Did You Catch It?

I’ve read many books in by day, but the series that has the most allusions I’ve ever come upon is the Percy Jackson series. From the very beginning there are references to greek mythology left and right. The story starts off the kids getting a cab ride and the drivers are three old witches that only have one eye and can foresee their future. This of course is an allusion of The Fates; seen and talked about in other ancient greek novels and other stories like Hercules. Continuing through the story there are many other references to greek mythology such as the dream sequence, satyrs, minotaurs, Theseus, and Dionysus. There is even a chapter based off Athena’s and Hermes sacrificial practice, where Percy’s and his friends dinner goes up in smoke. When Percy first arrives at the Demigod camp, there is a camp-wide game of capture the flag. The camp divides into two teams and fights against each other. This is a spinoff to Poseidon and his division of the world and the battle that takes place then. When Percy, Grover, and Annabeth first start their journey, they head to Medusa’s layer. This ties to many other ancient heroes that also had quests and tasks they had to chase after. Not to mention the references to Medusa and her snake hair and eyes that turn people to stone. After Medusa’s layer, the three demigods travel to Tennessee to the replica of the greek Parthenon. Here is where they face the Hydra, which is the same monster that Hercules first battles. In both stories, the Hydra is a three headed beast, when the hero in both stories fights this creature, they appear to win by cutting off the heads of the Hydra. However, to both Hercules’ and Percy’s dismay, they discover that cutting off the head of the Hydra only causes it to grow more heads and become even more terrifying. Percy often faces tasks that ancient greek heroes had to face in their time. The next stop on Percy’s quest takes him to the layer of the Lotus eaters. This alludes to the trials of Odysseus where he and his men got caught on the island of the Lotus’ and got put into a trance so they could not leave. It was the same for Percy and his friends, they got stuck in the Lotus casino, not being able to focus on their mission. After they finally escaped, it was time for them to go to the Underworld. Here they meet Hades, and of course his wife, Persephone. Just like the ancient stories of Hades and Persephone, Persephone hates Hades and feels as if she is trapped with him, which is exactly how it is in Percy Jackson as well. These were just a few of the allusions from the very first book in the Percy Jackson series. In the other books there are also many other references to things like the journeyings of Odysseus and Hercules that make readers understand more about greek mythology.