Percy Jackson

Who is Percy Jackson?

In the story, Percy Jackson is portrayed as a demigod, the son of the mortal Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon. He has ADHD and dyslexia, allegedly because he is hardwired to read Ancient Greek and has inborn "battlefield reflexes". Percy's birthday is August 18. In the first novel of the series, The Lightning Thief, he is twelve years old.

His personality is described as "changeable like the sea" and hard to predict — with the important exception that he is dangerously loyal to his friends and family. The goddess Athena describes this as his fatal flaw. Percy's "powers", which start small and develop as the books proceed, include controlling water, making hurricanes, breathing underwater, and talking to horse-like animals and fish. He also becomes an accomplished sword-fighter and leader. Throughout Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Percy grows more confident and brave. He serves as the first head counselor of the Poseidon cabin at his demigod summer camp – Camp Half-Blood.

After The Last Olympian, the next time Percy is seen is in The Son of Neptune, the second book in the sequel series The Heroes of Olympus. He is suffering from amnesia and slowly struggles to regain his memory over the course of the novel. For a while in the book he cannot remember anything other than Annabeth Chase, his long-time friend. He arrives at a Roman establishment called Camp Jupiter, and is elected praetor as a result of the help he offers them on a quest. During the remaining three books in the third-person his character develops significantly. He develops an irrational fear of drowning; is humbled by weakening sword-fighting skills; and expresses a new tendency to make ambiguous moral choices in defense of his friends and family. One of the character's darkest moments comes in The House of Hades, when Percy discovers that he can control the water in a person's body, and uses it to torture the goddess Akhlys. Percy's girlfriend Annabeth Chase is present and brings him to his senses, but remains haunted by his readiness to use that new power.

At the end of The Blood of Olympus, Percy and Annabeth reveal plans to finish their senior year of high school together in New York, and then attend college in New Rome (a demigod-only city located in California, guarded by Camp Jupiter). In The Hidden Oracle, Percy has been accepted to the college with a full scholarship, provided he can pass his SATs and graduate on time despite the semester he spent away (while missing during The Lost Hero). Percy's concern for his future and family leads him to uncharacteristically turn down Lester Papadopoulous's request for help on a quest to regain his godhood (Papadopoulous being the mortal form of the god Apollo).