The Battle of the Labyrinth

In the novel, several characters try to evade their deaths or reverse the death of a loved one. Though death is scary, interfering in the natural course of life creates many emotional problems for these characters that only cease when they accept death’s inevitability. Afraid of the punishment that awaits him in the Underworld, Daedalus creates five automatons to house his soul. The automatons allow Daedalus to mimic immortality for 2000 years, but he lives riddled with guilt and anxiety. For most of the book, Daedalus’s fear of the afterlife outweighs his desire to get forgiveness from Icarus and Perdix. Daedalus’s choice to cheat death doesn’t only affect his psyche, but it also affects the demigods at Camp Half-Blood: Daedalus’s life force sustains the Labyrinth, which means that anyone, like Luke, can use the maze. The Titan army’s successful navigation of the Labyrinth towards Camp Half-Blood results in several young demigod casualties. These events force Daedalus to reconsider “avoid[ing] death that long” (295). When he finally accepts his fate, he receives not only punishment in the Underworld, but also forgiveness. The destruction of the Labyrinth protects Camp Half-Blood from more invasions.

Nico also tries to intervene in the natural course of life for his sister Bianca. Nico cannot accept that Bianca, his only close relative, is dead. Nico’s grief and loneliness eat away at him until he concocts the dangerous plan to resurrect Bianca with a soul exchange. For Nico, this trade would right the wrong of his sister’s early death. However, Bianca does not want to return to the land of living. Nico mentally suffers because he cannot see beyond his own sadness and thinks he must mourn Bianca alone. Nico’s mission to alleviate his grief almost allows King Minos to return to the mortal world, where he would wreak havoc as an agent of Kronos. Nico learns that his friends in the mortal world, like Percy and Annabeth, can help him handle his sorrow. When he finally accepts his mistakes and lets Bianca “stay where she is” (335), Nico’s friendship with Percy grows.

Similarly, the satyrs cannot bear to let Pan go. Their refusal to accept his death accidentally preserved the god’s life beyond its natural limits. Pan has lost his wild domain and thus has no more power. Pan feels everything he “stood for is gone” (314), and therefore he must fade out of existence. Like Nico, the satyrs do not consider the god’s feelings when they undertake their mission to bring Pan back into the world. Blinded by their quest to find Pan so he can recreate his domain, the satyrs do not take on a role in protecting wild. Consequently, Pan’s domain diminishes even further. Pan is grateful for the “sweet, stubborn satyrs” (314), but Grover’s trust in Pan allows him to make the difficult decision to release the god from life. Grover knows that Pan’s spirit and his cause lives on, which comforts him as he mourns.