List of Percy Jackson & the Olympians terms

This is a list of terms in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series of fantasy novels by Rick Riordan.

A

  • Ambrosia (Greek: ἀμβροσία) is the food of the gods, usually presented in small squares. Ambrosia is able to cure almost any injury but it is unattainable and lethal to mortals. Demigods are advised to use them only in emergencies; an extreme overdose of ambrosia can burn the demigod to ashes.

B

  • Back Biter'is Luck Castellans half celestial bronze half tempered steel sword.

C

  • Camp Half-Blood is a secret training facility and sanctuary for young demigods around the world, located in Long Island, New York, United States. The camp is led by the Greek god of wine Dionysus, who calls himself "Mr. D", and the superlative centaur Chiron, the activities director. The cover name for the camp is Delphi Strawberry Service, a reference to the Oracle of Delphi.
  • Celestial bronze is golden fictional metal that can injure immortals and monsters but are harmless to mortals. Many demigods use celestial bronze weapons because monsters are afraid of it.

D

  • Demigod is a human/god hybrid who has one immortal (god) parent and one human parent. Most characters in the series, such as Percy Jackson, are demigods.
  • Determined is a term describing a demigod who is recognized to be an offspring of a particular god.

H

  • Half-Blood is a commonly-used slang term for demigod.

I

  • Iris message is a type of video message that can be used to communicate with others by using a rainbow. The service is managed by Iris, the goddess of rainbows. To communicate with the other, the caller must first create mist so a rainbow can be formed. The caller holds one golden drachma, clearly recites "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering", throws the drachma into the rainbow, and then states the name of the intended receiver or location. The caller or receiver can end the Iris message by scattering the mist, disrupting the signal.
  • Imperial Gold is material similar to Celestial Bronze. It has the same affect on monsters. It has only appeared so far in The Lost Hero when Jason's coin is described as being made from this material. Medea said it is very rare and can only be made by purifying and blessing the gold in the Temple of Jupiter in Rome.

K

  • Katoptris (which means "mirror") is a ceremonial dagger that was a wedding gift to Helen of Troy and is a sign of power and status. It is currently in possession of Piper McLean. She gets the dagger in The Lost Hero.

M

  • The Mist is a type of magic or force that prevents mortals from seeing creatures, places or people from Greek Mythology, such as gods and heroes, and instead they see things that they would find normal. Their line of reasoning gives them explanations for most of the events that occur in the series. As said by Hermes in The Last Olympian, "The Mist shows them anything but the truth."

N

  • Nectar (Greek: νέκταρ) is the liquid form of ambrosia, the food of the gods. Nectar is able to cure almost any injury but it is unattainable and lethal to mortals. Demigods are advised to use them only in emergencies; an extreme overdose of nectar can burn the demigod to fire.

O

  • The Oracle is the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi, whose spirit is passed down through a host of humans. After the second world war, Hades cursed the then-current host of the Oracle, denying her the possibility of a successor of the spirit of Delphi. The Oracle, for the most part in the series, was a mummified woman.

R

  • Riptide or Anaklusmos (Greek: Αναζήτηση) is a magical sword made of celestial bronze, currently in the possession of Percy Jackson. It takes the form of a ballpoint pen (that reads "Anaklusmos" on the side) when not in use. Once the pen is uncapped, it transforms into its functional sword form. The sword is enchanted to reappear in Percy's pocket as a pen if he loses contact with the sword. However, the sword doesn't return if Percy doesn't have pockets. Riptide was forged by Zoë Nightshade and originally took the form of a hair clip. She gave the sword to Hercules as a gift.

S

  • Stygian Iron is a dark fictional metal which can kill monsters and possibly mortals. When forged, it is cooled in the River Styx, making it indestructible. It is implied that only people of the underworld can wield Stygian Iron weapons. Nico di Angelo is the only one mentioned to wield Stygian Iron.
  • Satyr are half human, half goat. They sometimes escort half-bloods to camp, as in the case of Grover.

T

  • Tampered Steel is a type of fictional metal that can harm humans and demigods but cannot kill monsters or harm gods.

U

  • Undetermined is a term describing a demigod that has not yet been claimed as the offspring of a particular god.