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Spicy, yet disgusting.

Percy Jackson remarking about the flavor, The House of Hades

The Phlegethon is the River of Fire that flows from Hades' realm down into Tartarus. The Phlegethon keeps the wicked alive so they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. The river is so hot that it's actually cold to the touch. It is said to appear like a torrent of burning gasoline that lights up everything red.

Interestingly enough, though it heals mortals, its fire can kill Cyclopes despite their immunity to fire. That being said; it is believed it can burn or heal whoever the fire god wants.

In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Percy Jackson explains that some legends state that the river could eventually burn away a person's sins. This is said to happen if the person was truly remorseful about their wrongdoings. This theory isn't proven in the series, however.

The Heroes of Olympus[]

The Son of Neptune []

Nico leaves Camp Jupiter to travel to the Underworld. During his search, Nico (believing he could go anywhere in the Underworld) comes too close to Tartarus and gets pulled in by the dark gravity the pit generates (similar to a black hole). He was presumably forced to drink liquid fire from the Phlegethon in order to survive. At some point during his horrifying journey through Tartarus, Nico encounters the goddess of misery Akhlys, who was impressed at how much sorrow and pain the son of Hades carried, claiming that there was little more that she could do to him. Though he fought back, Nico was eventually overwhelmed and defeated by the sheer number of Gaea's forces down in Tartarus.

The House of Hades[]

Annabeth Chase tells Percy Jackson that they need to drink from the river because some legends call it the "River of Healing". Percy questions how they are supposed to drink fire. Suddenly, Annabeth thrusts her hand into the river and drinks the liquid. Annabeth starts to shake and gag. After she stopped shaking, her blisters on her arm started to fade. With no warning, Percy passes out and Annabeth desperately gets more fire into her hands and pours it into his mouth. Percy wakes up and makes a comment about how it is "spicy, yet disgusting". He immediately loses his fever. The two use the Phlegethon as a guide to the Doors of Death and continue to drink from the river.

The Trials of Apollo[]

The Tyrant's Tomb[]

Apollo briefly mentions about Hades's explanation of flames not being able to harm the undead very much. This is shown when Festus, despite with his firepower, wasn't able to inflict that much damage on the ghouls. Apollo also adds that it was why Hades didn't use the River Phlegethon, the River of Fire, as the boundary of his kingdom.

The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure[]

While explaining the story of his first journey through Tartarus to Will Solace and Gorgyra, Nico reveals that, like Percy and Annabeth, he drank from the Phlegethon to survive.

Nico and Will encounter the river on their journey through Tartarus, but they don't need to drink from it in order to survive, instead consuming nectar and ambrosia which Nico, Percy and Annabeth had lacked on their previous journeys through the realm.

Trivia[]

  • Despite being a river of fire, not water, Percy was able to control it. Additionally, its flames affected Cyclopes, who should be immune to fire.
  • Although unconfirmed, the healing powers of the river may be responsible for Nico having recovered some of his memories from before being dipped into the River Lethe.
Underworld
Underworld: DOA Recording Studios | Doors of Death | Door of Orpheus | Elysium | Erebos | Fields of Asphodel | Fields of Punishment | Hades' Palace | Isles of the Blest | Judgment Pavilion | Persephone's Garden
Rivers: Cocytus | Phlegethon | Styx | Lethe | Acheron
Tartarus: Mansion of Night | Hermes' Shrine | Chaos | Regeneration Pod
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