Percy Jackson For Newbies

An unofficial guide to Percy Jackson and the Olympians movies. Adapted from the book series by Rick Riordan. The reason why I am writing this because I love Greek mythology. It is what I am interested in about since I was a kid.

Photo of Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

 

If you haven't read the books or watched the first of the movie series, Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, then you are in the right place. Here's what I can tell you about the mythology behind Percy Jackson's universe

 

Demigod: A term given to the offspring of gods and mortal parents. The demigods are known to do extraordinary feats and considered heroes. The famous example was Hercules. In the case of Percy Jackson, they are known as the Half-Bloods. Percy was the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Other demigods in Percy's universe are Annabeth Chase(Athena's daughter), and Luke Castellan(Hermes' son).

 

Satyr: Half-human, half goat. Possessing a pair of limbs of a goat in the lower half with a pair of horns on the head. The famous satyr is Pan. Percy's friend and protector Grover Underwood is a satyr.

 

Centaur: Half-human, half horse. Unlike the satyr, the centaur possesses two set of limbs and body and body of a horse with upper half of the human body where the horse's head was replaced with. The centaur Chiron serves as the trainer of Camp Half-Blood.

 

Zeus: The supreme god among all Olympian gods. He is known as the god of weather and holds unlimited supply of lightning as primary weapon. His lightning was stolen which is the premise of the first book/movie. One of the Big Three.

 

Poseidon: The god of the sea and father to Percy. He controls the seas with his trident. The second of the Big Three.

 

Hades: The lord of the Underworld.

 

Minotaur: Human with a bull's head. In original mythology, it was slain by the hero Theseus.

 

Gorgon: Creature with snakes for hair and can turn anyone to stone upon looking on her eyes. The famous gorgon was Medusa, who was slain by the hero Perseus.

 

Cyclops. One-eyed creatures. Percy's half brother Tyson is a Cyclops.