Percy Jackson Book Review

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     For all of you who love to read, I have the perfect  book series for you to enjoy. It’s called Percy Jackson and the Olympians by the author Rick Riordan. Though it contains new characters, a modern setting,  and a new story, it also has gods, monsters, and people from Greek mythology. This combination creates an amusing and educational experience as you dive into both our current world and that of the ancient Greeks. The books are mostly about a boy named Percy Jackson, who happens to be a demigod, and his adventures to save Olympus. A demigod is a person who has one godly parent and one mortal parent. Even though Percy is the main character, and he is pretty powerful, he wouldn’t have gotten out the door without the help of his friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Annabeth, Percy, and Grover aren’t the only important characters in the series, there are quite a lot of Greek gods mentioned throughout the books. Some of the ones you will meet are Poseidon, Athena, and Hephaestus. 

     First, lets talk about the god Poseidon. He is one of the “big three”, the three most powerful gods which includes Zeus king of the gods, Hades god of the underworld, and Poseidon, obviously. He is the god of the oceans and is referred to as Earthshaker, Stormbringer, and the Father of Horses as well. Poseidon gets these awesome titles from his ability to create earthquakes and crazy storms. Though how he got the name Father of Horses is by far the most interesting, when he tried to become the patron god of the capital of Attica, he came into conflict with the goddess Athena. The people in the town didn’t want to choose between the gods, so they held a competition to see who could prove more useful to them. Poseidon then created horses for easier transportation of goods and people. Though Athena did eventually win the competition, he still created a very useful animal that is still used today. 

     Now it’s time to discuss the goddess Athena. She’s the goddess of wisdom and warfare, the strategies behind battles and wars.  She was created in Zeus’s head and later emerged from it fully grown and dressed in armor. Athena later gained a shield that has the face of Medusa on it. She, like Poseidon, wanted to be the patron god of the capital of Attica. While Poseidon created horses, she created the olive tree. The people of Attica found olives to be the better gift, so they chose her to patron the city, which was later called Athens. This was not the only conflict that Athena and Poseidon had though, because later, Poseidon went on a date with his girlfriend Medusa in one of Athena’s temples. She was so disgusted that she transformed the girl into a hideous monster with snakes for hair and a stare that can turn anyone to stone. 

     The final god I want to talk about is Hephaestus. He’s the god of metalworking and fire. When he was born, straight from Hera queen of the gods, she threw him off Mount Olympus for being deformed and ugly. He fell into the sea and was raised by the Nereid sea spirit Thetis. Hephaestus soon learned that he could make anything he wanted, and so he made thrones for all the gods, including Hera. He then went to Olympus to introduce himself and deliver the gifts. When Hera finally sat on her throne, she got trapped in it. Though many of the other gods tried to get her out, the only person who could release her was the person who created the trap in the first place, Hephaestus. At first, he didn’t want to, but after talking to the god of wine Dionysus, he finally let her go. 

     The Percy Jackson book series is fantastic and is definitely worth the read. Not only is it insanely entertaining and funny, but it’s also very educational. The books teach a lot of different things about Greek mythology, from the gods, the monsters, and to the myths themselves. I would suggest this series to anyone who loves to read and learn. (There are many different versions of the myths mentioned, but these are the ones the author of Percy Jackson decided to use.)