Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: Rick Riordan

First published: The Lightning Thief, 2005; The Sea of Monsters, 2006; The Titan's Curse, 2007; The Battle of the Labyrinth, 2008; The Last Olympian, 2009

Genre: Novel

Locale: New York; San Francisco; United States

Plot: Young-adult fantasy

Time: Early twenty-first century

Perseus “Percy” Jackson, son of the Greek god Poseidon and a human mother, Sally Jackson. He has black hair and green eyes. At the beginning of the series, he is twelve years old, and by the end of the series, he is sixteen. Percy suffers from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia because he is a half-blood, or demigod (the child of a god and a human); as a result, he has battle reflexes and a brain designed to read Greek, not English. Percy is constantly blamed for strange occurrences that are actually caused by the monsters who try to kill him because of his parentage. Due to this and his poor academic performance, he changes schools approximately once a year. Because he is the child of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, he has special powers and attends Camp Half-Blood during the summer months to train with other demigods.

Annabeth Chase, daughter of the Greek goddess Athena. She is one of the first fellow demigods Percy meets at Camp Half-Blood and helps nurse him back to health after he is attacked by the Minotaur. She is twelve years old at the start of the series and has curly blond hair, gray eyes, and a perpetual tan. She enjoys reading and building things and dreams of becoming an architect. She is Percy's constant companion on his adventures, but Percy worries that she is still in love with Luke Castellan. Her feelings could be a problem—first, because Luke has betrayed Olympus, and second, because Percy develops feelings for her.

Grover Underwood, a half-human, half-goat satyr tasked with finding demigod children and bringing them to Camp Half-Blood. He is scrawny, always has acne, and has a small, wispy beard. While he looks about Percy's age, he is actually twenty-eight years old. Humans think that he is crippled because of the strange way he walks. He is a vegetarian, plays the reed pipes, and loves enchiladas. He accompanies Percy on his adventures, but his true dream is to obtain a Searcher's License so that he can hunt for the missing god of the Wild, Pan.

Sally Jackson, Percy's human mother. She has long brown hair streaked with gray and is a kind and compassionate person. At the beginning of the series, she works at a candy store called Sweet on America in New York's Grand Central Station, but later she goes back to school to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. She marries Gabriel Ugliano in order to protect Percy, but he treats her poorly and she eventually leaves him. She enjoys making and eating blue food.

Gabriel “Smelly Gabe” Ugliano, Sally Jackson's husband at the beginning of the series. Gabe is overweight, nearly bald, and very messy. He works at the Electronics Mega Mart in Queens, New York, but frequently takes Percy's money. He enjoys gambling, cigars, and beer.

Chiron, a centaur and trainer of heroes, who first appears as Mr. Brunner, Percy's Latin teacher from Yancy Academy. He is a middle-aged man with a beard and thinning hair who wears tweed and travels around in a wheelchair. Chiron's wheelchair is actually a magical device designed to hide his horse legs and body from humans. Chiron is the activities director for Camp Half-Blood, a camp designed to train and protect demigods during the summer months when school is not in session.

Luke Castellan, son of the Greek god Hermes. He is nineteen years old at the beginning of the series. Tall and muscular, he has short, sandy hair and a scar from his right eye down to his jaw. He fought his way to Camp Half-Blood with Annabeth and Thalia when he was fourteen. His mother, May Castellan, was driven crazy while trying to become Camp Half-Blood's Oracle, and Luke was largely left to fend for himself. Although Luke is a demigod, he feels abandoned and betrayed by his father and the other gods of Olympus. For this reason, he agrees to become the mortal host for the ancient Titan Kronos, who is the father of the Greek gods and wants to use Luke to destroy Olympus and end the reign of the gods.

Dionysus, “Mr. D”, director of Camp Half-Blood. He is short and fat, with curly black hair and bloodshot eyes. He usually wears a leopard-print Hawaiian shirt and he enjoys playing the card game pinochle. Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and merriment, but he angered Zeus and is being forced to serve one hundred years in sobriety at Camp Half-Blood as a punishment. While he doesn't seem to care about the campers he watches over, he comes to Percy's rescue more than once.

Kronos, father of the Greek gods. He was defeated long ago, but he is being revived with the help of Luke Castellan and various other gods and monsters. He regenerates himself by accumulating followers and uses Luke's body as his mortal vessel. The Great Prophecy states that a child of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades will either save or destroy Olympus, and Kronos plans to use that child to make sure Olympus is destroyed and the age of the Titans can begin.

Clarisse La Rue, child of the Greek god Ares. She is about thirteen or fourteen at the start of the series. She has long brown hair and likes to wear a camouflage jacket. She is muscular, aggressive, and loud. She tries to bully Percy on his first day at Camp Half-Blood, but Percy uses his power over water to make her trick backfire, and from that time on, she becomes Percy's rival.

Mrs. Dodds, Percy's math teacher who supposedly hails from the state of Georgia. About fifty years old, she wears a leather jacket and always picks on Percy. He later finds out that Mrs. Dodds is actually one of the Furies, the bat-winged torturers belonging to the Greek god Hades.

Argus, security director for Camp Half-Blood. He is blond and built like a surfer but has blue eyes in various places all over his body. He speaks little, which is said to be because he is shy about the eye on his tongue.

Ares, Greek god of war. He has black hair in an oily crew cut and scarred cheeks and wears black jeans and a black leather duster. He tasks Percy with retrieving his shield, but he never seems to be entirely on Percy's side. Later, Percy discovers that Ares has tricked him by placing Zeus's Master Bolt in his backpack, making him look like a thief.

Charles Beckendorf, son of the Greek god Hephaestus. He is African American, with a large frame and a hard, squinty face. He is extremely handy with mechanical things and helps Percy and the camp in various ways. He dies while helping Percy blow up the cruise ship the Princess Andromeda, the base of Luke and Kronos's operations.

Chris Rodriguez, a demigod child of Hermes who originally worked with Luke to revive Kronos, but was driven insane inside the Labyrinth. He is Hispanic and usually wears camouflage pants and a black T-shirt. He is healed by Dionysus and becomes Clarisse's boyfriend.

Thalia Grace, daughter of the Greek god Zeus. She has blue eyes and spiky black hair, usually wears dark eyeliner, and listens to alternative-rock music. Thalia was mortally wounded on her way to Camp Half-Blood, and Zeus turned her into a tree to save her life. Her tree protects the magical barrier around the camp until it is poisoned and begins to die. Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece, which revives Thalia. There is a prophecy that the next child of one of the Big Three gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) will make a choice that might destroy Olympus, so Thalia chooses to become one of the goddess Artemis's hunters and stop herself from aging.

Tyson, a homeless teenager attending the Meriwether College Prep school. Tyson is six feet tall, with a slightly misshapen face, crooked teeth, and a deep voice. He wears jeans, a flannel shirt, and very large sneakers. Percy defends him from school bully Matt Sloan. Percy brings him to Camp Half-Blood only to realize that Tyson is actually a baby Cyclops. Poseidon reveals that Tyson is actually Percy's half brother, but other campers are hesitant to accept a Cyclops. Tyson enjoys metalworking and makes Percy a watch that transforms into a shield.

Dr. Frederick Chase, Annabeth's father. He has sandy hair and brown eyes and seems constantly distracted. He enjoys making models, particularly of airplanes. Annabeth has a rocky relationship with him, but he flies an old restored plane to the Titans' stronghold in order to help her escape.

Zoë Nightshade, the tall, graceful lieutenant for the goddess Artemis's hunters. She has copper skin and long, dark hair. She speaks with a strange accent because she is immortal and has lived for thousands of years. She was once one of the Hesperides, the sisters who guard golden apples in the garden of twilight. Zoë joins Percy on a mission to rescue Artemis and Annabeth.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a human girl whom Percy meets at the Hoover Dam. She has frizzy reddish-brown hair and green eyes and often wears a particular pair of jeans she has covered with marker stains. Rachel possesses the unique ability to see through the Mist that disguises gods and monsters from humans. Because of this ability, Percy recruits her to guide him through Daedalus's Labyrinth while trying to stop the Titan Kronos from attacking Camp Half-Blood. Because of her unique talents, she becomes Camp Half-Blood's new Oracle and speaks the next Great Prophecy.

Paul Blofis, Sally Jackson's new boyfriend from her writing seminar, who is around thirty years old with salt-and-pepper hair.

Polyphemus, a Cyclops who lives on an island protected by the Golden Fleece. His one eye was damaged by the hero Odysseus long ago, and so he mistakes Grover for a woman and attempts to marry him. Grover tricks the Cyclops by unraveling his wedding veil in order to buy time for Percy to find and rescue him.

The General, a mysterious man who is working for Kronos and sending monsters after Percy. Percy discovers that the General is really Atlas, a Titan who was punished by being forced to hold up the sky. He escaped his prison by forcing the goddess Artemis to hold his burden, and Percy and Artemis trick him into taking it back.

Quintus, a sword instructor for Camp Half-Blood. He is in his fifties and has short gray hair and a beard. He has a tattoo of a raven at the base of his neck and keeps company with a hellhound he has named Mrs. O'Leary. Percy discovers that Quintus is actually Daedalus, a great inventor and the architect of the Labyrinth. Long ago, Daedalus lost his son and then killed his nephew. He lived on by building himself mechanical bodies, but he regrets his actions and decides to give himself up to the Greek god Hades and accept his punishment. He thereby destroys the Labyrinth and saves Camp Half-Blood.

Juniper, Grover's girlfriend. She is small, with wispy amber hair and slightly elfish features. She is a dryad, or tree spirit; hers is a juniper bush.

Tantalus, an ancient Greek king who was cursed as a punishment for his actions in life and is unable to touch food or drink. He becomes Camp Half-Blood's activities director when Chiron is suspected of poisoning the tree where Thalia's soul is imprisoned.

Silena Beauregard, daughter of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She spies on Camp Half-Blood for Luke Castellan but regrets putting the camp in danger. To make amends, she tricks the children of Ares into joining the battle against the Titans in New York City, turning the tide in Camp Half-Blood's favor. Despite her betrayal, her actions earn her the respect and forgiveness of the campers.

Ethan Nakamura, son of the lesser Greek goddess Nemesis. Though Ethan is helping Luke revive Kronos, Percy spares his life in an arena inside Daedalus's Labyrinth. Ethan, unhappy with the way lesser gods and their children are treated, refuses to switch sides.

Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea and Percy's father. He has a black beard and green eyes, wears Bermuda shorts, and carries fishing gear. He rarely contacts Percy but sends help when Percy needs it.

Nico di Angelo, a young demigod Percy finds at Westmore Hall, a private school near Bangor, Maine. He has black hair and olive skin. Nico makes Percy promise to protect his sister, Bianca, but Bianca dies during a quest and Nico swears revenge. However, it turns out that Nico is the son of the Greek god Hades and can talk to the dead; after talking to Bianca's spirit, Nico forgives Percy and becomes a powerful ally.

Bianca di Angelo, sister to Nico and daughter of the Greek god Hades. She has black hair and olive skin. She and her brother, Nico, were born long ago and then imprisoned in the Lotus Hotel and Casino so that they would not age. A mysterious person frees them, however, so that they will be poised to fulfill a prophecy and either save or destroy Olympus. However, Bianca joins the goddess Artemis's hunters and stops aging, leaving Nico alone at Camp Half-Blood.

Blackjack, a Pegasus, or flying horse, that lives in the stables at Camp Half-Blood. After Percy helps rescue him from Luke, Blackjack helps Percy by flying him from place to place.