The Battle of the Labyrinth

Annabeth Chase is the half-blood daughter of Athena (goddess of wisdom and battle) and one of Percy’s close friends at Camp Half-Blood. She has “blond hair” and “gray eyes” (15). She lives at the camp year-round to spare her mortal family from being attacked by monsters. Annabeth has a soft spot for Luke even after he betrayed the Olympians, and she holds onto the belief that he is not truly evil. This creates a conflict that manifests as defensiveness and stubborn silence whenever Percy tries to talk with her about Luke’s plan.

Annabeth has been dreaming of leading a quest ever since she arrived at Camp Half-Blood—and in this novel, she gets her wish. As a daughter of Athena, Annabeth is strategic and smart, always formulating a plan before entering a situation. This contributes to her frustration when the Labyrinth does not act logically. Much to her dismay, she resorts to “deductive reasoning” (95)—guessing—about what to do instead. Annabeth is proud of her intellect and her wisdom, sometimes in excess. She stubbornly refuses to be a part of anything that insults her intelligence and accosts other children of Athena, like Daedalus, for not using their godly gifts to their full potential.

Annabeth is somewhat hostile towards mortals because of bad experiences with her mortal family, but she is especially quarrelsome with Rachel out of jealousy over Percy. At first, whenever Rachel is around, Annabeth makes snide comments about her abilities, but eventually Annabeth comes around to Rachel, and they forge a connection based on their mutual love of art and architecture.

Grover Underwood is a satyr (half-goat, half-human) and Percy’s best friend. Grover is older than Percy, but because satyrs “age half as fast as humans” (28), Grover appears much younger. He has goat hooves and horns, which he hides under jeans, running shoes, and a Rasta cap when he goes into the mortal world. Like his father and grandfather, Grover is a searcher whose task is to seek out Pan, the lost god of the wild—he decides to go into the Labyrinth in hopes of finding Pan.

Grover begins the story as a frightened and anxious satyr who “[shifts] nervously” at his trial with the Council elders (28). During dangerous situations, he jumps in alarm or hides behind someone bigger than him. While on the quest, he gains the confidence and determination to split from the group when he can sense Pan’s presence. This decision catalyzes Grover’s growth, and by the end of the book, he can “stand up straight” and look directly into the Council members’ eyes (321). He becomes a leader for the rebuilding of the wild.

Tyson is a Cyclops, Percy’s half-brother through Poseidon, and an official member of Annabeth’s quest. He has a “single calf-brown eye,” “yellow and crooked” teeth, and brown hair (33). Tyson is huge, which makes him superhumanly strong. Though he looks tough because of his size, Tyson has a childlike innocence, speaking in short, excited sentences. However, Percy knows that despite how “big and childlike he was, Tyson was pretty smart” (38). He can understand complex ideas, like the Great Prophecy, without needing Percy to clarify it for him.

Tyson has superhuman hearing and vocal mimicry, and he can understand ancient monster languages. He loves machinery and previously worked in Poseidon’s underwater forges. Despite this towering size, Tyson has incredible dexterity that allows him to make delicate items, like Percy’s collapsible shield/watch. Tyson claims to be allergic to Grover’s goat fur, which causes a distance between them, but he overcomes this discomfort to help Grover complete his mission. Tyson idolizes Briares and Hephaestus, who both don’t live up to his idealized expectations, but he uses his heroes’ flaws as examples of how not to act, and always chooses to be a good friend above all else.

Nico di Angelo is the 11-year-old son of Hades (god of the Underworld). He has “shaggy” dark hair, is pale and skinny, and wears “ripped black jeans and a battered aviator’s jacket” (40). Nico refuses to live at Camp Half-Blood despite having no family to stay with. As a child of the Underworld, Nico feels he will “never be accepted by the living” (296). He feels strongly that he doesn’t fit in with other half-bloods, but he still helps Percy against the Titans.

Nico begins the story angry and vengeful. He cannot accept that his sister Bianca died and blames Percy for not saving her. Nico tries to act older than he is, though Percy reminds him that “it’s okay to still be a kid” (344). Riordan leads the reader to believe that Nico is an antagonist for Percy, but eventually reveals that Nico is being manipulated by King Minos. Nico has a change of heart after speaking to Bianca’s ghost and decides to help Percy defend Camp Half-Blood.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare is a mortal girl who unofficially joins Annabeth’s quest as a navigator. Despite being a mortal, Rachel can see through the Mist like Percy’s mom. This skill helps her see a faintly lit path in the Labyrinth that leads to Daedalus’s workshop. Rachel’s ability has allowed her to see monsters for years, so she is relieved that she isn’t “going crazy” when Percy tells her the truth about gods and demigods (9).

Rachel is assertive and speaks bluntly to Percy, “punching [him] with words” (151). She is not fearless, but she is brave: Despite knowing the dangers that follow Percy, Rachel agrees to go into the Labyrinth. Rachel isn’t trained in combat like Percy and Annabeth, so she fights with whatever she can—like musical instruments or her hairbrush. Her boldness in the face of Kronos shocks and impresses Percy. Rachel’s confidence only dwindles when she speaks about her family, whose money comes from land development. She begins to overcome this shame when Pan and Percy help her realize all the good she has done.

Daedalus is a half-blood son of Athena and the legendary inventor of the Labyrinth. Daedalus appears in two forms throughout the book—as the old man from myth in Percy’s dreams, and as Quintus, the automaton and sword master at Camp Half-Blood. Daedalus’s old age in Percy’s dream makes Percy unsure if Daedalus could still be alive in the maze. As Quintus, he has a purple mark on his neck in the shape of a bird—a reminder of Perdix’s murder.

Daedalus/Quintus is a double agent. He presents himself as a good-natured volunteer to Chiron and the campers, but actually acts as a spy for Luke and Kronos so he can achieve his personal mission: atoning for murdering his nephew, grieving his son Icarus, and evading King Minos’s punishment. At first, Daedalus/Quintus is so jaded by his constant misfortune and curses from the gods, that he will only “work only for [him]self” (279). By the end of the book, he overcomes his fears to help defend Camp Half-Blood. His newfound clarity allows him to sacrifice himself and destroy the Labyrinth.

Luke Castellan is a half-blood son of Hermes (god of messengers). A traitor to Camp Half-Blood, Luke works with Kronos, the Titan Lord of Time, the main antagonist of the book and the whole series. Kronos has a deep hatred for the Olympians because they threw him into Tartarus during the last war. Luke and Kronos start the book as different entities, but fuse together with the demigod’s pledge of allegiance.

Kronos’s evil character stays static throughout the book, but Luke hesitates about his role as a vessel. Luke hates Percy and enjoys taunting him, so Kronos manipulates Luke’s anger to keep Luke obedient to his role, overriding his conflicted feelings. Still, Luke still has a soft spot for Annabeth, whom he wants to spare from as much harm as possible. Annabeth returns his feelings, believing that Luke may still be redeemable, possibly foreshadowing the series’ ending.

King Minos is a minor antagonist whose motivations and personality do not change or develop. Minos is very concerned about his reputation and holds a grudge against Daedalus for turning his family against him. This grudge motivates Minos to hunt Daedalus in both life and death. Minos, like Daedalus, appears as two different entities. As a king in Percy’s dreams, Minos has a beard “pointed like a spear blade” and eyes that “[glitter] cruelly” (63). As a ghost in the present, Minos is a judge of the underworld. Minos is manipulative and sadistic, using Icarus’s torture as a threat for Daedalus and threatening King Cocalus to get what he wants in the past, and using Nico to get information for his own soul exchange with Daedalus in the present. Once he has no use for Nico, Minos has no problem selling the young half-blood out to Kronos. Minos’s mission of revenge consumes him, and he tries to get rid of anyone who gets in his way.

Hephaestus is the Olympian god of the forge, blacksmiths, volcanoes, and fire. To the half-bloods, he appears as a huge mechanic with a “misshapen and bulging” face (188), a limp, and tilted shoulders—injuries from Hera throwing him off Mount Olympus as a baby. Like Tyson, Hephaestus’s hands are agile, and he can create small intricate machines despite his large size. Like most of the Olympian gods, Hephaestus has a few traits that dominate his personality. Aside from being a proficient craftsman, Hephaestus is defined by his isolation. Betrayed by his mother and his wife Aphrodite, Hephaestus has a hard time trusting other people and so he only trusts himself.

Hera is the Queen of Olympus, wife of Zeus, and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, and families. Hera combines the two archetypal mother figures: the nurturing and the wicked. To the questers and those she deems worthy of being in her “perfect family” (191), Hera is kind, helping in any way she can. To those she deems unworthy—like Hephaestus and Nico—she is cruel and violent. Hera acts as a hidden benefactor on the quest. However, Percy and Annabeth’s refusal of Hera’s future help draws out her wrathful temper, which sets Hera up as a potential antagonist in the future.