The Lightning Thief Character Analysis

Percy Jackson

Percy is the 12-year-old protagonist of the novel. Percy struggles with ADHD, dyslexia, and getting into trouble, so he’s been expelled every year since he started school. Because of this, at the start of the… read analysis of Percy Jackson

Grover

Grover is a young satyr tasked with looking out for Percy at Yancy Academy. Grover is in his early 20s, but he has the maturity level of a middle school student since satyrs only grow… read analysis of Grover

Mom/Sally Jackson

Percy’s mom is a beautiful woman with long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her story is tragic: her parents died when she was little, the uncle who raised her was distant, and his… read analysis of Mom/Sally Jackson

Luke

Luke is an older teen at Camp Half-Blood. His father, Hermes, claimed Luke, so Luke is now the leader of the Hermes cabin. Though Luke seems genuinely interested in taking care of the… read analysis of Luke

Annabeth Chase

Annabeth is one of Percy’s best friends and a daughter of the goddess Athena. Annabeth is blonde, Percy’s age, and has been at Camp Half-Blood since she was seven. Like many demigods, she… read analysis of Annabeth Chase

Chiron/Mr. Brunner

Mr. Brunner is Percy’s mentor. Mr. Brunner is first Percy’s Latin teacher at Yancy Academy. He’s in a wheelchair, owns a number of Greek battle replicas that he uses for study games, and takes… read analysis of Chiron/Mr. Brunner

Smelly Gabe

Gabe is Mom’s husband and Percy’s stepfather. Percy calls him Smelly Gabe because he reeks, in addition to being crass, cruel, and ugly. Though Gabe works as a manager for an appliance shop… read analysis of Smelly Gabe

Ares

Ares is the god of war. When Percy meets him, Ares takes the form of a larger-than-life biker, with a leather jacket, loud motorcycle, and dark sunglasses. When he removes his sunglasses, his eyes are… read analysis of Ares

Hades

Hades is the god of the Underworld. He’s about 10 feet tall and exudes power. He’s lithe and pale, and he wears black silk robes embroidered with pained faces. Hades’s face reminds Percy of… read analysis of Hades

Zeus

Zeus is the all-powerful god of the sky. After killing and imprisoning his father, the Titan Kronos, many millennia ago, Zeus assumed his role as king of the gods. His magical object is a… read analysis of Zeus

Medusa/Aunty Em

Medusa is a monster with snakes for hair; she can turn people who look her in the eye to stone. To pass in the mortal world, she poses as Aunty Em, a woman who wears… read analysis of Medusa/Aunty Em

Poseidon

Poseidon is the Greek god of the sea, and he’s Percy’s father. Poseidon can change his size, but he looks like a tanned fisherman in Bermuda shorts and a patterned shirt. One of the… read analysis of Poseidon

Thalia

Thalia is a young demigod who, eight years before the novel begins, began making her way to Camp Half-Blood with Grover as her keeper. Disaster struck, however, when Thalia, Grover, Luke, and… read analysis of Thalia

Dionysus/Mr. D

Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and harvest; in the present, he goes by Mr. D and runs Camp Half-Blood as punishment for unspecified transgressions he committed. Part of his punishment includes having to… read analysis of Dionysus/Mr. D

The Minotaur

The Minotaur is a horrendous monster with the huge head of a bull. It attacks Percy and Mom when Mom attempts to drive Percy and Grover to Camp Half-Blood. Percy realizes that the Minotaur… read analysis of The Minotaur

Hermes

Hermes is the messenger god; he never appears in person in the novel. Hermes’s cabin is the most populated one at Camp Half-Blood because Hermes is accepting of everyone. Therefore, until a demigod’s parent claims… read analysis of Hermes

Annabeth’s Dad

Annabeth’s dad is a professor at West Point who had a brief relationship with the goddess Athena. His only memento from his time with Athena is a class ring, which he sends to… read analysis of Annabeth’s Dad

Mrs. Dodds

Mrs. Dodds is a Fury who poses as a math teacher at Yancy Academy for part of the school year. She torments Percy every chance she gets by assigning him detention and failing him on… read analysis of Mrs. Dodds

Mr. Charon

Mr. Charon is a ghoul who admits spirits to the Underworld and ferries them across the River Styx—but only if they can pay or if he’s feeling generous. Aboveground, Mr. Charon takes the form of… read analysis of Mr. Charon

The Furies/The Kindly Ones

The Furies are a group of three monsters who work for Hades. They assume the form of winged, fanged, leathery creatures, though they sometimes take more human forms (often of old women). Individuals at… read analysis of The Furies/The Kindly Ones

Clarisse

Clarisse is a hulking bully and one of Ares’s daughters at Camp Half-Blood. She attends camp year-round. Clarisse uses an electrified spear that Ares gave her in battle. Clarisse and the other Ares… read analysis of Clarisse

Kronos

Kronos is the Titan father of a number of gods and goddesses, most notably Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Kronos ate his children, but they all escaped. Then, Zeus cut Kronos into pieces… read analysis of Kronos

Hephaestus

Hephaestus is the god of fire and blacksmiths. He never appears in the novel in person, but Percy has to deal with him regardless—Hephaestus’s wife, Aphrodite, is in a relationship with Ares, and… read analysis of Hephaestus

Procrustes/Crusty

Procrustes is a monster who runs a waterbed store in Los Angeles. This isn’t a benign endeavor, however—anyone who tries out a bed finds themselves chained to it, and if prospective purchasers aren’t exactly six… read analysis of Procrustes/Crusty

Cerberus

Cerberus is the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. Percy recognizes Cerberus as a Rottweiler, but he’s significantly larger than a normal dog—he’s big enough to sit on spirits crossing into… read analysis of Cerberus

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the goddess of love. She doesn’t appear in person in the novel, but there are many of her children at Camp Half-Blood. They’re all exceedingly vain, spend their time gazing at their… read analysis of Aphrodite

The Old Ladies/The Fates

The Fates are three women who control the lives of everyone, from birth all the way to death. When Percy sees them, they take the form of three old women knitting humongous socks by the… read analysis of The Old Ladies/The Fates

Pan

Pan is the god of the wild and of shepherds and flocks. Like satyrs, Pan has the lower half and horns of a goat, but he’s not technically a satyr. He went missing several… read analysis of Pan

The Chimera/The Chihuahua

The Chimera is Echidna’s son. It’s a tall monster with the head of a lion complete with a bloody mane, the hooves and body of a goat, and a serpent as a tail. It… read analysis of The Chimera/The Chihuahua

Minor Characters

The Oracle

The Oracle is an entity that resides in the top floor of the house at Camp Half-Blood. Though the Oracle is an object rather than a living being, it takes the form of a shriveled mummy in a dress and dispenses cryptic prophecies when it sees fit.

Athena

Athena is a warrior goddess who has a rivalry with Poseidon. There are several of Athena’s children at Camp Half-Blood; Annabeth is one of them. They’re all extremely intelligent, good at puzzles and strategy, and are fierce warriors. Athena never appears directly in the novel.

Uncle Ferdinand

Uncle Ferdinand is one of Grover’s uncles. Uncle Ferdinand was a searcher and, like all searchers, never returned after leaving to look for Pan. Grover discovers a statue of Uncle Ferdinand in Medusa’s sculpture garden.

Gladiola

Gladiola is a pink poodle who ran away from home but who offers himself to Percy, Grover, and Annabeth so they can collect the reward money for returning him. Though Gladiola never speaks to Percy, he can speak to Grover.

Arachne

Arachne is a mortal woman who was a skilled weaver. Arachne had a feud with Athena, and after she hanged herself, Athena turned her into a spider. Now, Arachne’s children take revenge on Athena’s children, all whom—including Annabeth—are afraid of spiders because of this.

Darrin

Darrin is a boy whom Percy meets at the hotel in Las Vegas. They play several arcade games together, but then Darrin reveals that he thinks it’s 1977—he’s been imprisoned in the hotel for decades.

Echidna

Echidna is the Mother of Monsters—specifically, she’s the mother of the Chimera. Echidna has a forked tongue and reptilian features. She and the Chimera attack Percy on the observation deck of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Nancy Bobofit

Nancy is a bully at Yancy Academy who makes a point to pick on Percy more than anyone else. She’s one of Mrs. Dodds’s favorite students.

Eddie

Eddie is the super of Mom’s apartment building. He often plays poker with Smelly Gabe, but he seems sympathetic toward Percy.

Argus

Argus is the security guard at Camp Half-Blood. He has eyes all over his body, which allows him to keep an eye out for danger as he ferries demigods around.

Persephone

Persephone is a goddess, and she’s Hades’s wife. Persephone doesn’t appear in the novel, but Percy takes note of her throne and her pomegranate grove in the Underworld.

Mrs. Kerr

Mrs. Kerr is the math teacher who replaces Mrs. Dodds after Percy slays her.

Nereid

Nereid is a water nymph who brings messages to Percy.