Facts About 'Percy Jackson & The Olympians': A Greek God

The 'Percy Jackson and The Olympians' series continues to enthrall young readers, selling millions of copies worldwide over the last 10-15 years.

Percy Jackson, the 12-year-old protagonist, lives in New York with his single mother and is a poor student. He is on a journey to discover his heritage as the son of the Greek sea god, Poseidon.

Over the past decade, teachers and parents of millions of young readers have cherished Rick Riordan's classic series, 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians', making ancient Greek mythology relevant, contemporary, and entertaining. The United States of America is the center of the power of the Olympian Gods in the 'Percy Jackson' series.

The location of Olympus is Manhattan, in New York City, and the Empire State Building is the exact location of Mount Olympus.

With Mount Olympus, many locations of Greek mythology can be located all over America in the series. Los Angeles is the main entrance of the Underworld.

Origins

'Percy Jackson & The Olympians' is a narrative literary work divided into five parts, a pentalogy, written by American writer, Rick Riordan. Rick Riordan started writing the 'Percy Jackson' series when he began inventing bedtime stories for Haley Riodan, his son, who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.

Haley Riodan was studying Greek mythology, and when Rick Riodan ran out of myth stories, his son asked him to invent myths with existing mythological characters, which paved the way for the invention of the character, Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson travels across the United States to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt. It was assumed that the bolt was stolen by Hades, the King of the Underworld and the God of the dead.

The author's son suggested making it a book, and despite his busy schedule, Rick Riordan completed the book the following year. The book was released on June 28, 2005, and sold over 1.2 million copies.

Characters

The protagonist is Percy Jackson. There are seven demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Romans as the main characters. The four from Camp Half-Blood are Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, and Piper MacLean.

From Camp Romans, there are three; Jason Grace, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang. The other important characters are the son of Hades, Nico de Angelo, Praetor of Camp Jupiter, Rayna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, and daughter of Bellona and Gleeson Hedge (a satyr).

Plot

The series is recommended for 10 to 12-year-old kids. The series is especially loved for its action and the wise humor of Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson was leading a normal life when he found to his shock that Poseidon, one of the three important Gods, is his father. Percy is shocked to realize that he is half-blood; his mother is a human and his father, a Greek God.

In the first book 'The Lightning Thief', Percy Jackson finds himself as the suspect in the missing of the Lightning Bolt of Zeus, the most powerful weapon in the universe. Percy also finds that his longtime friend, Grover Underwood, is like him, a half-blood.

Percy, Grover, and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, start the quest to the Underworld to retrieve the Bolt from Hades. They learn that it was stolen by their friend, son of Hermes, Luke Castellan, for Kronos, the defeated king of the Titans, to rise again.

In the second book, 'The Sea of Monsters', the 13-year-old Percy is on a mission to save his Camp, the Camp Half-Blood, where children of Gods and mortals live. Camp Half-Blood begins to fail when Thalia's tree is poisoned.

Chiron is then blamed for the poisoning and is dismissed from the Camp. Percy and his friends have only days to find the powerful Golden Fleece, in order to save the Camp before monsters take over and destroy it.

They must sail through the Sea of Monsters, or the Bermuda Triangle, to find it.

The journey is hazardous and long; along the way, they encounter dangers like Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and Circe, the sorceress. They also find their former friend, Luke Castellan.

Percy also learns about the Prophecy of the Delphi Oracle, that one of the children of the three important gods will play an important part in resurrecting Kronos and saving Olympus. The friends eventually restore Thalia's Tree by retrieving the Golden Fleece.

The third in the series is 'The Titan's Curse'. In this book, 14-year-old Percy and his friends, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover, are on another mission, to save two half-bloods, Bianca and Nico de Angelo, and escort them to the Camp.

When they are attacked, goddess Artemis rescues them. Percy is in Artemis' good books since he helped find and save her.

Artemis is captured, and eventually, Percy and his friends rescue her. They trick Atlas into holding the sky from Artemis.

Artemis was on the quest of a monster whose presence with anyone can be dangerous. Bianca was killed trying to save others, Thalia becomes immortal, and Percy finds that Nico and Bianca are the children of Hades, thus an applicant for the prophecy.

Artemis even declared Percy a hero in the halls of Olympus and started calling him a man instead of a boy, after he helped her in defeating Atlas. His respect for Zoë Nightshade, and deep loyalty, regardless of gender, have also improved her view of him.

In the next book, 'The Battle of Labyrinth', Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson go on a quest for the Ariadne's thread to find out about Deadalus' workshop in the labyrinth. They need Deadalus' help to fight against Luke and the army Luke is assembling for Kronos.

This is the most action-packed book in the series. The questers go into the labyrinth, but have to face many monsters.

Percy triggers a volcanic eruption to escape, putting him in a coma. Being awakened by Calypso, who is immortal, he wakes up on the island of Ogygia.

Percy and his friends recruit Rachel Elizabeth, who dares to navigate through the labyrinth. Betrayed by Daedalus, the questers return to the Camp, but a battle with Luke and his armies follows, in which the demigods win.

Nico de Angelo forgives Percy for his sister's death in the labyrinth. They start preparing for the impending war against Kronos.

In the last of the series, 'The Last Olympian', Percy Jackson and his army protect Mount Olympus and the Gods from the attack of Kronos and his army. Percy is now 18 years old and Poseidon wants Percy to hear the Great Prophecy.

Percy makes his body invulnerable by bathing in the River Styx and emerges in New York City. He summons his Campers to defend mount Olympus.

Kronos lay siege to New York City and put the mortals in the city to sleep. While Gods were fighting a monster Typhon, making his way to Mount Olympus, Percy leads the hunters, campers, centaurs, and natural spirits to protect mount Olympus from the attacks of Kronos and his armies.

Out of 40 campers, there are 16 sixteen casualties. Annabeth is badly injured while saving Percy.

Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes, controlled by Kronos, kills himself in 'The Last Olympian' to save Olympus. The antagonist of the series, thus turns into a hero at the end.

Gods try to reward Percy with immortality, which he rejects and requests that they accept their children. Percy and Annabeth become a couple.

Books & Other Media

There are other supplementary works to this series. 'The Demigod Files' is set between 'The Battle of the Labyrinth' and 'The Last Olympian'.

The book featured three short stories and puzzles, pictures, and interviews with the campers. Two films were screened, produced by 1492 Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox; 'The Lightning Thief' and 'The Sea of Monsters'. The first was released in 2010, and the second was released in 2013.

'The Ultimate Guide' is another companion book, a dictionary of monsters that Percy faces. Graphic Novels include graphic pictures of all the books in the series. 'Demigods and Monsters' is yet another companion book of Rick Riordan, in which essays written by adult authors that discuss, explore, and provide more insight into the 'Percy Jackson' series are included.

'The Demigod Diaries' includes four new stories with puzzles and a quiz, illustrations of characters, and interviews with characters. 'The Lightning Thief' was also adapted into a television series with Rick Riordan's help, which had not been the case with the cinematic version.

Other Miscellaneous Facts

Logan Lerman plays the role of Percy Jackson in the film adaptation of the 'Percy Jackson' series. 'The Lightning Thief', 'The Sea of Monsters', 'The Titan's Curse', 'The Battle of the Labyrinth', and 'The Last Olympian' were the works under the pentalogy.

Perseus Jackson, a poor student of a single mother living in New York, discovers his heritage as the son of the Greek God of the sea, Poseidon. Percy is brave, friendly, good-natured, and ready to put his life at risk for his friends and even enemies. Percy is funny and has a sense of humor.

FAQs

Who is Percy Jackson's girlfriend?

A: Percy Jackson's girlfriend is Annabeth Chase.

What does Percy Jackson hate?

A: Percy hates the titles and nicknames given to him by Annabeth.

What does Percy Jackson suffer from?

A: Percy Jackson has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

What race is Percy Jackson?

A: Percy Jackson is a demigod, as the son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon.

Does Percy have a sister?

A: Percy Jackson has a half-sister called Estelle Bloffis.

Who is Percy Jackson's dad?

A: The Greek God of the sea, Poseidon, is the father of Percy Jackson.