At the prow of the ship, Festus creaked his jaw and blew fire defiantly.
Jason managed a smile. He clapped Leo on the shoulder.
“Sounds like a plan, Admiral. You want to set the course?”
They kidded him, calling him Admiral, but for once Leo accepted the title. This was his ship. He hadn’t come this far to be stopped.
They would find this House of Hades. They’d take the Doors of Death. And by the gods, if Leo had to design a grabber arm long enough to snatch Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus, then that’s what he would do.
Nemesis wanted him to wreak vengeance on Gaea? Leo would be happy to oblige. He was going to make Gaea sorry she had ever messed with Leo Valdez.
“Yeah.” He took one last look at the cityscape of Rome, turning bloodred in the sunset. “Festus, raise the sails. We’ve got some friends to save.”
Glossary
A?E alpha, theta, epsilon. In Greek it stands for of the Athenians , or the children of Athena.
Achelous a potamus , or river god Alcyoneus the eldest of the giants born to Gaea, destined to fight Pluto Amazons a nation of all-female warriors Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares, the god of war. Roman form: Venus Arachne a weaver who claimed to have skills superior to Athena’s. This angered the goddess, who destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom. Arachne hung herself, and Athena brought her back to life as a spider.
Archimedes a Greek mathematician , physicist , engineer , inventor , and astronomer who lived between 287 and 212 BCE and is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity Ares the Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena. Roman form: Mars argentum silver Argo II the fantastical ship built by Leo, which can both sail and fly and has Festus’s bronze dragon head as its figurehead. The ship was named after the Argo, the vessel used by a band of Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece.
Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom. Roman form: Minerva Athena Parthenos a giant statue of Athena: the most famous Greek statue of all time augury a sign of something coming, an omen; the practice of divining the future aurum gold Bacchus the Roman god of wine and revelry. Greek form: Dionysus ballista (ballistae , pl.) a Roman missile siege weapon that launched a large projectile at a distant target (
Circe a Greek sorceress. In ancient times, she turned Odysseus’s crew into swine.
Colosseum an elliptical amphitheater in the center of Rome, Italy. Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas.
cornucopia a large horn-shaped container overflowing with edibles or wealth in some form. The cornucopia was created when Heracles (Roman: Hercules ) wrestled with the river god Achelous and wrenched off one of his horns.
Cyclops a member of a primordial race of giants (Cyclopes , pl.), each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead Daedalus in Greek mythology, a skilled craftsman who created the Labyrinth on Crete in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept Deianira Heracles’s second wife. She was of such striking beauty that both Heracles and Achelous wanted to marry her and there was a contest to win her hand. The centaur Nessus tricked her into killing Heracles by dipping his tunic in what she thought was a love potion but was actually Nessus’s poisonous blood.
Demeter the Greek goddess of agriculture, a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos. Roman form: Ceres denarius (denarii , pl.) the most common coin in the Roman currency system Dionysus the Greek god of wine and revelry, a son of Zeus. Roman form: Bacchus Doors of Death a well-hidden passageway that when open allows souls to travel from the Underworld to the world of mortals drachma the silver coin of Ancient Greece drakon gigantic serpent eidolon possessing spirit Ephialtes and Otis twin giants, sons of Gaea Epirus a region presently in northwestern Greece and southern Albania Eurystheus a grandson of Perseus, who, through the favor of Hera, inherited the kingship of Mycenae, which Zeus had intended for Heracles faun a Roman forest god, part goat and part man. Greek form: satyr Fortuna the Roman goddess of fortune and good luck. Greek form: Tyche Forum The Roman Forum was the center of ancient Rome , a plaza where Romans conducted business, trials, and religious activities.
Gaea the Greek earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters. Roman form: Terra gladius a short sword Gorgons three monstrous sisters who have hair of living, venomous snakes. The most famous, Medusa, had eyes that turned the beholder to stone.
greaves shin armor Greek fire an incendiary weapon used in naval battles because it can continue burning in water Hades the Greek god of death and riches. Roman form: Pluto Hadrian a Roman Emperor who ruled from 117 to 138 CE. He is best known for building Hadrian’s Wall , which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain . In Rome, he rebuilt the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma .
Hagno a nymph who is said to have brought up Zeus. On Mount Lycaeus in Arcadia there was a well sacred to and named after her.
harpy a winged female creature that snatches things Hebe the goddess of youth; the daughter of Zeus and Hera, and married to Heracles. Roman form: Juventas Hephaestus the Greek god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite. Roman form: Vulcan Hera the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister. Roman form: Juno Heracles the Greek equivalent of Hercules; the son of Zeus and Alcmene; the strongest of all mortals Hercules the Roman equivalent of Heracles; the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, who was born with great strength hippocampi creatures that from the waist up have the body of a horse and from the waist down have silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins. They were used to draw Poseidon’s chariot, and sea foam was created by their movement.
hippodrome a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing House of Hades an underground temple in Epirus, Greece, dedicated to the Hades and Persephone, sometimes called a necromanteion,
