In theory, having a godly parent should be awesome. In reality, however, it’s less epic vacations to Olympus and priceless artifacts as birthday presents and more lifelong neglect and impossibly high expectations.
Having an icy relationship with your godly parent is almost a prerequisite for admission into Camp Half-Blood. In fact, you’d probably have a hard time finding a god/demigod association that isn’t filled with years of built-up tension.
As much as we want to celebrate healthy parent-child dynamics, we have to admit that we secretly live for the mess and drama. That’s why we’re celebrating the top five of the most dysfunctional Greek god and demigod relationships! (The Romans are a completely separate story.)
5. Leo Valdez and Hephaestus
Is anyone really surprised that Hephaestus turned out to be a distant father to Leo? The god of fire is not known for being close to anyone, deity, demigod, or otherwise. He’s the kind of dad who would rather spend all day working in his forge than playing catch with his son. At least Heph has been able to take some pride in Leo’s technological and metallurgical skills, even if they’re the only things these two have in common.
4. Meg McCaffrey and Demeter
Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, has produced far more crops than mortal children. So, one might assume that she would devote extra care and attention to her few demigod kids, one of those being Meg McCaffrey. Instead, the two are practically strangers. Thankfully, Meg has recently developed a deep familial bond with a certain Greek sun god instead. And it’s probably for the best. Historically, Demeter hasn’t been the greatest mother. Even Persephone needs to spend a lot of time away from her each year to make their relationship tolerable.
And, speaking of the underworld . . .
3. Nico di Angelo and Hades
Who could have guessed that the lord of the underworld, the darkest and moodiest god in the Greek pantheon, would sire the darkest and moodiest demigod at Camp Half-Blood? Nico and Hades are so similar, they haven’t been able to develop a deep connection. Both Nico and Hades need sunny partners like Will Solace and Persephone to balance out their gloomy dispositions. To complicate matters further, Hades never fully processed the loss of his demigod daughter, Bianca di Angelo. And Nico has always struggled to live up to Hades’ memory of her.
Things have gotten better between Hades and Nico in recent years, but they still have a long way to go. Maybe a double date with Will and Persephone would help build some bridges? That is if Nico could ever forgive Persephone for that time she turned him into a flower . . .
2. Clarisse La Rue and Ares
Clarisse will be the first to brag that her dad could totally beat up your dad. At the same time, she’s always been terrified of the god of war. And who can blame her? To live up to her father’s notorious reputation and to prove that she’s just as tough as his demigod sons, Clarisse assumed the role of Camp Half-Blood’s resident bully for a number of years. Eventually, her father did acknowledge her skills in battle during the Battle of Manhattan, and the two now seem to be on the road toward a stronger connection. But just think of how many times Clarisse had to dunk some poor nerd’s head into the toilet for that to finally happen.
1. Luke Castellan and Hermes
Ah, the tragic story of Luke Castellan. While most demigods at Camp Half-Blood eventually reach some level of acceptance with their godly parent, Luke never forgave Hermes for abandoning him and his mother. And, as we all know, Luke’s resentment eventually led him to betray Camp Half-Blood.
And the worst part? Hermes did genuinely love Luke and always wanted the best for him. The messenger god had good intentions and seemed genuinely upset over Luke’s corruption to the dark side. But, at the end of the day, we all know that Hermes could have done so much more to repair his son’s psyche.
After all, if your kid decides that Kronos would make a better father figure, that’s a sign that you have a lot of work to do.
What’s your favorite dysfunctional god/demigod relationship? Did we leave out any big ones? Let us know!