The End of Percy Jackson

This week, I finally got my hands on "The Tower of Nero" by Rick Riordan. This book brought to conclusion the "Trials of Apollo" series and also the story of Percy Jackson in general. I read it in a couple of days, and I even took a break from school work a whole day just to complete it. Let me tell you... this book wrecked me. 

Before we go into how it emotionally destroyed me, let me give you a quick introduction to it. As I previously stated, "The Tower of Nero" is the last of a series, which is the third in the Percy Jackson story. In the "Trials of Apollo" the mentioned god is turned into a human by his father Zeus, as a punishment for something he did in the previous series. Now Apollo has taken the form of a mortal, with no powers or immortality, and he is made the slave of a little daughter of Demeter called Meg (who is the cutest thing to ever grace a book). 

Credits to Cookie Creation from Tumblr. 

Not only is Apollo a mortal slave, but he must also stop Python, a giant snake of ancient times who has taken control over Apollo's oracles, and with that it could control the very future itself. Not only that, but three ancient, evil Roman emperors are back: Nero, Caligula and and Commodus. They all have one intention: rule over all and kill Apollo. The latter must then rely on demigods, the ones he used for his own benefit in the past, to survive and get his godhood back. Apollo must also learn to be more human, feel compassion and empathy for once in his life, strive without the help of his godly family, and come face to face with the harm he has done as a divinity. 

Nero is a disgusting prick. 

The first time Apollo slayed Python. 

Now, as for "The Tower of Nero" itself, here's a quick review divided between the things I liked and the things I didn't. 

Things I liked: 

First of all, I really liked the writing style. I believe Rick Riordan is a masterful storyteller, and he knows exactly how to make you feel excitement, sadness, joy and desperation all in a couple of pages. The story flowed naturally, and there wasn't a single moment where the story lost its fast pace. The moments of personal reflection and internal monologues were not forced, the action sequences were amazing and so well written, and the emotional moments were (although short and simple) sad enough to shed a tear or two. 

These are the rest of the books in the series. 

Second, the characters were EVERYTHING! They are truly the heart and soul of this book and the rest of the series. Apollo has some major character growth in this series, but this book really cemented his development and the irrevocable truth that Riordan is an expert at character development. You can see how Apollo came from being a selfish, narcissistic and shallow god to someone with real feelings; he became considerate with others, he showed remorse for his mistakes, and he learned how to stay away from his toxic family. He learned to put some healthy boundaries between him and many relatives, which was great to read. 

Apollo really grew as a person. 
And he's smoking hot, which has nothing to do 
with him being the sun god. 

There was also Meg, the daughter of Demeter I previously mentioned. She was raised by the emperor Nero, who was very abusive towards her. During the series, we have Meg struggling with her feelings for Nero, and with her loyalty towards him. There are many signs of PTSD in her, and also the guilt often inflicted in victims by their abusers. In the last book we finally see Meg coming into her own, separating herself from Nero forever and realizing one important truth: it's never the victim's fault. 

Meg was a whole mood during these books.

This character aspect of the book brings me to the third thing I liked, which was the closure moments. You can see how much Riordan is going to miss his literary children, as he carefully places characters from the past in this last novel. Most major characters made a comeback one way or another, and it felt very natural for me; it didn't come off as forced. The book ends giving a proper ending to everyone, with most of the characters ending in a very good place with a hopeful future. Some wounds will never heal for them, such as losing one significant demigod (I won't spoil who it is), and the characters address this. They will never stop mourning their friend, but the best way to honor a loved one's memory is by not giving up, and by being the hero your friend always believed you were. 

Now, the things I didn't like: 

The book was filled with lots of humor, which is the case with all of Riordan's books. And that humor is typically great, but I feel like it was overdone in this series, and "The Tower of Nero" was no exception. There were some moments where I believe humor was not to be used, or at least not used so much; some moments required more seriousness in my opinion. For example, during the final battle against Nero, the latter punches a wrong button (long story) and instead of destroying everyone, some television screens come down from the ceiling. The characters have to fight each other while listening to Fox news. I really didn't like this, because I feel that it took away all the seriousness and danger this moment represented. 

Apollo as a human. He was known as 
Lester. 

Another thing I also didn't like was the final scene with Meg. Yes, it brought closure, but I was expecting more. The scene was over too quickly for me, and it didn't leave me the bittersweet feeling I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad. After all, Meg ends in a very good place. But still, I was definitely expecting more. 

Credits to the artist!

The true heartbreaking thing of it all for me was realizing that this is the end. There will be no more books in the Percy Jackson world. This was the last year I waited for a new installment in the story, and the last time I will be reading about Percy and his friends. And of course I can go back and reread the books whenever I want, and revisit this world time after time. But it will never be the same. 

I cried a lot while reading "The Tower of Nero", mostly during the final scenes, the ones that brought closure to the characters. It felt as if I was saying goodbye to my friends, to people I deeply love. I started reading these books in my senior year of high school; I was 16 when I started "The Lightning Thief", and it shook me to the core. The Percy Jackson world was with me throughout college, and during my first years of adulthood. I became a teacher and the books were still coming out, including the two companion series- "The Kane Chronicles" based on Egyptian mythology, and "Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard" based on Norse mythology. 

I've been with this story for basically ten years already. Ten years is a lot of time! I've grown with these books, and I've learned so many things from them. They made me feel welcome and accepted, I laughed and cried with them, I came out of the closet thanks to them, and they gave me a safe home when everything around me was falling to pieces. No matter how long I live, where I go, what other books I might read: Percy Jackson will always stay with me.   

And now... what? What does the future hold? "The Tower of Nero" ended in such a way that it's open for the story to continue, but I'm not sure Rick Riordan will go back to it. Maybe he will focus on other stories, other mythologies, new characters. But I don't believe he will return to Percy Jackson. Whatever comes now from him, I'll be here for it. Meanwhile, I'll learn to go on. I may being overdramatic, but it really feels as if I lost a friend. I'll continue reading other books, falling in love with new others, but none of them will be like Percy. 

Credits to Nowhere Little Girl from Tumblr. 

An imaginary toast for: 

Percy- son of Poseidon 

Annabeth- daughter of Athena

Grover- a satyr 

Clarisse- daughter of Ares

Thalia- daughter of Zeus 

Piper and Silena- daughters of Aphrodite 

Nico- son of Hades 

Frank- son of Mars 

Leo and Beckendorf- sons of Hephaestus 

Meg- daughter of Demeter 

Hazel- daughter of Pluto 

Will- son of Apollo 

Reyna- Puerto Rican daughter of Bellona 

Connor and Travis- sons of Hermes

Rachel- oracle of Apollo 

Lou Ellen- daughter of Hecate 

Calypso- a former minor goddess

and Jason- son of Jupiter 

Thank you guys, for being my friends and family when I felt more alone than ever. 

P.S. I need some books on Asian and Celtic mythologies, please. 

Greek Mythology- From Zero to Hero

Welcome back readers! Inspired by the news of Disney's "Hercules" live-action on the works, and the Percy Jackson books being adapted by Disney +, I decided I wanted to write a post about Greek mythology.

Ancient gods

Many of my friends have an interest in it, but haven't read or seen something that explained it from the start. I am no expert on the topic, but I have read and studied it plenty, so I hope I'll do a good job.

For this post, I will be writing about Greek mythology starting from the world's beginning, and finishing with the mayor (and some minor) gods with their properties. I hope I don't make it confusing, and everyone can understand it. Without further due, let's get started!

I. The Beginning

According to the myths, at first there was a big, vast of nothingness called Chaos.

Chaos

 From Chaos came the earth, whom the Greeks called Gaea; she was technically the first goddess.

Mother Gaea

The sky was created as well, and he was called Uranus.

Uranus- don't laugh at the name as hard as I did please.

From Gaea came the rivers, oceans, mountains, continents and Tartarus, the deepest part of the Underworld. Time later, at some point in this world, Gaea and Uranus came together and had their first children: the twelve titans.

Titans were the first "gods" but not as powerful. 

These were beings of incredible power and strength, perfect in every way. But eventually, Uranus and Gaea had other children who were quite monstrous: the cyclopes and the hecatoncheires; the latter were giants with fifty heads and one hundred arms. Horrified by his children, Uranus sent both cyclopes and giants to Tartarus, where he locked them up.

Cyclopes 

Hecatoncheires

Angry at the sky, Gaea conjured up a plan with one of her titan sons, Kronos. Guided by his mother, Kronos castrated his father while he was sleeping and took his throne over the world. When Uranus' blood came into contact with the earth, it created several creatures and gods including the Furies (which I'll talk more about later). Uranus' castrated genitals fell in the sea, and from them came Aphrodite, the first Olympian goddess. 

II. Rule of the Titans

Kronos ruled the cosmos for a very long time as its king, and ruled over his siblings. One of them, Prometheus, created humankind from clay. Although some have called this time the Golden Era, many have said that it was anything but. Kronos was not the best ruler, and he was paranoid with the idea that someday one of his children would depose him as he did with his own father.

Kronos and his sickle, the weapon he used to castrate Uranus. 

He married one of his sisters Rhea, who has been associated with fertility. Their first child was a girl, who was born stronger and more powerful than a normal titan; this girl was the goddess Hestia. Terrified by a future rebellion against him, Kronos swallowed the girl whole. But being a goddess she didn't die. Instead she kept on growing insider her father's stomach. After her came other children: Poseidon, Hades, Hera and Demeter, but Kronos swallowed them as well.

Desperate, Rhea hid her last child from Kronos and gave him a rock bundled up as a baby to trick him. It worked, because reasons.

Rhea tricking Kronos. How he fell for that, I'll never know. 

Rhea named the baby boy Zeus and hid him away to be raised by nymphs. When he grew up, Zeus disguised himself as a cup-bearer to his father. He prepared a special potion that would make his father throw up his siblings, which he did. Being together for the first time, the godly siblings started the rebellion against the titans. They liberated the cyclopes and one-hundred-armed-giants from Tartarus so they could aid them in their war. The cyclopes gave Zeus and his brothers their famed weapons: to Zeus the master lightning bolt, more powerful than any other weapon ever created; to Poseidon the trident to command the waters; and to Hades the helmet of invisibility, which made him not only invisible to the eye, but to the ear and nose as well. The goddesses did not get weapons, but I do believe Demeter took the sickle that her father used to castrate Uranus.

The war between gods and titans lasted for ten years.

War against the titans. 

Eventually the gods won. Zeus cut his father Kronos into a thousand pieces and threw them into Tartarus. The rest of the titans who fought against the gods were locked in Tartarus, except for Atlas: a general of Kronos' forces, he was forced to hold the sky for eternity, to prevent the sky and the earth meeting again.

Atlas was an evil bastard. 

The titans who helped the gods were left to roam the earth freely, including mother Rhea. Many of them became parents to other gods.

III. Rule of the gods

Zeus took Kronos' throne to rule over the cosmos, the gods and all living things. He and his brothers divided the world in three: the sky, the ocean, and the Underworld.

Zeus took the sky and established the famous Olympus, where only he and the Olympians (and some other gods) would live. The Olympians are said to be the gods who not only live in Olympus, but also have a throne of power there in their council.

Olympus, seat of power of the gods. 

Poseidon took the ocean, and built his palace in the bottom of it. Despite living in the ocean, he still had a throne in Olympus, making him an Olympian.

Poseidon's home, called Atlantis by some. 

Hades took the last part, the Underworld. As his brothers, he created his palace there and thus lived underground. Unlike Poseidon though, Hades did not have a throne in Olympus. Therefore, he is technically not an Olympian.

The Underworld is such a happy place. 

The rest of the gods lived either in Olympus, the sea, the Underworld, or around the world. But even though they were gods, there were certain ancient rules they must obey:

1- They could not take another god's throne or objects of power.
2- Gods could not go the Underworld unless they were welcomed and permitted to (with some exceptions).
3- Every oath made by them on the river Styx must be complied (more on this later).

IV. The Olympians

Zeus: king of Olympus and the gods. God of the sky, weather, lightning, thunder, storms, eagles, men and justice. Husband to his older sister Hera. Famous for his countless lists of lovers (both female and male). Father of Heracles (Hercules). Possessor of the master lightning bolt.

King of the gods and a huge jerk. 

Hera: queen of Olympus and the gods. Wife to her younger brother Zeus. Goddess of women, marriage, fertility, womanhood, lions, cows and peacocks. Mother to Ares, Hephaestus and Hebe. Cold, majestic, proud and extremely vengeful of her husband's lovers and children. Enemy of Hercules.

Beautiful but deadly. 

Demeter: goddess of agriculture, harvest and the passing of the seasons. She is the responsible for making plants grow. Mother to Persephone with her brother Zeus, and mother-in-law to her brother Hades. Loves her daughter more than anything in the world, and would literally kill the whole world for her.

She killed the earth because she couldn't find her daughter.
Let that sink in. 

Poseidon: king and god of the seas. God of the oceans, rivers, lakes, sea storms, earthquakes, horses and sea animals. King of the merpeople. He created the war chariot with Athena: she crafted the chariot and he conjured the horses to pull it. Father of Percy Jackson and husband of the goddess Amphitrite.

I used to have a crush on this guy. 

Athena: daughter of Zeus. Goddess of wisdom, bravery, strategic battle, knowledge, owls, weaving and creator of the olive tree. Patron to the city of Athens. Proud goddess, guide to many heroes, vengeful when crossed. A virgin goddess, she is the mother of Annabeth Chase (long story), girlfriend to Percy Jackson. Athena is enemies with Poseidon and Ares.

She was born full armored. Long story. 

Ares: son of Zeus and Hera. God of war, violence, weapons, anger, soldiers, wild boars and patron to the city of Sparta. The dead soldiers of the losing side in a war serve him for eternity. Lover of Aphrodite. Few gods like him, and he is only permitted in Olympus for being Zeus' son. He represents the war between his parents.

God of war. Not a very good person. 

Hephaestus: son of Hera, brother to Ares, and husband of Aphrodite. God of fire, volcanoes, craftsmanship, and metal working. Friend and ally of the cyclops. Hera conceived him without Zeus' intervention, which probably made him be born crippled. He was thrown from Olympus by Hera when he was born.

Hephaestus deserved better. 

Aphrodite: the first Olympian according to most myths, but daughter of Zeus according to The Iliad. She is the goddess of love, grace, beauty, lust, passion, prostitutes, pleasure and doves. She's wife to Hephaestus, but lover to Ares. With Ares she's the mother of Eros/Cupid. A passionate goddess with even more lovers and children than Zeus. She is believed to be the most powerful of the Olympians, as love is the only power able to bring a god to his knees.

If Regina George was a goddess. 

Hermes: son of Zeus. God of travelers, roads, journeys, medicine, thieves, lies, communication, messages and snakes. He is the principal messenger of the gods. When he was barely days old, he stole the god Apollo's sacred cattle. He created the lyre, and is one of the few gods who can travel to the Underworld because he guides the souls of the dead to their final place.

Looking hot! 

Apollo: son of Zeus and twin brother to Artemis. Apollo is the god of the sun, healing, archery, plagues, music, poetry and the arts. He's the one responsible for the ability to heal yourself and others. Just like his father, Apollo has many male and female lovers; most of them meet a bad end.

I do admit I have a huge crush on you.
Marry me. 

Artemis: daughter of Zeus and twin sister to Apollo. She is a goddess of archery, wildness, animals, virginity, the moon, and young maidens. Artemis is a virgin goddess like Athena, and she is also associated to childbirth as she helped her mother deliver Apollo to the world- moments after she herself was born. Artemis is extremely proud and vengeful, known for casting terrible curses upon people. Patron to the Amazons.

The definition of badass. 

Dionysus: born a mortal, son of Zeus. Dionysus was killed as a human, but brought back as a god. He is god of wine, parties, theater, madness, leopards, dolphins, and excess. He drives humans to their deepest, most primitive desires, and causes them to fall into crazed frenzies of sex, eating, cannibalism and vampirism. Leader of the Maenads.

Dionysus is at the bottom of the tree. 

Hades: although not an Olympian, he is still a very powerful god. He is not the god of death as many believe, but rather god of the dead. King and god of the Underworld, he rules over spirits, and many monsters and minor gods that live with him. Being the god of the riches that grow from the ground (precious jewels) Hades' kingdom is the biggest and richest one. Husband to his niece Persephone.

Hades abducting Persephone.
This.. oh lord...

Hestia: she is technically not an Olympian, because she gave up her throne to Dionysus when he became a god, in order to avoid a civil war among the gods. Hestia is the goddess of families, home, food, the hearth and donkeys (for one of them woke her up when she was about to be raped). Hestia is called the eldest and youngest Olympian for she was Kronos' first born but the last to be thrown up by him. She's the protector of Olympus as it is her home, and she also protects the homes of mortals. Hestia is the third virgin goddess.

She was the best.
Change my mind. 

V. Minor Gods

Many of these gods do not live in Olympus, but they are still important. I will not write about all of them, because they are more than sixty.

Persephone: goddess of spring, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and wife of Hades. Queen and goddess of the Underworld. She spends half the year with her husband, and the other half with her mother.

Not as good as she seems. 

Pan: half man, half goat. God of nature and satyrs.

I don't like him since he appeared in
"Chilling Adventures of Sabrina".

Hecate: goddess of witchcraft, necromancy, crossroads, torches and dogs. Friend of Persephone, she is allowed to come and go to the Underworld as she pleases.

The real Supreme. 

Eros: god of love, sex and desire. Son of Aphrodite and Ares in most myths, but born out of Chaos in others. He is responsible for making people fall in love. His love is different from his mother's, as his' is more obsessive, passionate and dangerous. He's known as Cupid in Rome.

Another jerk.
Katniss shoots better than you. 

Thanatos: god of death.

He's not always in chains.
Long story. 

Iris: goddess of the rainbow, second messenger to the gods.

She was so cool in the Percy Jackson books. 

The Furies: three goddess of revenge, they torture the souls of the wicked in the Underworld. Born from Uranus' blood when it touched the earth.

Three evil demons.
Heathers: mythology version. 

Eris: goddess of chaos. Friend of Ares, she was the one responsible for instigating the war of Troy.

Another evil being. 

The Fates: the three goddesses of destiny. They weave the lives of everyone, mortal and immortal alike. Each mortal has a piece of cloth representing their life; when their time comes, the goddesses cut the cord and the mortal dies.

NOPE!

The Muses: nine goddesses of the arts and followers of Apollo.

Missing four! But still good. 

.

Hebe: goddess of youth and wife of Hercules.

Goddess of youth- I don't want to be 30.

Heracles: known as Hercules in Rome, he became a god after being murdered by his second wife. He is the god and patron of heroes. Hebe's husband.

He was nicer in Disney. 

Nemesis: goddess of retribution, balance, punishment and "bad luck".

Ight, Imma head out. 

Nike: winged goddess of victory.

Now you know where the sport's brand came from. 

VI. Humans and Gods

As it is known, all mortals were subject to the will of the gods. But some of them formed groups that made them stand out from their peers.

Maenads: dangerous followers of Dionysus, all female. They went into frenzies on which they ate human flesh (sometimes while the person was still living), drank blood, had orgies, and murdered many.

Maenads. Not your typical party people. 

Amazons: culture where women were the warriors, and men stayed at home with the children. They were not a female-only society as many believe. Many of them were daughters of gods, particularly Ares. Their patrons were Ares and Artemis.

They run amazon.com nowadays in the PJ books.
Not joking.  

Hunters: young maidens who traveled with Artemis. They were given immortality and youth if they made an oath to never marry and/or lose their virginity. They could be killed in battle though, but Artemis protected them at all costs.

Girl Power!
Credits to Isuani. 

Demigods: children born of gods and mortals. They have various powers depending on their godly parent. Many are trained to become heroes.

My friends! 

VII. The Underworld

I have mentioned this place many times already, but I haven't explained it yet.

For starters, when you die you are taken by the god Charon to the Underworld. You must pay him if you want to cross to the other life. If you don't have money, he'll take you when he pleases.

That's Charon. Not as bad as he seems. 

The Underworld is divided in many categories and has many rivers. The most famous one is Styx, upon which all sacred oaths are made. Even the gods are subject to the magic of this river, as it forces people to obey their oaths.

Care for a swim? 

The doors of the Underworld are guarded by Hades' pet, the three-headed dog Cerberus.

Now you know where Fluffy from Harry Potter came from. 

Once you pass him, you'll have two options: be judged by three kings, or go to the Asphodel Meadows immediately. If you decide judgment, the kings will send you to one out of four places: the first one is Elysium which is a type of paradise, reserved for good people who helped others in their lives, including heroes; if you are reborn three times and the three times you are sent to Elysium, you can go to the Isles of the Blessed, a more exclusive side of Elysium; the second place is the Fields of Punishment, selected for people who committed horrible crimes and will be tortured by the Furies; the third place is the already mentioned Asphodel Meadows, where regular people go- they didn't do anything bad or good, so they roam eternally here with no memory of their human lives; and the last place is Tartarus, reserved for enemies of the gods such as monsters, titans, and the worst of the worst.

Elysium

Isles of the Blessed- good vacation spot! 

The Asphodel Meadows look a nightmare. 

The Fields of Punishment! I give this place five out of five stars. 

Tartarus- thank you, next!
I hope Hitler is here. 

Passing these places is the palace of Hades where he is served by the dead. He has a huge garden made of precious jewels for his queen.

Hades' palace looks cool.
I said what I said. 

Also, a very important rule of the Underworld is that nothing can be eaten there. If you eat Underworld food, you must stay there forever.

That's Persephone.

VIII. Recommendations

There are some modern works you could see and read if you want more detailed information. Television series such as "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena Warrior Princess" include many mythology elements, from gods to monsters. Also the movie "Clash of the Titans". They take some liberties with mythology, such as Disney's "Hercules", but they are still great works.

As for books, I cannot stretch this enough: the Percy Jackson books are excellent for studying mythology. They are very close to the original myths and provide more insight into the majority of the gods (both mayor and minor). Every book, adventure and character is inspired by the original myths, and it even includes the Roman gods. Author Rick Riordan does a great work bringing the myths to modern times, making his books hilarious, heartbreaking, full of adventure and mystery, and altogether very fun to read.

I hope you enjoyed my summary of Greek mythology! If you would want me to go deeper into a certain god, hero, monster or myth, let me know in the comments. See you next Sunday!

P.S. None of the pictures are mine. I hold no ownership over them. Most of the gods' images are from the Percy Jackson artists. All credits go to them and the rest of wonderful people who made every art possible.