Time sure does fly when you’re a demigod. Maybe it’s because monsters like the Minotaur and the Furies keep returning year after year no matter how many times they perish. Or maybe your sense of time is out of whack because your godly parent can remember the start date of the Trojan War more easily than they can remember your birthday. Or maybe it’s because your high school years simply feel as though they will never end.
Or maybe it’s all due to the fact that Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief has maintained its position on the New York Times Best Seller List for 14 years! To commemorate this milestone, we’ve compiled a list of Percy’s greatest moments from the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series and beyond. And by “greatest moments,” we mean, “mostly moments in which Percy most certainly should have died but somehow managed to survive.”
Warning! Massive spoilers for well, pretty much every Percy Jackson story will follow.
1. Percy Defeats Ares in The Lightning Thief
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover’s first quest together was a roller coaster of near-death experiences. But up until that point, the young son of Poseidon was never more imperiled than during his climactic battle with Ares, the god of war. Somehow, Percy managed to stand his ground against the renegade god and live to fight another day.
In hindsight, we think he was more threatened by Ares’ daughter, Clarisse La Rue, back at Camp Half-Blood anyway.
2. Percy Meets His Half-Brother Tyson in The Sea of Monsters
Percy’s extended family tree on his father’s side is vast and complicated . . . and mostly filled with horrible monsters. Thankfully, Percy was able to connect with the one half-brother who didn’t want to kill him in The Sea of Monsters: the lovable Cyclops named Tyson.
And despite some rough sailing at first, Percy and his big bro are still tight to this day. Remember, you don’t need two eyes to be a good brother. All you need to do is not subject your family members to waterbed-related torture devices.
3. Percy’s Life Is Spared by the Gods in The Titan’s Curse
As the demigod son of Poseidon, one of the “Big Three” gods who swore an oath to stop producing children with mortal beings, Percy quickly learned that his birth was the product of a broken promise. But as it turns out, trusting the gods not to procreate is kind of like expecting your goldfish to walk your dog.
Shortly after the revival of Zeus’s daughter, Thalia, and the discovery of Hades’s children, Bianca and Nico di Angelo, during The Titan’s Curse, the pantheon decided that maybe, just maybe Percy didn’t have to be destroyed. At least not yet. But hey, a win is a win.
4. Poseidon Arrives at Percy’s Birthday Party in The Battle of the Labyrinth
For this entry, we could have discussed Percy and Annabeth’s miraculous survival of Daedalus’s Labyrinth. Or the time Percy spent on the island of Ogygia with Calypso. Or his first meeting with the future Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Dare.
But when we think of milestones in Percy’s life from The Battle of the Labyrinth, we always come back to the moment when Poseidon showed up at Percy’s birthday party, gave him a sand dollar, and finally, unambiguously expressed his love for his son. For a brief moment, all the trauma from Percy’s battles with monsters such as Antaeus and Kampê melted away . . . before of course, the final war between Camp Half-Blood and the Titan Army kicked off.
5. Percy Plays a Pivotal Role in the Outcome of the Second Titan War in The Last Olympian
The defeat of the Titan Army in The Last Olympian was certainly a team effort, but without Percy to help convince Poseidon to enter the fray, and an appeal to Luke Castellan’s better nature, we all might be living under Kronos’s thumb to this day.
And before you ask, no, we don’t think New York’s subway stations would be significantly cleaner if Kronos and the Titans had managed to win the war.
6. Percy and Annabeth Team Up with Carter and Sadie Kane to Battle Setne in The Crown of Ptolemy
Percy and Annabeth’s friendship with the Kane siblings was solidified during their third crossover within the pages of The Crown of Ptolemy. Together, the four heroes were able to foil the plot of the evil magician Setne and still get home for dinner. Time will tell whether Percy and Annabeth will ever meet the Kane siblings again, but the mix of Greek demigod powers and Egyptian magic resulted in quite a potent brew. If nothing else, we’re sure they all follow each other on social media.
7. Percy Meets the Roman Demigods at Camp Jupiter in The Son of Neptune
After suffering from a bout of memory loss, Percy found himself within the borders of Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood. While there, he met a few future lifelong friends: Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, proving that in time, the militaristic Roman demigods can welcome an outsider into their ranks. And a Greek one, to boot.
Just as long as they have no idea of his true heritage at first, of course.
8. Percy Duels with Jason Grace in The Mark of Athena
Sometimes, two boys just need to hop on their winged horses and rush at each other with swords to settle their differences. Yes, both Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were possessed by eidolons when they engaged in their iconic battle, and we would never endorse acts of hero-on-hero violence, but we were still on the edge of our seats the entire time.
9. Percy and Annabeth Survive a Trip to Tartarus in The House of Hades
There comes a time in every relationship when the love of both partners is tested and stretched to its limit. As one of the rare couples to have survived the deepest, darkest, pits of the Underworld, Percy and Annabeth have proven that their bond can withstand nearly anything.
Sure, they may still bicker and get on each other’s nerves from time to time, but an unwashed coffee mug left in Annabeth’s sink is nothing compared to the trouble the two of them went through facing off against the likes of Arachne and the Maeonian drakon.
Even if it is the second time that he’s done it this week.
10. Percy and His Friends (Okay, Mostly His Friends) Defeat Gaea in The Blood of Olympus
Saving the world before graduating high school is no small feat. Now, how many people can claim that they’ve done it more than once? The final confrontation between Gaea and the Heroes of Olympus didn’t resolve without its fair share of tragedy and sacrifice, but at the end of the conflict, Percy, Annabeth, and their friends stood victorious.
Now if we could just spare these kids from more vague prophecies hinting at their horrible untimely deaths until at least after senior prom, we would all be very thankful.
11. Percy Attempts to Train Magnus Chase in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead
Not all heroes are as well suited for underwater combat as Percy Jackson. So, as a favor to Annabeth and possibly as a trial run for a potential career as a professional tutor (gods help us), Percy decided to teach Magnus Chase everything he knew about the subject. But either some things can’t be taught or the Son of Frey is simply incapable of growing sea legs.
Whether Percy’s lessons helped Magnus and his fellow Einherjar save the Nine Worlds from the machinations of Loki in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, we’re not sure. But at least Percy got to visit Boston and try some of the delicious falafel at Fadlan’s, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
12. Hades Admits that Percy’s Actions Had a Profound Effect on the Gods in The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
Arguably the finest moment in Percy’s career as a demigod hero happened within someone else’s book. Hades told Nico, “That demigod friend of yours, Percy Jackson? He changed things for a lot of us. Made us rethink our priorities, our behaviors, our standards.” It would have been nice if Hades had said the same thing to Percy’s face, but at least it’s officially on the record.
This moment serves as a reminder that sometimes, the compliments you need to hear the most are made behind your back. And deep down in the Underworld, apparently.
13. Percy Receives His First Recommendation Letter from the Gods in The Chalice of the Gods
Percy is currently undergoing his most difficult challenge to date: he must receive three recommendation letters from the gods in order to attend New Rome University with Annabeth next year. Following a quest to recover Zeus’s lost chalice, Percy is now one-third of the way toward victory. Yet, if his next two quests prove to be as demanding and time-consuming as the first, he might not even make it to graduation from Alternative High School . . .
14. While Pet Sitting for Hecate, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are Faced with <REDACTED>
Thankfully, Annabeth and Grover are still by Percy’s side to ensure that he receives his next two recommendation letters before time runs out. For the trio’s next quest, all they need to do is pet sit for Hecate, the goddess of magic, while she’s away for a week.
Spending a week in a huge mansion with a mastiff and a polecat? What could possibly go wrong? Other than <SPOILERS REDACTED>. Needless to say, that would definitely be a huge problem.
Sorry about that. But you’re going to have to wait until Wrath of the Triple Goddess to find out what happens next.
A huge thank you to all the fans who have supported Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief for nearly a decade and a half! What are your favorite memories of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover from the last 14 years? Be sure to let us know!