water in a fountain reach out of the fountain's basin, grab Nancy Bobofit, and pull her in), Alecto's suspicions of Percy were partially confirmed. Because of his power over water, Alecto discovered that Percy is the son of Poseidon. However, because Hades believed him to be the thief that stole his Helm of Darkness, she brought Percy to an area without any people so she could attack him and find the location of the helm. It is then that she revealed her true form and attacked Percy. Percy, armed with Riptide at the last moment by Chiron, swipes his sword connecting and turning Alecto into dust and sending her spirit back to the Underworld. On the return trip back to school, she was replaced by Mrs. Kerr, another teacher that the students claimed had been there all year and none of them knew who Mrs. Dodds was (except Percy, Chiron, and Grover). Thinking that they were trying to pull a prank on him, Percy would sometimes try and pull a Mrs. Dodds reference around Grover who would continue to claim that there was never a Mrs. Dodds.
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April 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Sally Jackson is the human mother of Greek demigod Percy Jackson. She is currently married to Paul Blofis.
When she was five years old, her parents Jim and Estelle Jackson, both died in a plane crash 150 miles south of Lake Ontario at 3 A.M. No one survived the accident and the cause of the crash is left unknown. She was raised by her uncle Rich Jackson. During Sally's last year of high school, Rich died of cancer, leaving Sally to have to work small jobs, because she had dropped out of high school to take care of him. She met Poseidon twelve years before the series started, noticing his trident as she could see through the Mist. They fell in love and after spending the summer with Poseidon, their child was conceived. Poseidon kept Sally a secret from his brother, Zeus. Poseidon was forced to return to the sea; until their son Percy discovered that he was a demigod, Sally told him that his father was not "dead" but "lost at sea", a possible hint about Percy's dad. Twelve years later she learned that her son was the half-blood of the great prophecy that could be holding the fate of Olympus and the gods in his hands when he reached the age of sixteen.
Sally was married to Gabe Ugliano so that monsters would stay away from her son, in the hope that Gabe's smelly and repulsive human scent would cover Percy's scent. However, Gabe was abusive to Sally when Percy was not around, hitting her and treating her badly. She works in a candy shop called Sweet on America, loves the color blue, and blue food. This is because of a fight she got into with Gabe over whether or not food could be blue. Sally always went out of her way to always eat blue food, occasionally baking blue cakes, and bringing home blue candy from work.
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March 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Hephaestus is the Greek god of forges, fire, technology, craftsmen, sculptors, volcanoes, and blacksmiths. His symbols are the ax, an anvil, a pair of tongs, hammer, and fire. His Roman counterpart is Vulcan. Hephaestus is portrayed by Conrad Coates in the film adaptation of The Lightning Thief.
Due to Zeus' giving birth to Athena, Hera was angry at his actions. She then gave birth to Hephaestus. He was an ugly and deformed child. When Hera saw the unsightly appearance of her son, she threw him from Mount Olympus, crippling him forever. Afterwards, Hera spread a false rumor that it was actually Zeus himself who hurled Hephaestus down from Olympus. Hephaestus landed in the sea, where he was found and raised by the Thetis, a kindly Nereid. However, Hera's act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus, and he sought revenge.
After spending nine years under the sea with Thetis, Hephaestus finally rode back to Mount Olympus on the back of a donkey. As he rode into the Olympian Throne Room, all of the gods (especially Hera) were shocked into silence. With him, Hephaestus had brought magnificent new thrones for all of the Olympians. Hera's throne was made from shining pure adamantium, making it particularly beautiful. A very impressed Hera quickly seated herself in it, and instantly, she was tightly bound by invisible and unbreakable chains. The chains grasped Hera so tightly, that she could not breathe, and all of the divine ichor in her veins flowed to her arms and legs. Ares and Hermes tried to convince Hephaestus to release his mother, but the latter remained stubborn and inexorable. Finally, his half-brother Dionysus (the god of wine), decided to take matters into his own hands. Dionysus began visiting Hephaestus' forge from time to time, and peacefully chatting with him. The two gods quickly became friends, and a week later, Dionysus introduced Hephaestus to wine, and finally convinced the intoxicated god to forgive Hera, and took him back to Mount Olympus on the back of a donkey. There, Hephaestus declared his forgiveness of Hera's act of cruelty, releases her. Afterwards, Hephaestus and Hera made peace with each other.
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February 2015
This Month's Featured Article
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty, love, lust, desire, sexuality, and pleasure. Her Roman counterpart is Venus. Aphrodite is portrayed by Serinda Swan, in The Lightning Thief (film).
After Kronos dismembered Ouranos, he threw his father's remains into the sea, and from the foam Aphrodite was born. The sea in which she was born (although some myths say she was the daughter of Zeus and goddess Dione) is said to be near Paphos, a city at the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean sea. She later joined the Olympians after Zeus assumed power and quickly became the source of conflict among the gods. Although he was tempted to take her for himself, Zeus eventually married her to Hephaestus. Unhappy with the marriage, Aphrodite had an affair with the handsome and passionate Ares even after her husband humiliated her by publicly exposing her relationship. With Ares she gave birth to five kids Anteros, Deimos, Eros, Harmonia, Phobos. She would also have romances with both mortals and other gods over the centuries. In some myths it is said she goes to the place she raised from every year and dresses in her finest garments.
Aphrodite contributed greatly to the cause of the Trojan War, which lasted ten years and caused the violent downfall of the city of Troy. During the marriage of Thetis and Peleus, Eris in anger for not being invited tossed a Golden Apple into the room, where several goddesses saw it and fought over it. Eventually it came down to three goddesses, Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. They quarreled over who was the fairest of them all, as the apple read "For the Fairest" on it. Zeus, tired of all the arguing sent Hermes to bring the first person he found to judge who is the fairest of the three goddesses. Unfortunately, he found Paris, Prince of Troy, to judge them. Hera offered him control over all Asia and Europe if she was picked, while Athena offered battle skills and intelligence. Aphrodite on the other hand offered him the hand of the most beautiful woman alive. Paris thought nothing of Athena and Hera's offers, so he chose Aphrodite's gift. Aphrodite asked her son Eros to cause back to the city of Troy. However, Helen was already married to King Meneleus of Sparta and when he learned of what happened, he went to his brother Agamemnon and the two started a campaign against Troy, resulting in the Trojan War. Aphrodite supported Troy in the war, and intervened many times on behalf of Paris, and her favorite son, Aeneas, who was also of Trojan royalty.
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December 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Octavian was a Roman legacy of Apollo and the Augur of Camp Jupiter. He was one of few people to supposedly have the gift of prophecy. Octavian was also a centurion in the First Cohort.
Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano tells Hazel Levesque that after she questions Percy Jackson, she will send him to Octavian who will consult the Auguries and decide what to do with him after conferring. Percy describes Octavian as a "teddy bear murderer", as he saw many shredded teddy bears, and as Octavian tore apart his "Pillow Pet"
The first time Octavian meets Percy is at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Percy quickly learns that he is blackmailing Hazel into voting for him in the upcoming election for the Praetor, as he either found out about her raising Alcyoneus and being brought back from death.
Later during the war games, he is suspected of killing Gwen by spearing her from behind possibly after the games were already over. Frank Zhang notes that Octavian was the only one without a pilum and was at Gwen's back when she was stabbed. Gwen returns from the dead, claiming that she saw a man who was asking for a coin , but she just left. Frank pulls the pilium out and the wound heals automatically.
Mars appears on the field a moment later to issue a quest, saying that his son, Frank, will lead it. He also orders Percy to go for the quest to learn to have some respect for Mars. Octavian claims that they need a prophecy and states that he will go fetch his stuffed animals for one. Mars simply writes down a prophecy. The prophecy is extremely blunt and Octavian protests, declaring that prophecies must be wrapped in riddles. When Mars pulls a grenade from his belt, Octavian quickly changes his tone and treats the order as an actual prophecy.
The second time he is seen is during the Senate meeting where he convinces the others into trying not to give Percy, Frank, and Hazel supplies on their trip, as that is the traditional Roman way. However, Reyna allows them to use the The Pax for their quest.
After the battle against the Giant Army, Percy is raised on a shield as the Roman campers chant "Praetor", electing Percy to the position, much to the irritation and unhappiness of Octavian. At the Feast of Fortuna, he gives Percy his tattoo, but whispers to Percy that he hoped it hurt. He later claims that Camp Jupiter will have good luck.
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November 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Richard Russell Riordan, Jr., more commonly known as Rick Riordan, (born June 5, 1964, age 50) is a highly-acclaimed American author from San Antonio, Texas. He currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Riordan is famous for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He also wrote the Tres Navarre mystery series intended for adults and helped edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series. In addition, he published Maze of Bones for Scholastic, which is the first book in the 39 Clues series of books.
He graduated from University of Texas at Austin, where he double-majored in English and history. For fifteen years he taught in public and private schools in California and in San Antonio, Texas. He used to be a teacher, where he got names for his famous Percy Jackson and the Olympians series like 'Jackson' (Percy's last name), Nancy Bobofit and even Luke Castellan.
Riordan is the multi-award winning author of the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults and the #1 New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for children. The novels draw on Riordan's experience teaching Greek mythology and his interaction with students who have learning difficulties. Riordan currently lives in Boston with his wife and their two sons.
A new series, The Kane Chronicles was released in May of 2010, involving the Egyptian gods, but he hints that it relates to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (it is hinted in the book as well). He also wrote a second follow-up to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus series. The first book, The Lost Hero, was released in October of 2010. The second book, The Son of Neptune, was released in October of 2011. The third book, The Mark of Athena, was released in October of 2012. The fourth book, The House of Hades, was released on October 8th, 2013. The fifth and final book, The Blood of Olympus, will be released on October 7th, 2014.
Riordan also wrote a series of interactive stories in the app Demigods of Olympus.
Riordan released a crossover short story called "The Son of Sobek", to which he has sequels planned in mind. He also pointed out that he is going to write a book on Greek mythology called Percy Jackson's Greek Gods that will come out next year on Percy's birthday week August 19th, 2014. However, it doesn't have anything to do with the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or The Heroes of Olympus series. Also there is a new short story called "The Singer of Apollo", which was released in September of 2013.
Rick also has stated that a new series based on old Norse mythology is being developed and that it will be published in 2015. In an interview with the Boston Globe, he announced that these books will take place in Boston, Massachusetts.
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October 2014
This Month's Featured Article
The Titan's Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, written by Rick Riordan. It was published on May 1st, 2007.
In this book the third, a quest is undertaken by both Hunters and campers to save Annabeth Chase and the goddess Artemis when it is realized that they have been abducted by the same forces. The quest they will undergo, however, is not all that it seems to be as secrets are revealed and the time of the Great Prophecy draws ever closer.
In December, six months after the Sea of Monsters adventure, Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase go to Westover Hall to meet Grover Underwood, who had found two powerful demigod siblings there, Bianca and Nico di Angelo. Thalia displays the ability to manipulate the Mist, and tries to convince a resident teacher and the vice principal there that the three belong to the school. She manages to not let the three get kicked out before they could find the satyr.
Grover soon informs them that Dr. Thorn, the vice-principal of Westover hall, is a manticore (a half scorpion, lion, and human monster), and is suspicious of the two half-bloods' true identities, and therefore he was not fooled by Thalia's trick of the mist. She formulates a plan to distract Dr. Thorn; however the plan backfires on them. Percy, who is forced to dance to blend in with the crowd, sees Dr. Thorn attempting to sneak away with the two half-bloods. He is unable to spot Thalia, Annabeth, or Grover in the crowd and so follows Dr. Thorn.
As he nears Bianca and Nico, Dr. Thorn throws a thorn and it grazes his shoulder. Percy realizes that poison has entered his system. Percy is too weak to fight and instead, listens to the manticore as he talks about The Great Stirring. Percy tries to reassure Bianca who is panicking and Nico who is both overjoyed and scared. Percy lets Dr. Thorn bring them to a cliff and they wait for the manticore's allies to collect them. Percy tries hard to send a message to Grover that he was in danger. It works and soon Grover, Thalia and Annabeth show up and Dr. Thorn reveals his true form as a manticore.
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September 2014
This Month's Featured Article
The Lost Hero is the first book of The Heroes of Olympus series, written by Rick Riordan, who is also the author of the internationally famous Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Unlike the books in the previous series, The Lost Hero is written in alternating third person points of view between Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, in contrast with Percy Jackson's first person point of view in the first series.
This time, the story tells of three unlikely friends: an amnesiac, an apparent kleptomaniac, and a mechanic, as they are thrown in together on a quest to save Hera, Queen of the gods, before she is lost to the world forever.
Rick Riordan began writing a second series after realizing how many Greek and Roman myths he hadn't been able to explore and twist into tales for modern-day readers in the first series. After creating the story line, Riordan created three new main characters, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, but kept the previous main characters, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase as secondary/main supporting characters. The narrative is told from the three main characters Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez's perspectives. Although initially nervous Riordan later found that most fans enjoyed the new format which allowed them to learn more of each character.
Riordan set the book two seasons after the events of The Last Olympian (during the winter) so that previous characters could be involved and so readers wouldn't be confused. He says that it was his way of letting his readers "revisit that world in a fresh twist, but also to catch up with Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of the gang from the first series."
He also decided to add the Roman gods after many readers requested for Riordan to write a new series on them, who were actually just the Greek gods with Roman names and slightly different personalities. After such requests, he began to think how the Roman aspect of the gods would be after moving from Greece to America. After a while, "playing with that idea gave me the idea for the new series."
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August 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Annabeth Chase is one of the main protagonists in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series. She is a Greek demigod daughter of Athena and Frederick Chase. She is also the head counselor of Athena's cabin and the architect of Olympus. Annabeth is currently in a relationship with Percy Jackson. She is portrayed by Alexandra Daddario in the film version of The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters.
Annabeth's father, Frederick Chase, met Athena, the goddess of wisdom, battle, and handicrafts, while he was studying history at Harvard. Athena helped him get through his studies and, consequently, they fell in love. Shortly after, in 1993, as a gift to Frederick, Athena sent him Annabeth. She appeared on Frederick's doorstep in a golden cradle carried down from Olympus by Zephyros, the west wind. She was considered a "brain child" like all other children of Athena, which means that they were born from the thoughts of the goddess. However, her father asked Athena to take Annabeth to Olympus and raise her there, as he didn't see Annabeth as a gift the way Athena did. Athena refused and told him that heroes were supposed to be raised by their mortal parents and not their godly ones. In the end, he had no choice but to take her in and care for her as well as he could, even though he didn't want to.
Annabeth was born on July 12, 1993. When Annabeth was five, her father got married. He and his wife had two kids together, twins Matthew and Bobby Chase. Because Annabeth was a demigod, her family was constantly being attacked by monsters, causing constant fighting between Annabeth and her parents, as they felt that she was always putting them in danger. When she was little, she used to be attacked, bitten and covered in cobwebs by spiders at night, and she would scream for her father but her step-mom thought she was making it up and refused to call her father because whenever her step-mom came into the room, the spiders would hide away and by the time she got dressed each morning, the bites had faded. As a result, Annabeth felt that her step-mom thought that she was a freak, so she ran away from home at age seven because she believed that she was not wanted by her family members. She then fought monsters with the guidance of her mother, Athena, for a few months, using only a mortal hammer. Annabeth was later found by a son of Hermes, Luke Castellan, and a daughter of Zeus, Thalia Grace. When they found her she was hiding under a sheet of corrugated iron. She then tried to attack them with a hammer, but Luke grabbed her wrist and knocked it out of her hand. After being able to befriend her, Luke gave her a celestial bronze knife and said that only a clever warrior could use knives like this one. They traveled many places together until they were brought to camp by Grover Underwood, a satyr. She never wanted to go back home and considers Camp Half-Blood her home since she has lived there for most of her life, starting from seven years old. Therefore, she is one of the youngest to ever join Camp Half-Blood.
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July 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Nyx is the primordial goddess of the Night. She is a shadowy figure in Greek mythology but from the extracts about her, it is gleaned that she was a figure of great beauty and power. She was the female personification of the night, and a daughter of Chaos. In her chariot, pulled by two dark horses, she carries the mantle of night, covering the world with her brother/consort's darkness. It is also said by some that she is the goddess of hellhounds. She lives in Tartarus in the Mansion of Night. She stays there only during the day and leaves Tartarus during the night. Her Roman form is Nox.
Nyx was born directly from Chaos, the protogenos of the lower air and eldest of the immortals. She married her brother, Erebos, the Primordial god of depth and darkness, and together they had many children. Once, her son Hypnos angered Zeus by putting him to sleep under Hera's orders so she could shower his son Hercules with misfortune while Zeus was asleep. Zeus found out about his involvement and chased Hypnos who quickly fled to his mother, Nyx, whom Zeus obviously respected enough that he held his anger at bay, not wishing to offend the great goddess. Another myth is that Nyx's daughter, Hemera (Day) left Tartarus when Nyx entered it, creating night and day. According to some Greek articles, Chaos did not exist and Nyx was the first divine Entity, promoting her power and importance even more. Her son Moros (Doom) is mysterious as well and is believed to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, as he drives all things to their ends. One example is that the Fates, her daughters serve her.
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June 2014
This Month's Featured Article
The Quest for Thanatos is a quest taken up by demigods Frank Zhang, Percy Jackson, and Hazel Levesque to save the Greek god, Thanatos from Alcyoneus and prevent the destruction of Camp Jupiter by Polybotes in The Son of Neptune. The prophecy was ironically given by Mars to the augur Octavian, during his visit to Camp Jupiter. Eventually the harpy, Ella, would start to say two lines from the prophecy that she read.
Mars' prophecy:
"Go to Alaska.
Find Thanatos and free him.
Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die."
However, this is not the true prophecy, as it was lost along with the Sibylline books. Ella the harpy does recite a part of the prophecy while talking to Frank.
Ella's prophecy:
"To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown
Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown..."
Hazel speculates that the second line was incomplete in that the shades were the ones that were drowned by Percy.
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April 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Satyrs, also known as Fauns by Romans, are Monsters with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a goat complete with hairy goat legs and hooves, as well as goat horns, and the pointed ears of a goat. When in public, they tend to be clumsy, for they have to wear fake feet and hats so that the sound or appearance of their hooves or horns won't draw unwanted attention from mortals.
Satyrs are monsters that work for Camp Half-Blood and go out into the world to search for Greek demigods. While searching, they wear disguises, such as fake feet and hats that hide their horns. It is possible that the Mist cannot hide all of a satyr's features however, as a flight attendant of Tristan McLean's saw Gleeson Hedge's hoof, but passed it off as just seeing things as well as Percy Jackson giving Grover Underwood his shoes in The Lightning Thief so that the life guards wouldn't see Grover's hooves. Many went to search for Pan, the ancient god of the Wild, until he faded. Most of those satyrs were lured to Polyphemus' Island because of the overpowering scent of the Golden Fleece during their search for Pan and then eaten. Others, such as Ferdinand, who was turned to stone by Medusa, were attracted to other monsters for reasons unexplained. Satyrs also worship the god Dionysus. They also seem to appreciate the goddess Artemis as she is "so into nature," as stated by Grover.
The most commonly known satyr is Grover Underwood, the best friend and protector of Percy. Grover was sent to search for demigods and found Percy, and later became the best friend of Percy. He also had to make sure that Percy stayed out of trouble, which was hard because Percy was a child of Poseidon, and due to children of the Big Three having a stronger scent, it caused him to attract more Monsters.
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March 2014
This Month's Featured Article
Nico di Angelo is a fourteen year old Greek demigod son of Hades and the mortal Maria di Angelo. He is also the younger brother of the late Bianca di Angelo and the half brother of Hazel Levesque. He is known in the Underworld as the "Ghost King" after taking the title from King Minos.
Nico di Angelo was born sometime in the early 1930's in Venice, Italy before Hades and his brothers took an oath to have no more children. Since Nico was born in Italy and his mother was Italian, he can speak fluent Italian. He had an older sister named Bianca di Angelo. Around the age of six, Nico visited Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia. At some point near the beginning of World War II, Nico and his family left Italy for the United States, where they stayed at a fancy hotel. Their mother, Maria, died when Zeus struck the hotel they were staying in with lightning in order to kill the siblings. However, they were protected by Hades as he erected a wall of black energy to shield them from Zeus. However, Hades was not able to protect their mother in time. Both of them were brought to the Lotus Hotel and Casino by the Fury Alecto, who was disguised as a lawyer for their own safety. Alecto was also instructed by Hades to bathe them in the River Lethe to wipe their memories. Sometime before being placed in the Lotus Hotel, Bianca and Nico lived in Washington D.C. for a time.
After what the siblings thought was a month in the Lotus Hotel (which was actually approximately seventy years), they were taken out by a lawyer. This lawyer however was a different lawyer than the one who brought them in. Hades' intention for taking them from the Lotus Hotel was because he wanted one of them to be the child of the Prophecy and not the "idiot" son of Poseidon, referring to Percy Jackson. They were brought to a military school in Maine, paid for by Hades using what they thought to be a trust fund left to them by their parents.
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February 2014
This Month's Featured Article
The Mark of Athena is the third installment of The Heroes of Olympus series. It was released on October 2, 2012. The book continues where The Son of Neptune left off, beginning shortly before The Son of Neptune ended, and is told from the points-of-view of Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, and Percy Jackson.
While getting ready to land at Camp Jupiter, Annabeth Chase prepares by making sure the back-up plans are ready in case something goes wrong, as well as the back-ups to the back-up plans. While Leo Valdez is flying the Argo II with a control system that involved Wii remotes, a dubstep sound board, a keyboard, and a monitor, Annabeth tries to keep Gleeson Hedge from attacking the first thing he sees by making him watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships in his cabin. Jason Grace prepares by putting on a purple toga over his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and Piper McLean practices her lines for the landing. As Annabeth watches Jason, she wonders if this could all be a trap, as she was still a bit distrusting of Jason because he seems too perfect. She is also reminded of how much she misses Percy Jackson (her boyfriend) every time she looks at Jason.
Annabeth also mentions feeling a mysterious chill, as if "an evil snowman had crept up behind her and was peering over her neck." Annabeth wishes she could pray to her mother, but this would be impossible, as Athena had appeared to her about a month earlier—an encounter Annabeth describes as horrible. Athena also had given Annabeth the worst present of her life during this meeting. Soon, the horns from Camp Jupiter blew from below as the campers had spotted the Argo II.
Annabeth Chase is amazed by the size of Camp Jupiter, which is twice the size of Camp Half-Blood, and notices the landmarks that Jason had told her about. She sees evidence of the Romans' recent battle, including the cracked dome of the Senate House.
An explosion nearly knocks Annabeth overboard, and Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries, appears on the Argo II. He shrieks that he will not allow any weapons inside the Pomerian Line, and grumbles at Jason for consorting with the enemies of Rome, referring to the Greek demigods. Piper tries to charmspeak Terminus, but he slaps her dagger out of her hand with magic for her impertinence. Since New Rome is still recovering from the recent battle, Terminus announces that if he was at his full strength, he would have already blasted the "flying monstrosity" out of the sky, to which Leo takes offense to. Annabeth tries to regain control of the situation and calm everyone down by introducing herself to Terminus, but the god finds Annabeth being the daughter of Athena, the Greek form of Minerva, to be "scandalous." However, before Annabeth can question Terminus on what he means, Jason interrupts and asks for permission to land inside the Pomerian Line.
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January 2014
This Month's Featured Article
The House of Hades is the fourth book in The Heroes of Olympus series. It was released on October 8th, 2013. The book takes place where The Mark of Athena left off.
The Argo II has been relentlessly attacked for two days by rock gods called numina montanum in Latin (or ourae in Greek). Leo Valdez defends the ship by firing celestial bronze canons at them. Once his attacks fail, they fly away from the Apennine Mountains. Leo wants to wake Frank Zhang, Piper McLean, and Jason up, but Hazel vetoes his idea because barely any of them have been able to sleep due to the attacks. Hazel blames the attacks on the fact that earth spirits do not like children of Hades/Pluto, as they are children of the Underworld. The trio throw around suggestions on how to get over the mountains. Hazel prays to her dad to give her a sign of help and in the distance she spots Arion. Hazel then tells Leo to get close enough to the ground where she can talk to Arion.
She meets Hecate, the goddess of magic. Hecate tells her that her mother, Marie Levesque was gifted in magic. She tells Hazel that she will also learn sorcery, or the ability to manipulate the Mist, in order to save Percy and Annabeth. Hecate shows Hazel 3 doorways, telling her to choose her path. The western doorway shows Roman and Greek demigods fighting one another on a hillside under a pine tree. Hazel was riding Arion trying to stop the fight. The eastern doorway shows the Argo II above the Apennines, but the ship is badly damaged. The northern doorway shows Leo, Frank and herself severely injured. Percy and Annabeth lay unmoving. Hecate then tells her to choose one of these doorway or go backward. Hazel picks the middle doorway, but tells Hecate that she is not choosing any of her choices, and that she will save Percy and Annabeth, stop Gaea and the Giants, and prevent the Greek-Roman war at the same time, with the others. She then returns to the Argo with Arion.
Meanwhile, Annabeth and Percy are still falling into Tartarus. Annabeth tells Percy, as her supposed last words, "I love you". Annabeth then sees the bottom and a river flowing below, so she tells Percy to try and control the water from it to survive. They succeed in cushioning their fall, but the river is Cocytus, the River of Lamentation. The pair feel all of the sorrow and misery of bitter souls. The spirits from the river urge them to succumb, but Annabeth tells Percy to fight back, telling him of their dream future in New Rome. They barely survive, and collapse onto the shore.
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December 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Khione is the Greek goddess of snow, daughter of Boreas, god of the North Wind, and sister of Zethes and Calais. She is depicted as a goddess in the series, while in mythology she is visualized as a snow nymph. Her Roman form, Chione, is sometimes used as merely an alternative way of spelling her name.
Khione is the daughter of Boreas, the North Wind and Oreithyia, whom he abducted. She was loved by Poseidon and had him a son, Eumolpus. In fear of her father's wrath, she cast the child in the sea, but Poseidon saved him and entrusted him to the care of Benthesikyme. The Eumolpidae in charge of the Eleusinian mysteries claimed descent from her, as the mother of Eumolpus with Poseidon. She was hardly ever represented in Greek or Roman mythology.
When Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez visit Boreas's penthouse suite in Quebec, they were given a not-so-warm welcome by Khione and her two immortal demigod brothers Zethes and Calais. As soon as he sees her, Leo develops an instant crush on her, but she doesn't like him because she can sense the fire within him. She makes him wait with Calais while she and Zethes take Jason and Piper to see her father, Boreas. She supports the idea of turning them into ice statues, but her father disagrees and she is extremely angry at him, but was forced to listen resulting in her letting them go.
Later when the demigods were flying over Detroit, she summons a strong wind to knock Festus out of the sky and freezes the wires in his head which damages the control disk, thus preventing him from flying. Leo is confused about the frozen wires but didn't suspect it was Khione.
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November 2013
This Month's Featured Article
The cornucopia (also known as horn of plenty) is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form.
The cornucopia was created when Hercules wrestled with the river god Achelous and wrenched off one of his horns; river gods were sometimes depicted as having horns.
The cornucopia became the attribute of several Greek and Roman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth; the nymph Maia, and Fortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity.
Jason Grace and Piper McLean are sent on a quest by Hercules to retrieve Achelous' other horn to humiliate him even further, since Hercules had cut off his first one. When Jason and Piper get to his river, Achelous is singing. Piper thinks that the singing is has the same effects as charmspeaking. Achelous assumes that the demigods are there to kill him at the request of Hercules. He explains to them why Hercules did not deserve his horn, and tells them the story of Deianira. Although both Piper and Jason feel bad for Achelous, who seems to be friendly, the god tries to stop them by drowning them. While Jason is pulled under, Piper tries to bargain with Achelous, but the god believes that she wants to be his bride, to compensate for Deianira. When Achelous picks her up, she threatens him with her knife to let Jason go. Piper then cuts off the god's horn and leaps for the shore, using Jason's power over the winds to carry her safely to the bank. Achelous wails as he sinks back into the river to mourn his horn.
Hercules never gets Achelous' horn because Piper forces him to give them permission for their ship will be able to leave. Piper uses the horn as a cornucopia at Hercules, and food comes pouring out of it, burying the god. The Argo II flees from Hercules' island, leaving behind a mourning Achelous and an angry Hercules. Piper then uses it when she, Jason Grace, and Percy Jackson are drowning in the well, and then again when they are battling the giants. She ties a string to it and wears it like she would a purse.
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October 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Hazel Levesque is one of the main protagonists in The Heroes of Olympus series and one of the seven heroes of the Prophecy of Seven. She is a Roman demigod daughter of Pluto and Marie Levesque, and the half sister of Nico di Angelo.
Hazel was born to Marie Levesque and Pluto in New Orleans on December 17, 1928 after Marie summoned him using a spell and they fell in love. When Pluto granted Marie one wish, Marie wished for all the riches of the earth from Pluto, despite his warning that the greediest wishes cause the greatest sorrows. Her mother's ambition to become wealthy later caused her grief, as Marie began to use Hazel's unique powers (which were given by Pluto to grant Marie's wish) for selfish reasons. The jewels that Hazel collected were cursed and would cause the buyers to suffer. Marie Levesque refused to admit her part in Hazel's curse and told her it was Pluto's fault alone.
Hazel did not have many friends during her childhood with the exception of Sammy Valdez, whom she loved and had shared a kiss just once but after moving to Alaska, where the gods had no power, she never saw him again. Her mother became unstable because she was being influenced by Gaea and when Pluto came to protect them, he'd realized he'd lost her forever. Marie moved them to Seward, Alaska, beyond the power of the gods, despite the many protests by Pluto.
It was there that Hazel was forced by Gaea to raise her oldest Gigantes son, Alcyoneus by calling forth precious metals that were beneath the earth on a phantom island. Once Hazel had almost finished the job, she discovered that Gaea also needed a human sacrifice in order for her son to rise up and Hazel's mother offered to be the sacrifice to save Hazel. Once Hazel discovered the treachery, she called up all the riches below her, causing an eruption that broke the cavern walls and ultimately destroyed the island. Hazel and her mother both died in 1942, but stopped the rise of the Gigantes for a time.
The judges of the Underworld had an argument over where to put Hazel and Marie. They decided that Hazel and her mother would go to the Fields of Asphodel after Hazel gave up her chance to go to Elysium in order to save her mother from the Fields of Punishment. Then, nearly seventy years later, Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades (her half-brother), found her there, and, seeing that she was a child of Pluto, he brought her back to the world of the living due to the Doors of Death being open. Initially, he had been there to rescue his other sister, Bianca, but he was too late as she had tried for rebirth.
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September 2013
This Month's Featured Article
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Zeus is the king of the gods and lord of the sky. Before his birth, Kronos was told that one of his children would take over the throne like he had done to his own father, Ouranos. To prevent this, Kronos began to eat his children as soon as they were born. Rhea, his wife, couldn't stand by any longer and when she gave birth to Zeus, she replaced him with a rock that Kronos ate, then hid Zeus far away in a cave. When Zeus got older, he returned and tricked Kronos into throwing up his children with a mixture of wine and mustard. After all of Zeus' brothers and sisters were freed, the First Olympian War began.
Zeus lead his siblings into battle against the Titans, eventually defeating Kronos, chopping him into pieces, and tossing his remains into the pits of Tartarus. Zeus then became king of the gods and split the major realms of the world between his two brothers, with Poseidon becoming lord of the sea, Hades becoming lord of the Underworld, and Zeus himself becoming lord of the sky. Gaea however became unhappy with the gods' rule and raised up a new generation of children called the Gigantes, starting the first Gigantomachy. With the aid of Zeus' son, Hercules, as well as several other heroes, the Giants were defeated and Gaea went back to sleep.
In the series, Zeus is still king of the gods, but is obviously very arrogant in his duties. He likes to believe that everything is fine right up until the moment when things take a turn for the worst. He is also very over-dramatic, with Poseidon once mentioning that he should have been the god of theater. This can be seen any whenever anyone thinks that Zeus is wrong about something or Zeus himself feels threatened. Zeus' biggest fault is his unfaithfulness to his wife Hera. Zeus will constantly cheat on his wife with mortals, even after the Pact of the Big Three, which was a result of the Great Prophecy claiming that one of his or his brother's children could destroy Olympus. Zeus however was the first to break the oath, which angered Hades enough to send monsters after her. Zeus in a rare act of kindness turned his Thalia into a pine tree so she could live in at least some form. Despite all his faults, Zeus is possibly the only god able to keep the Olympians together and is still king of the gods.
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August 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Leo Valdez is one of the main protagonists in The Heroes of Olympus series. He is also a hero of the Prophecy of Seven. He is a son of Hephaestus and Esperanza Valdez. Leo is currently the head counselor of the Hephaestus' Cabin.
Leo was born in Houston, Texas to mechanic Esperanza Valdez. When he was little, he had a babysitter named Tia Callida, whom later was discovered to be Hera in disguise. She was watching Leo because she knew of his destiny as one of the seven in the prophecy. She tried to "kill" him by putting him in an active fireplace and by letting him play with knives. She also tried to make him poke a rattlesnake, which he refused to do. This was done to help train Leo to be strong at a young age. He once drew a picture of a flying boat with a bronze dragon head as the masthead in crayon at the age of five and just as Leo was going to sign his name on the picture, it was blown away by the wind. Tia convinced him to use his abilities to start a fire to "warm these old bones," and he ended up burning his fingerprints into the table.
At the age of eight, Leo was visited by Gaea, the Earth goddess, whom intended to break his spirit, after being notified by Medea that he would have a part to play in her downfall. Horrified, Leo tried to use his pyrokinetic abilities as defense to save his mother and himself, but lost control and started a fire, burning the mechanic shop. His mom died in the fire, and none of his relatives would take him in, thus forcing him to be sent to several foster homes.
The death of his mother haunted Leo for years. The emotional strain caused him to run away from multiple foster homes. After running away for the sixth time, Leo was sent to the Wilderness School, where he met Piper, who unbeknownst to him, was a daughter of Aphrodite. When Hera switched Percy and Jason, she manipulated the Mist so Leo would think Jason was his best friend, although they became real friends later on.
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July 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Jason Grace, son of Jupiter
Jason Grace was born on July 1st and is the son of Jupiter, as well as the brother of Thalia Grace. Before Jason was born, his mother managed to gain the attention of Zeus and had a daughter together, Thalia. However after Zeus left, Ms. Grace couldn't handle it and began trying to regain Zeus' affection, seeing him as a type of prize. Zeus did return in his Roman form, Jupiter. The two had another child together in the form of Jason Grace. This had consequences though, as Greek and Roman demigods weren't allowed to know of each other's existence. Eventually, Juno had commanded Mr. Grace to give up her son to her, as a means to quell her anger. On a trip, Ms. Grace took Jason to the Wolf House and offered him up. After that, Jason was trained by Lupa and eventually reached the edge of Camp Jupiter. Jason grew up in the camp and after some time, gained the highest rank at camp, praetor, alongside a daughter of Bellona named Reyna.
During the climax of the Second Olympian War, Jason lead the Twelfth Legion Fulminata against Kronos' forces at Mount Othrys and even defeated the Titan Krios with his own hands. After the war had ended, Juno sensed the return of Gaea and her children, so she abducted Jason and sent him to Camp Half-Blood with no memory in an attempt to bring the camps together. She also took Percy Jackson from the camp and placed him into a deep sleep until the time was right.
In The Lost Hero, Jason woke up at the Wilderness School and met two friends, Leo Valdez and Piper McLean. The two believed they had been friends for a long time because of the Mist, but this illusion is shattered quickly. Regardless, the three become fast friends and go on a quest to free Hera, who had been captured by the forces of Gaea. They ultimately succeed, but Gaea still managed to bring the kind of the Gigantes back.
During The Mark of Athena, Jason and his friends return to Camp Jupiter on the Argo II. Jason then sails with the rest of the seven of the prophecy to Rome, in order to save Nico di Angelo and stop Otis and Ephialtes. While he does manage to help Percy defeat the twin giants (with the help of Bacchus), Jason is unable to save Annabeth and Percy before they fall into Tartarus.
Being a child of Jupiter, Jason is able to control the winds and lightning. He uses the wind to enable him to fly around, but controlling lightning takes a lot more energy and effort. Despite being a remarkably strong demigod, Jason constantly feels burdened by the responsibilities of leadership, as everyone looks up to him because he is a child of Jupiter. When on the Argo II, he feels relieved as he is in a group of equals, with no clear leader. Only time will tell what lies in store for Jason in The House of Hades.
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June 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Juno is Hera's Roman counterpart. While the Greeks envisioned Hera as imperious and proud, the Romans saw her counterpart as the patron goddess of Rome. As Juno, she becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike.
Juno is the great Roman goddess, the Queen of the Gods, Protectress of Women, Mother of Mars, and wife of Jupiter. She has many epithets and a very long history of worship in Rome. She was one of the Capitoline Triad, with Jupiter and Minerva, who were considered the three main Deities of Rome; she was widely worshiped among the Romans and her cult was also important among the Etruscans. She was also frequently called Juno Moneta, 'the one who warns'.
The first days of each Roman month, the kalends, were sacred to Juno, as was the entire month of June, which is still named after her. Five cities in Latium (the region of the Latin tribe) also named a month for her: Aricia, on the Via Appia; Lanuvium, where she was worshiped as Juno Sospita ("Juno the Saviouress"), Praeneste (modern Palestrina), Tibur (modern Tivoli, the resort town of Rome), and Laurentum, located between Lavinium and Ostia on the coast. And as Juno is the Roman goddess of Marriage, it is no coincidence that June is still considered the proper month for weddings.
Juno was believed to watch over and guard the life of every woman from her birth to her death. The principal temples dedicated to her were in Rome, one being erected on the Aventine, and the other on the Capitoline Hill. She had also a temple on the Arx, in which she was worshiped as Juno Moneta, or the warning goddess. Adjacent to this shrine was the public mint. On the 1st of March a grand annual festival, called the Matronalia, was celebrated in her honor by all the married women of Rome, and this religious institution was accompanied with much solemnity.
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May 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Gaea, goddess of the earth.
Gaea is the primordial goddess of the earth and the mother of the Titans and the Gigantes. During the time that Ouranos was king of the known world, Gaea became unhappy with his rule after he cast her various children into the pits of Tartarus. As a result, she asked her children to overthrow him, but only her youngest child Kronos agreed to do it. After Kronos defeated his father and took the throne, Gaea was appalled when he took the same path as his father and tossed anything he deemed unfit into Tartarus. Gaea turned to her grandchildren, the gods, to defeat Kronos and they eventually did, splitting up the realms of the world as they seemed fit.
Gaea was unhappy with their rule and bore another group of children with Tartarus, called the Gigantes. Each Giant was specifically born to defeat one of the Olympians, but with the help of the gods' children, they eventually defeated the Giants and Gaea went into a deep sleep.
In The Heroes of Olympus series, Gaea once again returns as the main antagonist. Still angry with the way the gods rule the world, she made plans to once again destroy the gods, going as far back as World War II when the gods were fight amongst themselves. She used a young girl named Hazel Levesque, who had the power to raise precious metals from the Underworld, to bring the first of her children back. Her plans were delayed however when Hazel sacrificed herself in order to bury Alcyoneus back in the earth. This only delayed Gaea as her children began to rise one by one and took action after the events of the Second Olympian War.
Gaea is one of the most powerful beings in existence. Her realm of power is the earth itself and there are few places her influence doesn't touch, such as the sea and sky. However this power comes at a price, as Gaea is so powerful that she is rarely fully conscience and takes a long time to wake up. Even during The Heroes of Olympus series, she is not yet fully awake. Gaea is also somewhat manipulative, as she constantly visits the seven of the prophecy and plagues them with doubts about themselves. With the odds stacked against the demigods, only time will tell if Gaea will ever be truly defeated.
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April 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Medusa (in Ancient Greek: Μέδυσα) is a monster who can petrify people to stone if they look her directly in her eyes. She was portrayed by Uma Thurman in The Lightning Thief.
She is a daughter of Phorkys and Keto and was once a priestess of Athena. After Medusa and Poseidon desecrated Athena's virgin temple, Athena cursed Medusa and her sisters. Her hair was turned to snakes and anyone who would look upon her gaze would turn to stone. She was once a beautiful woman before Athena cursed her. Her only company are her statues. She had a child with Poseidon, Chrysaor, who was born from her neck, and another child, Pegasus, in some myths; though others say Pegasus was born from Poseidon and Demeter, who was born from her blood when Perseus beheaded her.
In a late version of the Medusa myth told by the Romans, Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," priestess in Athena's temple, but when she and Poseidon were caught together in Athena's Temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Minerva as just and well earned.
Posing as a Middle Eastern old lady named Aunt Em (Aunty "M"), Medusa lures people into her "Emporium" and then turns them into statues by making them look at her face, usually directly at her eyes. She wears a veil to hide her face, and would trick people into looking at her face by pretending to take a photo of them and lifting the veil to uncover her head. At one point, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood are lured into the shop by the smell of food during their Quest. Medusa feigns kindness, by giving them food and talking to them about her shop. She also mentions that her sisters are gone (they faded because people forgot about them, like Cottus and Gyges), but then attempts to turn them into statues. Annabeth and Grover realize who Medusa really is and try to get Percy to let them leave. Percy, however is under Medusa's spell and keeps them from going. Percy only figures out that "Em" means M for Medusa when it is too late to escape. After a long struggle, Percy defeats Medusa by severing her head with Riptide, his celestial bronze sword. He then sends the head to Olympus via the Hermes Express. Her severed head is later used by Percy for several other purposes such as giving it to his mom, who later uses the head to turn Gabe Ugliano to stone. Medusa had turned many people and creatures into statues, including Grover's Uncle Ferdinand. Grover mentioned the statue looking like his uncle from the start, but did not realize that it was actually him until Medusa revealed herself.
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March 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Luke Castellan is a Greek demigod, the son of Hermes and the mortal May Castellan. He was one of the main antagonists of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. He was tricked by the Titan Kronos into hosting his spirit. Although he is considered as the series' main mortal antagonist, he died at age twenty three as the hero of the Great Prophecy. He is portrayed by Jake Abel in The Lightning Thief. Abel will reprise his role in The Sea of Monsters while Samuel Braun has been cast to play a young Luke in the film.
Luke was a son of Hermes and May Castellan, a female mortal who can see through the Mist. When he was nine years old, Luke ran away from his mother's home in Westport, Connecticut because of her unstable mental problems brought about by the curse of Hades, which was placed upon the Oracle, who she had tried to host. He traveled for years alone, making mortal and demigod friendships that never lasted long, while only having a golf club for a weapon, as his Celestial Bronze sword was melted in acid.
When he was fourteen Luke found Thalia Grace in a dragon's cave near Los Angeles after she had followed Zeus's sacred goat, Amaltheia, there. Together, they had traveled across the United States, battling monsters (and even a couple of automatons at one point), fending for themselves, until, one morning, they had reached Richmond, Viriginia, where once again, Thalia was in pursuit of Amaltheia. Luke seemed to have a crush on Thalia and just couldn't tell her no, even though he knew it was against his better judgement. The goat directed them to an old mansion and once inside (Luke's handiwork) they discovered it was a deadly trap. They met Halcyon Green, a demigod son of Apollo, who had been imprisoned inside the mansion, unable to speak, because he had saved a girl's life in his youth, with his abilities to see into the future, incurring the wrath of the gods. A part of Hal's curse was also to bring in demigods to be eaten by three leucrotae at at sunset. Luke was angered that the gods would do this to Hal and wanted to find a way to rescue him and Thalia. Hal told them that every demigod thought that at first, that they could escape, but soon realized it wasn't possible. Hal told them of a treasure that was in the mansion, assuming they came there for it, but they hadn't. They went after it anyways. Luke was magically able to break the lock, and Thalia was able to claim the Aegis bracelet as a sign from Zeus as he had a shield very similar.
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February 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Romance appears in several ways in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus series.
Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase
Throughout the series, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have shown many romantic feelings for each other; mainly in The Last Olympian and The Battle of the Labyrinth, though Annabeth shows it more than Percy, and Percy thinks about it instead.
The Lightning Thief
When Percy wakes up he describes Annabeth as a "pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess'." During their quest, Annabeth and Percy both feel awkward at stepping into the tunnel of love. They eventually go in, which leads to Percy saving Annabeth from the spiders that are part of the trap designed by Hephaestus to catch Ares and Aphrodite.
Later with the help of Ares, the three hop on a truck heading west and Annabeth and Percy talk about the possibility of war between the gods while Grover sleeps. Percy asks her that if the gods do go to war, would Poseidon and Athena be on opposite sides like they were during the Trojan War. Annabeth admits she doesn't know, but would fight along side Percy regardless as they were friends, before asking if he had any more stupid questions.
When going into the Underworld in the boat, Annabeth takes hold of Percy's hand to make sure she's not the only one alive and Percy said he normally would've been embarrassed, but he wasn't at the time.
Annabeth admits at sixteen that she had a crush on Percy at the age of twelve.
The Sea of Monsters
Annabeth begins to show slight feelings for Percy (and vice-versa; though, more Percy is less than Annabeth- for now). Percy was shocked when he saw Annabeth with make-up on C.C.'s island and thought he would be tongue-tied if he weren't a guinea pig. She hugged him when he changed back to human, cried on his shoulder while hugging him underwater (after he saved her from the Sirens). At the end of the book, she kisses him on the cheek following their success at the chariot race.
The Titan's Curse
Percy and Annabeth dance in the beginning, with Percy being nervous and "tried to focus on little things- the streamers, the punch bowl- anything but the fact that Annabeth is taller than me, my hands are probably sweaty and gross, and I'm stepping on her toes".
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January 2013
This Month's Featured Article
Grover Underwood is a satyr and a friend of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. He's the satyr who found Thalia Grace, Nico and Bianca di Angelo, and Percy. He is currently the Lord of the Wild. Grover is portrayed by Brandon T. Jackson in The Lightning Thief.
Not much is known about Grover's past before he met Percy, but Grover is a young satyr and spent his time as a protector (like most satyrs). However, because he was not granted a Searcher's License before bringing Percy back to camp, he may not have had a completely successful quest to bring back demigods. At one point, he ran across Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth traveling together and tried to get him back to camp while at the same time avoiding the forces of the Underworld . Hades, after learning that a child of Zeus had been born sent Hellhounds after her. Along the way, Grover made a few wrong turns which led them into danger with other monsters, including a cyclops that gave Annabeth a fear of the species for a long time. While Grover claims it is his fault that they kept making wrong turns, Thalia later tells Percy Luke was the reason as he kept looking for fights with monsters as he was angry with his father, who he had met at his mother's home. As they came close to the edge of Camp Half-Blood, Thalia held back and told Grover to take Luke and Annabeth back to camp. He did as he was told and got the two back to camp, but at the cost of Thalia's safety. Grover was later assigned to Percy's school and spent enough time with him to know he was a demigod. He eventually called in Chiron who took the form of Percy's Latin teacher.
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December 2012
This Month's Featured Article
The winter solstice is the solstice that occurs in winter. The wintertime meeting between the gods of Olympus is held during the solstice. It is the darkest day of the year which always occurs on December 21st. The winter solstice is the day of the year when ancient, evil magic is at its strongest. This is the only time when Hades can visit Olympus.
During the winter solstice, the Master Bolt was stolen from Zeus by Luke Castellan. Luke was on Mount Olympus with some campers from Camp Half-Blood, so he had an alibi. He snuck into the throne room and stole the Master Bolt from Zeus and the Helm of Darkness from Hades. He found the theft incredibly easy, stating "The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them."
During the winter solstice meeting the Olympians discuss the threat of their father, Kronos, and how best to deal with him. They hold a vote on whether they should take action or not.
Artemis, the goddess of the Hunt, had been captured by Atlas, and she is essential in the voting process, as she understands what kind of a threat Kronos poses.
Percy, Thalia, and Grover manage to rescue Artemis, and she brings them to Mount Olympus, just in time for the voting. The gods vote in favor of action, not destroy the Ophiotaurus, and not destroying Percy and Thalia. At this meeting, Thalia joins Artemis' Hunters, partially in order to escape from the Great Prophecy as her 16th birthday was the next day.
Strangely, Hades is not present, even though the winter solstice is the only time of the year he is allowed to visit Olympus.
The winter solstice is the deadline to save Hera from her cage since the gods would end in chaos fighting themselves without her "motherly figure" and Porphyrion would be released from Tartarus.
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November 2012
This Month's Featured Article
Riordan Wiki:Featured Articles/Reyna
October 2012
This Month's Featured Article
Hades (Άδης in Ancient Greek, meaning "Unseen") is the Greek god of the dead, wealth, and the Lord of the Underworld. One of the Big Three gods, his wife is Persephone. Hades' Roman counterpart is Pluto and he is portrayed by Steve Coogan in The Lightning Thief (film).
Hades is the eldest child of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea as the first of their children. He was consumed immediately after birth by Kronos who was paranoid that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. Hades thus spent his childhood in his father's stomach along with his brother, Poseidon, and his sisters: Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. During the Titanomachy, he proved to be a ferocious warrior and greatly aided in the ultimate downfall of Kronos and his followers. Although it was Hades' birthright to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers and acquiesced, albeit resentfully, to taking the Underworld as his prize.
Although he distanced himself from his family, Hades was lonely and wanted a wife to fill the void. One day, he spotted a young goddess named Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, whose great beauty and tender countenance won his admiration. Hades decided to take her as his bride despite his estrangement with her parents and his siblings, Demeter and Zeus. Hades secretly received Zeus' blessing but he knew that their overprotective sister would refuse to even consider the marriage and so promptly kidnapped Persephone. He then proceeded to woo the distressed goddess with gifts but eventually won her heart through empathy and kindness.
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September 2012
This Month's Featured Article
Thalia Grace is the Greek demigod daughter of Zeus and the sister of Jason Grace. She was transformed into a pine tree on Half-Blood Hill, which still stands as the official border for Camp Half-Blood to this day. Later she was revived with the Golden Fleece. She is currently the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis.
Thalia is the daughter of Zeus and Ms. Grace, a beautiful actress in her prime, but who had spiraled into alcoholism in later years. After Thalia's birth, Zeus left the Grace household (as is custom for gods) and Ms. Grace became unstable. When Thalia was about seven, Zeus returned in his Roman aspect, Jupiter. Thalia noted that Zeus in his Roman form was more fatherly and sterner towards her and spoke Latin very often. Within the year, Jason Grace, a Roman demigod, was born. Zeus felt obliged to keep appearing at Ms. Grace's house to please her, but departed a second time because she persisted him incessantly to grant her eternal beauty or a visit to Olympus. When Thalia was nine and Jason was two, their mother took them for a picnic, but when Thalia went to the car for the picnic basket, Hera/Juno took Jason away to Lupa, a she-wolf at Camp Jupiter. Thalia was heartbroken by her brother's "death" and called his disappearance "the last straw" with her mother and ran away from home, never to return, being this the reason why she only uses her mother's last name (Grace) only when it's extremely necessary.
After running away, Thalia came across another demigod, Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes. They became friends and joined forces to fight the monsters that attacked them. It is hinted that they had romantic feelings for each other. When Thalia was twelve, she and 14-year-old Luke found/ran into Annabeth Chase, a plucky blonde-haired seven year old. Luke admired her courage, and gave her his knife, and promised that he wouldn't fail her like her family had. The three of them stayed in different safe houses for protection and shelter, but when their nearest one was destroyed, and Thalia had an injured leg.Luke was forced to return to his home for supplies. The three of them met May Castellan, Luke's mother, and Hermes, Luke's father. As May bandages Thalia's injured leg, Luke and Hermes got into an argument, causing Luke to storm out of the house with Annabeth and Thalia following not too far behind.
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August 2012
This Month's Featured Article
The Heroes of Olympus: The Demigod Diaries is set to be released August 14, 2012 and is the companion book to the one of the main series The Heroes of Olympus. Rick Riordan officially announced the book on January 9th, 2012 on his blog. His son, Haley Riordan has written a short story in the book.
"What dangers do runaway demigods Luke and Thalia face on their way to Camp Half-Blood? Are Percy and Annabeth up to the task of rescuing stolen goods from a fire-breathing giant who doesn't take kindly to intruders? How exactly are Leo, Piper, and Jason supposed to find a runaway table, dodge a band of party-loving Maenads (who just might be a little psychotic), and stave off a massive explosion...all in one hour or less?
"With his trademark wit and creativity, Rick Riordan answers these questions and more in three never-before-seen short stories that provide vital back-story to The Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson and The Olympians books. Original art, enlightening character interviews and illustrated profiles, puzzles, and a quiz add to the fun in this action-packed collection that is sure to delight legions of loyal fans."
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July 2012
| “ | Yeah, flattering. But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood. | ” |
–Percy, to the giant Alcyoneus, in The Son of Neptune | ||
Perseus "Percy" Jackson (Περσεύς or Περσέας Τζάκσον in Ancient Greek) is the main character and the narrator of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as one of the main characters in The Heroes of Olympus series. He is a demigod son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. He is currently Annabeth's boyfriend and a Praetor of the Twelfth Legion at Camp Jupiter. He is portrayed by Logan Lerman in The Lightning Thief.
Perseus "Percy" Jackson was born on August 18, 1993. He was raised by his single mother, Sally Jackson. When Percy was a baby, his father, Poseidon, left to protect him and his mother. However, Poseidon visited him when he was in his cradle, which Percy described as a "golden glow" and his father's warm smile and a hand on his head. When he was a toddler, his mother married Gabe Ugliano, whom Percy hated. Strange things often happened around Percy. For example, in preschool, one of the preschool teachers put him down for a nap, not realizing a snake was in the bed. Percy eventually strangled it to death with his bare hands. While he was in early elementary school, a large man followed Percy around when he was at school, but the teachers eventually got the man to leave. However, nobody believed him when he said that the man had one big eye. When he was in fourth grade, he accidentally hit the wrong button on the catwalk when his school was visiting Marina World Shark Pool and made his class take an unplanned swim. Then in fifth grade, he accidentally fired a war cannon which hit the school bus. Percy commented that he was expelled from six schools over the course of six years.
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June 2012
| “ | My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. | ” |
–Mr. D, talking about Heroes to Percy, in The Titan's Curse | ||
Dionysus (Διόνυσος in Ancient Greek) is the Greek god of grape-harvest, wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy as well as theater. He is also known as Mr. D, the camp director of Camp Half-Blood. He was placed as the director by his father Zeus as punishment for chasing after an off-limits nymph. His Roman counterpart is Bacchus. Dionysus is portrayed by Luke Camilleri in The Lightning Thief.
Dionysus was often called the 'twice born' because of the two myths around his birth. The most common is that his mother was a mortal woman named Semele, who was a daughter of the King of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. This makes him the only Olympian to have a mortal parent, and according to some traditions the only one to have been born a mortal.
As with most of Zeus' acts of infidelity, Hera became jealous when she found out that Semele was pregnant with Zeus' child. She disguised herself as a nurse (or old crone in some stories) and made Semele begin to doubt that it was truly Zeus. While in disguise; Hera convinced Semele to ask Zeus to reveal his true form and, to make sure that he would do it, to swear on the River Styx, which is sacred to the Greek Gods and an unbreakable oath. Zeus tried to get around the promise, but in the end swore on the River Styx, and Semele asked to see his true form. Unable to go back on the promise, he did so, and she was burned to ashes. Zeus managed to save the infant, sewing him into his thigh until he was born a few months later as a full grown baby on Mount Pramnos in Ikaria. He was born a demigod, like Hercules and Perseus.
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May 2012
| “ | I did it! I finally sank Nobody! | ” |
–Polyphemus, thinking he had drowned Percy and his companions in The Sea of Monsters. | ||
Polyphemus (Πολύφημος in Ancient Greek) is a blind Cyclops, son of Poseidon and sea nymph Thoosa, who inhabits an island in the Sea of Monsters. He stole the Golden Fleece in order to make it easier for him to eat, meaning that the Golden Fleece has a natural-smelling scent (which gives off the same, if not extremely similar scent) of the nature god Pan. Satyrs would try to find Pan and since the Labyrinth blocked off any scent of Pan, the only thing giving off his scent would be the Golden Fleece. So satyrs searching for Pan would travel to Polyphemus' island, but instead they would be trapped there and be eaten by him. He will be portrayed by Robert Maillet in the film adaptation of The Sea of Monsters.
Polyphemus was a character in Homer's The Odyssey. When Odysseus stopped at the island of the cyclopes, he saw a cave and thought there might be food in it. He and some of his crew went to investigate. His sailors insisted on taking what was there and leaving, but Odysseus insisted on meeting the 'person' who owned it all, thinking he would present a challenge to them.
At sundown, Polyphemus let his sheep back into the cave before moving a massive stone to cover the door. When Odysseus and his men try offering him some of their food, he instead grabs two of the men, tears them apart, and eats them. He asks Odysseus what his name is, and the clever hero tells him his name is Nobody (Nobody). Odysseus then gets Polyphemus drunk on wine and puts him to sleep.
While he slept, Odysseus and his remaining men took a large stick and sharpened the end of it (in some versions they charred it too), and stabbed it into Polyphemus' eye. The monster woke with a start and called for his brothers, but all he said was 'Nobody has blinded me!', and so they thought he was merely stating the obvious and left him alone.
Later, when Polyphemus lets his sheep out to graze, he reaches down and feels around them to make sure Odysseus and his men aren't on their backs. However, Odysseus tied himself and his men to the sheep's undersides and were able to escape. As they left the island on their ship, Odysseus bragged to Polyphemus that he had escaped and in his boldness told the cyclops his real name. This allowed Polyphemus to ask to Poseidon to curse Odysseus, which served as yet another setback on his journey home.
Sometime after this, Polyphemus stole the Golden Fleece and hung it on a tree on his island (what happened to the other cyclopes on the island is unknown; it's possible they moved to different islands). Along with making his island a paradise, it lured satyrs there in search of Pan, the wild god, whom Polyphemus would simply eat.
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April 2012
| “ | Giving you answers would make those answers invalid, That is the way of the Fates. You must forge your own path for it to mean anything. Already, you three have surprised me. I would not have thought it possible ... | ” |
–Hera, to Jason, Leo, and Piper in The Lost Hero | ||
Hera (Ήρα in Ancient Greek, meaning "Lady of the House") is the Greek goddess of air, familial love, heaven, marriage, motherhood, and women. She is the elder sister and wife of Zeus, therefore making her Queen of the Gods. She is one of the daughters of Rhea and Kronos. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. Hera is portrayed by Erica Cerra in The Lightning Thief.
Hera spent her childhood in her Titan father Kronos', stomach after she was born by Rhea, her Titan mother. Zeus, the youngest child, rescued her and her siblings by making Kronos throw up, and after the First Titan War (also known as the First Titanomachy) ended, she married him and became the Queen of the gods.
After accepting Zeus, Gaea gave Hera the golden apples of immortality as a wedding gift, which she placed in her garden at the western edge of the world. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she also put a one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named The Garden of the Hesperides.
Over time, Zeus was very unfaithful to her, and had many children with mortal women such as Jason Grace, Thalia Grace, and Hercules. This, understandably, frustrated Hera to no end, and she devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of the mistresses and illegitimate children miserable.
Her hatred is most evident in the story of Heracles, whom she tried to kill repetitively, and who later ended up as her son-in-law by her daughter Hebe.
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March 2012
Prometheus (Προμηθεύς in Ancient Greek) is the Titan of crafty counsel and forethought. He is known for giving humans the gift of fire. He is the son of Iapetus and Clymene. Prometheus sided with the gods in the first Titan War because he knew that the Titans would lose. As a result, he was not imprisoned. However, because of his meddling nature, he stole fire for humans, which boosted their progress as a species. Before he'd already deceived the king of the gods making him choose the worst part of an ox and giving the best one to humanity. This two actions (especially the fire issue) made Zeus angry and so as punishment, Zeus had Prometheus chained up on a mountain and had an vulture peck out his liver every day (though Prometheus' liver regrew every night). This would be evaded if either someone breaks the chains or if Prometheus tells Zeus which of his fellow gods would overthrow him. Prometheus was later freed by Heracles who also slew the eagle, with the permission of his father Zeus.
In The second Olympian war, Prometheus joined Kronos in the battle against the gods, and was sent as a messenger by the Titans in an effort to persuade the demigod forces into surrendering. Claiming to have always been an ally of humanity, he tells Percy Jackson that he has foreseen their defeat, and asks them to give up their fight. He claims that the gods are just as petty, if not worse, than the Titans and that humanity would benefit from the victory of Kronos.
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February 2012
The Battle of the Labyrinth is the fourth book of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series written by Rick Riordan.
The book begins with Percy going to a freshmen orientation class at Goode High School, a school where Paul Blofis, his mom's boyfriend, teaches. While there, he meets Rachel, a clear-sighted mortal whom he met previously at the Hoover Dam in The Titan's Curse, and is attacked by two Empousai, Tammi and Kelli. Percy slays Tammi, but Kelli got away. Unfortunately, Paul Blofis and some freshmen saw the incident. Percy and Rachel escape through a broken window, and Percy, along with Annabeth, make their way to camp.
After arriving in camp, Percy stops by the arena and sees "the biggest hellhound he's ever seen," Mrs. O'Leary. He tries to stab her, but is soon parried by Quintus, the new sword-master, who reveals that Mrs. O'Leary is his pet. Chiron comes over and picks up Percy. He drops him next to Annabeth, Clarisse and a crying nymph, Juniper. Percy soon figures out that Grover has only one week to find Pan, the lost God of the Wild. As soon as he reached the Poseidon cabin, he sees his half-brother, Tyson, cleaning up. Tyson hugs him and had fixed his broken shield
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January 2012
| “ | I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian. | ” |
–Hestia, to Percy Jackson, in The Last Olympian | ||
In Greek mythology, Hestia (Ancient Greek: Ἑστία meaning "hearth" or "fireside") is the eldest child of Kronos and Rhea. She is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, the right ordering of domesticity, architecture, and the family. She received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household.
Hestia was the first born child of the Titans Kronos and Rhea. She was the goddess of the hearth and home, and every household in Greece had a sacrificial flame in her honor. Like Hades, Poseidon, and the rest of their siblings, she was swallowed by Kronos, and spent her childhood inside his stomach, until her brother, Zeus, came and rescued her and her siblings. Because she was the first to be born and swallowed and the last to be thrown up by Kronos, she is called both the oldest and the youngest of Kronos' and Rhea's children.
Hestia is first mentioned by Chiron to Percy while discussing the arguments between Zeus and Poseidon, and how she, along with their sisters, Demeter and Hera, could possibly calm them down.
In the final book of the series, it is revealed that the little girl tending the hearth when Percy first arrived at Camp Half-Blood was, in fact, the goddess Hestia. This makes her the first of the Olympian gods that Percy actually encountered but the last to have her identity revealed.(more...)
December 2011
| “ | They send a person who can never stay. Who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. They send me a hero I can't help ... just the sort of person I can't help falling in love with. | ” |
–Calypso talking to Percy about the Fates in The Battle of the Labyrinth | ||
Calypso (also known as Atlantis in Greek Mythology, Ατλαντίδα in Ancient Greek) is a character who appears for a brief time in The Battle of the Labyrinth. She is described as being kind, down to earth, and even more beautiful than Aphrodite, to Percy.
Although she only made one brief appearance in the series, she was a very important part of Percy's choices he made after he met her, since she was the one who reminded him that he doesn't support the gods because they are good (since most of them aren't good); he supports them because they are all part of his family, much like how she supported her father, Atlas, and the Titans even though they were mostly evil.
The Greek mythological Calypso is described as a lovely seductress. She is the daughter of Atlas, Titan of the West and Lord of Endurance and Tethys, a Titaness and sea goddess. She is described as being a nymph, and also the goddess of the flowing locks.(more...)
November 2011
| “ | Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names…well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son. | ” |
–Poseidon, to his son Percy, in The Battle of the Labyrinth | ||
Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν in Ancient Greek) is also known as the Earthshaker, Father of Horses, and Stormbringer. He is the Greek god of earthquakes, oceans, seas, and storms. He is the son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea as well as one of the Big Three. In the series, he is the father of Percy Jackson and the ancestor of Frank Zhang. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. Poseidon is portrayed by Kevin McKidd in The Lightning Thief film.
The fourth child and second son of Kronos by Rhea; Poseidon spent his childhood in his father's stomach along with his brother, Hades and sisters; Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. When Zeus made the Titan king regurgitate his siblings with a mixture of mustard and wine, Poseidon, along with the others, joined his cause and battled against the Titans with a vengeance. They eventually defeated Kronos with Zeus chopping him to pieces with his own scythe. After they won the war against the Titans, Poseidon and his brothers drew lots for the universe with Zeus claiming the sky and Hades receiving the Underworld.(more...)
October 2011
| “ | Keeping Young Heroes Safe from Harm (Mostly) For Over Three Millennia | ” |
The Camp Half-Blood is a secret demigod training camp located on Long Island. It is directed by Dionysus (who is called "Mr. D") and Chiron the centaur. It is also the Greek equivalent/counterpart of Camp Jupiter.
The camp has magical borders which are enforced by the Golden Fleece, which was found and discovered by the satyr Grover, the Cyclops Tyson, and demigods Percy Jackson,Clarisse La Rue, and Annabeth Chase. Taken fromPolyphemus's island it was placed on Thalia's pine tree, ensuring that no monsters could gain access to the camp. In earlier years it was a pine tree made from Thalia, a daughter of Zeus. After almost being killed by monsters, Zeus felt sorry for her and turned her into a pine tree, making it so she wouldn't die. Her tree became the official borders of Camp Half-Blood. The Fleece stayed on the tree, guarded by a dragon (Peleus), protecting the camp.
The camp is described as being the only safe haven for half-bloods, although in The Lost Hero it is revealed that there is a camp for Roman demigods which is revealed in The Son of Neptune to be called Camp Jupiter.(more...)
September 2011
The Son of Neptune is the second book in The Heroes of Olympus series written by Rick Riordan. It is set to be released on October 4th, 2011, a week earlier than planned. The story takes place around two months after The Lost Hero.
In an interview by Scholastic with Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero Riordan is questioned about the whereabouts of Percy Jackson. The author hints that the answer would be revealed as Jason's quest progressed. By the end of the book he says that readers would have a good idea where the second book is going. It has led to speculation that the book would explore the events surrounding Percy and his involvement with Camp Jupiter the Roman version of Camp Half-Blood. On May 26, 2011, Riordan released both the cover art and the first chapter of the book confirming such speculation.(more...)