"The Mark of Athena"- Thoughts, Inferences, and Predictions

I started to learn a lot more about two characters in particular- Hazel and Leo. Though they are not the main characters in the book, Hazel and Leo are still very significant in the plot. Both have a very important role in as for they are two of the seven people who are destined to stop Gaea from taking over the world. In many ways, Hazel and Leo are very alike. One way is that they both had very dark pasts- Hazel was resurrected from the dead by her brother and Leo had a harsh aunt who put him into foster care and was really mean to him. Also both have a encountered Nemesis, who is the Goddess of Revenge, and she told both of they about their responsibilities or fates that are going to occur in the future; Hazel has to go and rescue Nico, for he will die in six days, and Leo is the odd man out and he will need to fight through many hardships in the future. No that I have declared them to be quite similar, I think that Leo, who actually thinks that he is the odd man out will realize that he is not really that different from Hazel and he might stop those thoughts from contaminating his brain. 

I think that Nico, Hazel's brother, will be saved by Leo, because during the mini quest to get materials for the ship, both Hazel and Leo develop a friendship. And with that friendship, Leo will feel obliged to save Nico. Though there is not too much evidence to back up that prediction, I surely think that Leo will rescue Nico. That prediction is for later in the book, but for now, I think that after Leo and Hazel return to the Argo II, the other will be back and they will head to Rome to save the entire Rome as well as Nico. This can be thought through logic; if they cannot head back to the Roman demigod's camp and they have nothing really to do at Camp Half-Blood, their only other option in order to advance their plan to stop Gaea and go to Rome.

I think that at the end of the book, the Roman demigods will realize that some took control of Leo, who made him attack the Roman camp. Since the Roman are following them, I think that both of the groups will travel to Rome and, meet there. However, they will later realize that Leo was being controlled by someone else. So far, I think that this a great book and encourage everyone to read this series.

"The Mark of Athena"- The Highlights of the Book (So Far)

I am around pg. 95 in the Mark of Athena and so far, the book is extremely interesting and many unexpected things have happened just in the first couple of chapters. Rick Riordan is extremely good at plot twists and changing the story line at the most hyped-up times. For example, after the Greek and the Roman camps unite to destroy Gaea, the most unexpected thing happens- Leo, who somehow became demented for a little while, used the Argo II and shot at the Roman camp. The Roman think that the Greeks came to attack them right now and they are now fighting. Since the Greeks were outnumbered, they retreated and Percy, Annabeth, and a couple others board the ship a leave. They later realize that Leo has been possessed and someone made him attack the camp.

At first, I thought that after the Greeks and Romans unite, no one within the camp would cause the alliance to break apart. But, of course, what I didn't expect happened. I even thought that they would just team up and kill one cyclops, Gaea's children, at a time. I believed that the only other problem that would occur is the prophecy of the Mark of Athena, which wasn't well described in the book, but was mentioned. Apparently, once a son of Athena went to Rome and came back mentally ill. I really don't have an explanation about what the Mark of Athena is, but since Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, I think that something bad will happen to Annabeth.

Another interesting point is that when Leo and Hazel go to find celestial bronze and lime, they encounter Nemesis, the Greek and Roman Goddess of Revenge. Nemesis started saying that she would be the only God that could help them on their quest, because Hera, their former "mentor" is being chased by the Gods for failing to unite the Roman and Greek demigods and causing them to get migraines, since it is hard to be both the Greek and Roman version of themselves. So after Nemesis asks them if they need help, she says that Nico, Hazel's brother, is going to die in six days if they don't find him and save him and she also talks about something bad that is going to happen to Leo.

This lead to suspense for the readers and it made me very intrigued, because I wanted to keep reading to find out more about their obscured fates and also about the Mark of Athena. Again, Rick Riordan is so good at plot twists that he just forces the reader to keep reading and reading his books. He leaves the reader with limited amount of information and then he literally make the reader keep thing about what the obscured thing is. For example, I just kept thinking and thinking about what the Mark of Athena is and about Nico's and Leo's fate. Overall, I think that the two main point from this reading that Rick Riordan leaves the reader thinking about is what the Mark of Athena is and the fates of Nico and Leo.

Please comment on this blog post and maybe even discuss about what these two things are about and if you already know, don't ruin it for those still reading.

The Heroes of Olympus- Thematic Statement

 

The Heroes of Olympus is a series on Greek mythology where two demigod camps, Greek and Roman, have to overcome their hatred of one another in order to stop Gaea, the goddess of the Earth, from taking over the world. Though there is a lot of mythology and action in this series, the theme is quite applicable in the real world, maybe even in daily life. The theme that I have drawn from what I have read so far in the series is that teamwork will help achieve seemingly impossible goals. Throughout the series, it emphasizes the fact that the Greek and Roman camps can only stop Gaea from taking over the world with unity between them. In fact, in the Mark of Athena, the Greek camp is putting their differences and hatred with the Roman camp aside and approaching them to ask for help or, in other words, an alliance. After all they both have one goal: to stop Gaea from taking over the world.

Even before the Mark of Athena, the Greek and Roman camps already seemed to have an alliance. Jason and his friends, Roman demigods, were saved by the Greek camps from a monster at the very beginning of the series. The Greek demigods, unknowingly, brought them to their camp, thinking that they were Greek demigods. Since Jason and his friends were brainwashed, they didn't remember that they were Roman demigods. Later in the Lost Hero, Jason and his friends help the Greeks defeat a Cyclops, a son of Gaea, and from there they formed an informal alliance. On the other hand, Percy, a Greek demigod, was rescued by the Roman camp and taken in there, thinking that Percy was a Roman demigod. Since he was also brainwashed, he couldn't remember that he was a Greek demigod. At the end of the Lost Hero, Percy helps the Roman camp and develops an informal alliance. Later in the series, we find out that the Greek/Roman god and goddess planned this out so that the Greek and Roman camps would work together to take down Gaea and put her back to sleep. Based on these two pieces of evidence, it is obvious that teamwork is emphasized and the fact that teamwork is helpful and needed to achieve a common goal.

One theme that is present in the book it that even rivals can work together. This theme is demonstrated in the book, because the Greek and Roman were straight-out hardcore rivals. In the past a lot of fights and wars have resulted in the growing hatred between them. However, they overcame the difference and united to overthrow and destroy Gaea's ambition of taking over the world. This theme is very applicable in life, because now a days, people have been prejudice and developed rivals by being insensitive. With applying this theme, there will be less rivalries, so there will be less of hatred leading to a more cooperative group and society that can help each other in achieving and overcoming a common goal.

Please, if you find anymore themes in The Mark of Athena, or even in the series, comment on this blog and put the theme in there and maybe even with evidence.