The Heroes of Olympus

The Heroes of Olympus

The logo for the The Heroes of Olympus series
The Lost Hero The Son of Neptune The Mark of Athena The House of Hades
Author	Rick Riordan
Country	United States of America
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Young-adult fiction, Mystery, Greek and Roman mythology
Publisher	Disney Hyperion
Published	2010–2014
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook
Preceded by	Percy Jackson & the Olympians

The Heroes of Olympus is a collection of five novels by American author Rick Riordan, scheduled to be completed in 2014. Riordan is believed to have drawn inspiration from Padraic Colum's The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles which narrates the story of Jason and his Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. The series chronicles the adventures of seven demigods in their race aginst time to prevent the awakening of the earth goddess, Gaea. The first novel, The Lost Hero, continues the story from where it was left off in The Last Olympian, which is the last novel of the preceding series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians. The Heroes Of Olympus is a series on the succeeding Gigantomachy of Greek mythology. A prophecy given in The Last Olympian outlines the events of The Heroes of Olympus. Demigods, living secretly in the modern era, are featured in both series as they fight against Gods and Titans as they did in the past. The Heroes of Olympus introduces Roman demigods: children produced by the Roman gods, who are separated from their Greek counterparts. These two groups of demigods are enemies due to a stolen statue of Athena and have been forced apart for centuries, but must unite to stop the chief antagonist in the series, Gaea, from gaining control of the earth. Percy Jackson, the protagonist of the previous series, is again one of the main characters.

Background

The Heroes of Olympus is centered upon a prophecy which reveals the future of seven demigods who must unite to protect the earth from Gaea's reach.

Prophecy of Seven/New Great Prophecy The Lost Hero

Known as the "New Great Prophecy" to the Greeks and the "Prophecy of Seven" to the Romans, this prophecy, introduced in The Last Olympian, guides the characters through the series. The prophecy reads as follows:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall,

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death,

The seven demigods the prophecy refers to are: Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon (Neptune); Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena (Minerva); Jason Grace, son of Zeus (Jupiter); Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite (Venus); Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus (Vulcan); Hazel Levesque, daughter of Hades (Pluto) and Frank Zhang, son of Ares (Mars). Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were introduced in the first book of Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

Jason has no memory of his identity or how he came to be on the bus, although Leo claims to be his best friend and Piper claims to be his girlfriend. The group is taking a field trip to the Grand Canyon, where a horde of Venti attacks the three and their supervising teacher, Coach Gleeson Hedge, who reveals himself to be a Satyr and confronts the Venti. Jason is able to defeat the Venti's helpers, but the Venti capture Coach Hedge and flee. Two strangers arrive in a flying chariot: they are Annabeth and Butch, son of Iris. Annabeth is hostile towards Jason when they meet as she had a vision in which Hera gave her a clue concerning the whereabouts of her missing friend , Percy Jackson, saying to find Percy she had to find the guy with one shoe (as Jason lost one in the fight), but Percy was not there once she arrived.

Jason, Piper, and Leo are taken to Camp Half Blood and are informed that they are demigods, children of the ancient Greek gods. Leo and Piper are then claimed by their godly parents, Hephaestus and Aphrodite, respectively. Jason is revealed as a son of Jupiter/ after he summons his power to call lightning. He is also revealed to be the brother of Thalia, a main character from the Percy Jackson series. Annabeth takes Jason to see a son of Hypnos (god of sleep) to try and find some of his memories through sleep and the son of Hypnos explains to him the difference between the gods Greek and Roman forms (ex. Hera/Juno). Jason remembers Thalia when he sees a picture of her in Zeus's cabin and learns that Hera/Juno has stolen his memories. Piper was jealous of Thalia at first until she realized that Thalia was Jason's biological sister. Less than a day later, the three new demigods are sent on an urgent quest to rescue Hera who has been kidnapped by a giant. The three set off on the back of a giant robotic dragon, Festus (In Latin Festus means Happy) that Leo found and fixed. Along the way, Jason, Piper and Leo meet and confront Boreas, three Cyclopes, Medea, King Midas, King Lycaon and his pack of Werewolves, and Aeolus. They discover that Hera's kidnappers are Gaea's underlings and that she seeks to overthrow the Olympians.

They save Piper's father (Tristan McLean), whom Enceladus has held ransom, and Hera. They temporarily stall Gaea's plans, but the newly risen Porphyrion is able to escape. With part of his memory returned, Jason realizes that he is from the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood, called Camp Jupiter, and that Hera switched his place with Percy Jackson, who is now at Camp Jupiter with no memory of his life at Camp Half-Blood.

The Son of Neptune

Main article: The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune opens with Percy Jackson being chased by two gorgons, Stheno and Euryale, who hate him for killing their sister Medusa. They reveal that they're working for Gaea. While making his escape, he runs into an old woman named June. The old woman reveals herself to be Juno (Hera) and gives him a choice: provide her with a favor or live safely under the sea and everybody and everything destroyed. As a favor, Percy carries her across the Little Tiber, which is a powerful river. In doing so, he loses his invincibility from the River Styx. When he reaches his destination he meets Hazel Levesque, a daughter of Pluto, and Frank Zhang, a son of Mars. Percy saves Frank from the Gorgons by drowning them. Percy is then taken into the camp after Juno introduces him to Camp Jupiter. Reyna seems to recognize him, but refuses to acknowledge him. She sends Percy and Hazel to Octavian, the camp augur, to see whether or not he's fit to join the legion. Along the way, Lares, the camp's ancestral spirits, call him Greggus, or Greek, which makes Hazel act worried. When they reach Jupiter's temple, Octavian is cutting teddy bears open and reading the stuffing. Octavian threatens Hazel by telling her that if she doesn't vote for him, he'll reveal her secret. He declares good omens, and Hazel and Percy go to the temples, where they meet Nico Di Angelo, a main character from the Percy Jackson series. He acts suspiciously and claims not to know Percy, even when he recognizes him. Meanwhile, Frank is organizing weaponry when a Lare appears and tells him he knows about his stick and his birthday. Frank then runs off to find Hazel and Percy. He takes Percy to the bathes while Hazel and Nico talk. Hazel reveals that she's from the 40's and has a blackout. She realizes that she's late for the war games, so she and Nico rush to line up.

During war games, a Camp Jupiter activity, Percy impresses everyone with his battle skills and instincts, even though they are not Roman tactics and are more Greek-style. After the games, Octavian hurts a girl on purpose and she gets severely injured and dies, only to come back to life a few moments later. Mars, the god of war, then appears and informs the campers that "Death has been chained.". He also claims Frank Zhang as his son. Mars insists that Percy and Frank must go on a quest to free Thanatos, the god of Death. He has been captured in Alaska and is no longer able to keep mortals dead. Frank requests that Hazel also come on the quest, and they set off towards Alaska. While travelling on their quest, Percy struggles to regain his memory. Time and time again, he recalls things but never where from. The only clear memory to him is a girl named Annabeth. Hazel reveals that she had died long ago, but that her half-brother Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, saved her from the Underworld. Frank informs the other two that he was given a piece of wood that is tied to his life; if the wood burns up completely, he will die. After many events and monsters, such as basilisks, giants, and an unexpected meeting with the Amazons, they finally get to Alaska, where they find Thanatos in chains. His chains can only be broken by the piece of wood tied to Frank's life. Percy defends Frank while he melts Thanatos' chains with his burning stick, losing more and more of his life. Hazel attacks Alcyoneus, the giant born to oppose Pluto. Thanatos is eventually freed and with the help of Hazel's horse, Arion, they drag the giant out of its land (Alaska) to Canada where it is able to be killed.

Percy regains his memory as they race back to Camp Jupiter. Knowing that the camp is under attack, Percy takes charge and leads the Romans into battle with the help of some of his old friends from Camp Half-Blood and the Amazons. The morale of the Romans is recharged after discovering that Percy recovered the camp's lost standard, which had been missing for years. Percy then challenges the giant, Polybotes the giant born to oppose Neptune, to a duel and calls to Terminus, the Roman border god, to help him defeat the giant. He has been told that only when gods and demigods work together can the giants be defeated. Percy eventually defeats Polybotes by using the head of Terminus' statue as a weapon. The camp then names him a praetor, a leader of the Roman camp. The Greek demigods from Camp Half-Blood appear in the flying ship Argo II sailing towards the camp. The Romans argue over attacking the ship. As praetor, Percy orders them to hold their fire. If the Greeks attacked, he would be to blame, but he is not worried. Arms around Frank and Hazel, he approaches his "other family".

The Mark of Athena

Main article: The Mark of Athena

After sending Leo's video to Camp Jupiter, Argo II prepares to land on the Roman camp's border, but Terminus, the god of borders, stops them for no weapons are allowed inside. It is then decided to let the ship stay in the air while Annabeth, Leo, Piper, and Jason meet the Roman campers. Percy Jackson together with Hazel and Frank welcomes the Greek demigods and Coach Hedge. A reunion is held, and during the conversations, Ella, the harpy, speaks about a prophecy that refers to Annabeth's quest of the Mark of Athena. Piper uses her charmspeak in order to divert the topic. While Jason gives Piper a tour of the camp, Reyna talks to Annabeth alone.

During the conversation, the Argo II, which is controlled by Leo Valdez who was possessed by eidolons, fires at Camp Jupiter. The Romans defend their bases, and Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Percy rush inside the Argo II to stop Leo from firing on the campaign. They start to leave the camp while Hazel and Frank delay the Roman campers. The Argo II becomes damaged, and Leo lands for repairs, encountering Echo and Narcissus. There they are told that they have to search for the Mark of Athena to bring the Romans and the Greeks together.

In their journey, they meet Phorcys and Keto. The seven quickly leave for Charleston. Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel go to Battery Park to find a mysterious ghost, which happens to be Aphrodite. Jason, Leo, and Frank go to a museum in Fort Sumter. Only the girls' story is told. Aphrodite tells them about their love lives and the other Olympians that are suffering from being confused about their Roman or Greek identity. After their talk, the angry Romans come, and war breaks out. Annabeth meets Reyna in Fort Sumter who was there to retrieve a map which will save her friends. Reyna begs Annabeth to come with her and die a painful death to save her camp, but Annabeth tells Reyna that she will only follow the mark.

The seven reach the ship and leave safely to go to Chiron's brothers, who live in the sea. During the ride, they get attacked by a shrimp monster. Leo, Frank, and Hazel go underwater and find icthyocentaurs, Chiron's brothers. They find the three's story interesting and speed their way to Rome. They meet Hercules near the pillars, or the entrance to Rome and Piper and Jason get the second horn of Achelous, the bull-headed river god. Even though it was Hercules who ordered them to cut it off, Piper decided that Hercules did not deserve the horn and keeps it for herself. She brings forth a pile of supplies, and Hercules falls. The seven cross the pillars and sail into Rome. Annabeth has to find the Athena Parthenos by following the Mark of Athena and battle its guardian Arachne. Percy, Jason, and Piper travel into an underground area and battle the twin giants, Otis and Ephialtes, the anti-Dionysus. Frank, Hazel, and Leo travel in search of Nico, and find Archimedes' scrolls on spheres. In the end, Annabeth outwits Arachne by tricking her into weaving her own trap. Percy and Jason battle the giants and with (very little) help from Dionysus's roman counterpart, Bacchus, they rescue Nico.

Frank, Hazel, and Leo battle the Eidolons and rescue Archimedes' scrolls. They all meet up where Annabeth secures the Athena Parthenos. However, Arachne pulls Annabeth into Tartarus by some spider silk as the statue is lifted onto their ship. Percy follows Annabeth by not releasing the line he was trying to pull her up with. After Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, the remaining six demigods and Coach Hedge are at a meeting. Nico says Percy told him to lead the demigods to the Doors of Death, while he and Annabeth would meet them at the end of Tartarus on the Doors' other side. Nico and Hazel both say they are fairly sure Percy and Annabeth are not dead yet. The book closes with Leo telling Festus the Dragon figurehead to set sails: they have friends to save.

The House of Hades

Scheduled to be released on October 8 2013, The House of Hades is the fourth book in the series. The cover will be revealed on May 31, 2013. Annabeth and Percy attempt to travel through Tartarus to defeat Gaea's forces and close the Doors of Death from Tartarus' side. Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Coach Hedge and Nico travel with the Athena Parthenos and must close the Doors of Death at The House of Hades, an underground temple in Epirus, Greece, the location of the Doors of Death in the mortal world and save Camp Half-Blood from being attacked by Camp Jupiter. Rick Riordan stated that there will definitely be some scenes from Tartarus. However it is uncertain if this means through the demigod dreams or through Percy or Annabeth's eyes.

Supplementary works

Main article: The Demigod Diaries

Released January 14, 2012, The Demigod Diaries is a collection of short stories. Similar to The Demigod Files, it contains some new stories with character interviews, illustrations, puzzles, and a quiz. The four stories include: Thalia's and Luke's adventures before the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, Jason, Leo, and Piper's experiences at Camp Half-Blood between The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune, Alabaster a demigod son of Hecate who fought on Kronos' side and his encounter with Lamia, and Percy and Annabeth's quest to retrieve Hermes' staff from the fire breathing giant Cacus.

Main characters

Main article: List of Camp Half-Blood characters

Greeks

• Percy Jackson: A 16-year-old Greek demigod (The strongest one alive) and son of Poseidon (A.K.A Neptune)and one of the Roman praetors. Percy was born on August 18. He has the power to control water and has perfect bearings at sea. He can breathe underwater and communicate with sea creatures and horses, including pegasi. He carries a sword called Riptide (Riptide means in Ancient Greek: Ανακλυσμός). He is the star of Camp Half Blood and was switched with Jason Grace from Camp Jupiter by Hera(A.K.A Juno). He is a major part of the Second Great Prophecy.
• Annabeth Chase: She is the daughter of Athena and is highly intelligent, wise, and always ready with a plan. After the war against Kronos, the Olympians crowned her 'Head Architect of Olympus', as Percy had destroyed Olympus in the process of saving it. Annabeth is known to be part of the Second Great Prophecy, and to this effect leads the Argo II to Camp Jupiter.
  She is the girlfriend of Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Annabeth wants to bring peace by following the Mark of Athena and finding the stolen statue (Athena Parthenos), that is dedicated to her mother. She doesn't completely trust Jason Grace but she is best friends with his sister Thalia Grace. She is currently the smartest demigod alive, and was able to outwit Arachne in order to regain the Athena Parthenos.
• Leo Valdez: A 15-year-old Greek demigod and son of Hephaestus. He possesses the power of fire, a unique ability among the children of Hephaestus. He created the Argo II using his skills with fire and machinery. He is part of the Second Great Prophecy and is a descendant of Sammy Valdez, Hazel's old boyfriend. He has a crush on Hazel Levesque. He has a special connection to Gaea, who first met him as a child and has been able to talk to him since. As a result of his first meeting with Gaea, Leo used his talent unintentionally, which Gaea then redirected to destroy his mother Esperanza's machine shop, killing Esperanza.
• Piper McLean: A 15-year-old Greek demigod and a daughter of Aphrodite. She can charmspeak, meaning that she can convince/persuade most people to do what she says. She carries a knife called Katoptropis, which used to belong to Helen of Troy, which shows her visions of the future. She is very beautiful and a knockout to boys. She is a part of the Second Great Prophecy. She is dating Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, though she fears he may be taken from her by Reyna, his close Roman friend.
• Nico di Angelo: A 13-year-old Greek demigod, the only known son of Hades and the younger brother of the late Bianca di Angelo. Nico's Roman half-sister is Hazel Levesque, a daughter of Hades' Roman counterpart, Pluto. He has the power of necromancy and is one of the most powerful demigods currently living, though Nico himself says that Percy is more powerful than himself or Jason. He is the only demigod prior to the Heroes of Olympus series to have attended both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, and was the first Greek to know about Camp Jupiter.The Son of Neptune.
  Nico briefly visited Camp Jupiter in the Son of Neptune, but pretended to not know Percy, and after his visit, attempted to locate and close the Doors of Death. In the process, he was pulled into Tartarus and nearly died, which allowed Gaea's forces overwhelm him. He was briefly imprisoned in Epirus, before being transported to Rome by Ephialtes and Otis, who attempted to use him as bait for the other campers. He is rescued by the other campers, and later promises Percy to lead the others to Epirus in Greece while Annabeth and Percy locate the entrance to the Doors of Death in Tartarus.
• Thalia Grace: At 15 ,Thalia is Jason's biological sister, but a daughter of Zeus rather than Jupiter. Thalia was almost killed when she was 12 after being revealed as a child of one of the 'Big Three' (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades), and made a final stand against a group of hellhounds and the Three Furies on Half-Blood Hill to protect her companions, Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan. Zeus took pity upon his daughter and transformed her into a pine tree. After Luke poisoned the tree in The Sea of Monsters, Annabeth, Percy, and Clarisse found and used the Golden Fleece to save the dying pine. The magic worked too well, and Thalia - in human form - was separated from the tree, albeit slightly older. She later joined the Hunters of Artemis, becoming immortal at the age of fifteen and therefore escaping the Great Prophecy.
• Tyson: In The Son of Neptune, Tyson along with Percy's hellhound, Mrs. O' Leary is revealed to be searching for Percy. It appears that Tyson is the most successful at tracking Percy down and is nearly at Camp Jupiter before Percy leaves for his quest. He continues to track Percy and his friends north, but is always too late to reach them. Shortly after the attack on the Zhang mansion, Percy contacts him via a dream, telling him to locate the harpy Ella and escort her back to Camp Jupiter. Tyson, Ella and Mrs. O' Leary meet Percy just outside of camp and it is implied that Tyson and Ella are in love with each other. Ella later chooses to follow Tyson rather than fly to safety, and Tyson aids the Romans in defeating the giant Polybotes' forces.

Romans

• Jason Grace: A 16-year-old Roman demigod and son of Jupiter. He was born on July 1 (The Kalends of July, sacred day to Juno (Hera)). He can fly, control winds and lightning, and create storms. He was praetor before Percy took his title in Camp Jupiter. He carries around a sword as a weapon (given to him by Juno) as his first weapon, Ilvis, was destroyed. He is part of the Prophecy of Seven. His sister is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. He is dating Piper McLean and confirmed in the series that he has no feelings for Reyna although Piper is still dubious of it.
• Hazel Levesque: A 13-year-old Roman demigod and a daughter of Pluto. She has a curse that allows her to control precious metals and gems, has perfect bearings underground and can open new passages / tunnels underground. She was born in the 1930s and lived in New Orleans but moved to Alaska where she died with her mother standing up to the earth goddess Gaea. Nico Di Angelo, her half brother, found her in the underworld seventy years later while looking for his dead sister, Bianca. Nico, feeling that Hazel needed a second chance, brought her back to life. Hazel is a part of the Prophecy of Seven. She is dating Frank Zhang, though Leo Valdez looks eerily like a boy named Sammy (Leo's great-grandfather) who she used to like a lot in New Orleans during her first life; if she had not died she would have married him.
• Frank Zhang: A 16-year-old Roman demigod with magical blood and a son of Mars. He is a descendant of Poseidon on his mother's side. He is descended from Periclymenus, son of Poseidon and Prince of Pylos. He is Canadian, but has a vast ancestry coming from China, Rome, and Greece. His family's hometown is Li-Jien, or Legion. His last name, Zhang, means 'master of bows.' He possesses the power to shapeshift. He is a part of the Prophecy of Seven. He is dating Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. He is jealous of Leo because he believes Leo likes her and Hazel feelings for him because he's similar to Sammy. Frank's last hope for life relies on a piece of firewood, the Fire of Life, as it is called by Thanatos in The Son of Neptune, that holds him between life and death which he gave to Hazel Levesque to keep safe for him.
• Reyna: A 16-year old Roman demigod and daughter of the Roman goddess of war, Bellona. One of the Roman praetors of Camp Jupiter. It is stated by Percy Jackson that she was a fighter. Her sister is Hylla, Queen of the Amazons. Both Hylla and Reyna met Percy Jackson in The Sea of Monsters. At first they hated him for their encounter at Circe's island, but soon come to make amends. It is hinted that she had a crush on Jason Grace, her first partner in praetorship, and Percy Jackson, her current partner in praetorship. She despises the camp's augur, Octavian. She has two metal dogs, Argentum and Aurum (Silver and Gold), both of which can tell when a person is lying.

External links

• Official website