The Lightning Thief

by

Rick Riordan

The Underworld Term Analysis

The Underworld is the underground land where the afterlife is located; the god Hades rules over it. The Underworld is where Hades’s palace (modeled after the aboveground one on Mount Olympus) is located. To get to the Underworld, a soul must cross the River Styx and pass through the gates guarded by Cerberus. There are several different places within the Underworld where a soul can go depending on how virtuous of a life the person lived. The entrance to the Underworld is through a recording studio building in Los Angeles.

The Underworld Quotes in The Lightning Thief

The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by The Underworld or refer to The Underworld. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn’t think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I’d ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn’t sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he’d be with me.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Chiron/Mr. Brunner
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn’t lived with him every summer, you probably would’ve been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must’ve loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”

Related Characters: Grover (speaker), Percy Jackson, Mom/Sally Jackson, Smelly Gabe
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I’d almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Procrustes/Crusty
Page Number: 284
Explanation and Analysis:

I thought maybe Annabeth and I both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody—even monsters—needed a little attention once in a while.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase, Cerberus
Page Number: 298
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Immediately I knew that’s where I wanted to go when I died.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. That’s the place for heroes.”

But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Grover
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

“More security ghouls,” he moaned. “Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!”

[...]

“Problems everywhere, and I’ve got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving.”

Related Characters: Hades (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth Chase, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 311-12
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. [...] I had spent thousands of miles worried that I’d be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Mom/Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hades
Page Number: 317
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn’t know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going on.”

“But they’re your family!” Annabeth protested.

Ares shrugged. “Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say.”

Related Characters: Annabeth Chase (speaker), Ares (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Hades, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 322
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes

I realize Hades must’ve built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn’t welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he’d built his own Olympus underground. Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Hades
Page Number: 339
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Underworld Term Timeline in The Lightning Thief

The timeline below shows where the term The Underworld appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...the other gods defeated Kronos, sliced him up, and threw him into Tartarus in the Underworld. Then, Mr. Brunner  sends everyone outside for lunch but calls Percy back. Mr. Brunner insists... (full context)
Chapter 6
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...Council of Cloven Elders. Chiron mentions the “fate” of Mom, and Percy asks if the Underworld is real too. Chiron says it is, but then he changes the subject. (full context)
Chapter 7
Family Theme Icon
...Cherry Coke and drinks a toast to Mom, whom he’s sure is imprisoned in the Underworld. Before Percy can take a bite, he notices everyone else getting up. Luke leads Percy... (full context)
Chapter 8
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...and Hera have honorary cabins while Hades has no cabin, being the god of the Underworld. Grover says that after World War II, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—the Big Three—swore on the... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...over the Minotaur seem small. He asks if heroes have gone on quests to the Underworld, but Grover becomes suspicious. Percy changes the subject and asks if satyrs always guard demigods.... (full context)
Chapter 9
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...Then, Chiron walks Percy through what he must do: the thunderbolt must be in the Underworld with Hades. Terrified, Grover tries to insist that the bolt could be elsewhere, but Percy... (full context)
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...is his oldest friend. He asks Chiron where they should go. Chiron says that the Underworld is always in the west—now, it’s in Los Angeles. Percy suggests they take a plane,... (full context)
Chapter 11
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...feels angry about the quest. He finds Medusa’s account books, locates the address for the Underworld—it’s in an L.A. recording studio—and fills out a packing slip for the Hermes Overnight Express.... (full context)
Chapter 12
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...Percy admits that he only agreed to the quest so he could go to the Underworld and rescue Mom; he doesn’t care about Poseidon at all. Grover says that no matter... (full context)
Chapter 14
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...fate isn’t hopeless—Percy must go to the beach in Santa Monica before going to the Underworld. Before the woman leaves, she tells Percy not to trust the gifts. (full context)
Chapter 17
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...would explain the Furies’ behavior on the bus. Percy asks why they’re going to the Underworld if he already has the bolt, and Grover suggests that they’re going to blackmail Hades... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
...Hades is the wrong move. Annabeth assures Percy that the answer is still in the Underworld since Percy saw spirits of the dead. At sunset, they arrive at the beach in... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...She gives Percy three pearls and says that only three mortals have gone to the Underworld and made it out alive. If Percy needs help, he should smash a pearl. She... (full context)
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...have prices. They take the bus into West Hollywood looking for the entrance to the Underworld, but the driver hasn’t heard of DOA Recording Studios. They can’t find it anywhere. Percy... (full context)
Chapter 18
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...prepared—they’ll have to wait for a few centuries before they can afford passage to the Underworld. (full context)
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...but Mr. Charon hisses that Percy is a half-blood. Percy insists on going to the Underworld and bravely refuses to let Mr. Charon take the money. He says that Hades probably... (full context)
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
Mr. Charon steers the barge to the shore of the Underworld. Percy, Grover, and Annabeth follow the spirits to the entrance, which looks like busy airport... (full context)
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...go off. As both Annabeth and Cerberus cry, Percy thinks that even monsters in the Underworld need attention. (full context)
Chapter 19
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...going. Percy desperately wants to eat the fruit, but he remembers Persephone’s story—if they eat Underworld food, they’ll never leave. (full context)
Chapter 20
Family Theme Icon
...bolt and the helm, but he says that Percy was supposed to die in the Underworld to anger Poseidon and leave the bolt there to anger Zeus. Hades is angry, anyway,... (full context)
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
...of the sword’s sheath, enchanted to only accept the sword once Percy got to the Underworld. Percy asks why Ares didn’t just keep the bolt. For a minute, Ares seems to... (full context)
Chapter 22
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...bead is black with a trident to commemorate Percy’s parentage and his quest to the Underworld. Everyone cheers, and Percy feels both happy and sad. The other campers feel like his... (full context)