67 pages • 2 hours read
Rick RiordanThe Mark Of Athena
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Connection Between Mortals and Immortals
Two contrasting ways of understanding the relationship between gods and mortals in Greek mythology are: 1) The gods are remote from and insensitive to human suffering, and 2) The gods feel so deeply for the mortals for whom they provide patronage that it becomes a source of conflict and potential instability within the pantheon. At various points in the narrative, Riordan draws on both conceptions.
Antagonism between gods and mortals can seem to result from the gods’ lack of concern for mortal suffering. Arachne offends Athena, possibly simply by being a highly talented and skilled weaver, and the goddess curses her to become a monstrous spider. Hercules was tormented by Hera, who took her anger at Zeus for fathering famous children with mortal women out on Hercules. Once elevated to godhood, however, Hercules repeats the same mistakes as the gods, punishing Jason and Piper for something that is beyond their control. Aphrodite seems more interested in an interesting love story than she does about her own daughter. Across the series, immortals repeatedly use mortals to satisfy their anger at each other or to pursue their own agendas, as Hera shapes Leo’s life to suit her own needs.
At the same time, gods and humans are so interconnected that their needs cannot necessarily be disassociated. Annabeth may be disappointed in her mother and question whether she was wrong to punish Arachne as she did, but she cannot allow the Olympians to fall. Though they may not be perfect, they are the stabilizing force. In her fractured state, Athena is ready to disown her daughter, but it is also the case that, when in a stable state, Annabeth is Athena’s favorite daughter. In previous books in the series, she advocates for and encourages Annabeth, to the point that she feels animosity for Percy for distracting her. Both Gaea and Arachne seek to punish the gods by going after their favorite demigods. This is only possible because of the strong connection between gods and their mortal children.
The Danger of Vengeance
Two central preoccupations in Greek mythology are the danger of extremes, especially of anger and the desire for vengeance, and the importance of pity for those who are suffering, regardless of the circumstances. Modern reception of Greek myths has tended to overlook these qualities, but Riordan incorporates both in The Mark of Athena and the overall Percy Jackson universe. The value of meeting suffering with creative rather than destructive responses and being motivated by empathy is a central theme to which he returns.
Riordan foregrounds the value of empathy in the demigods’ relationships with each other and other gods and monsters. Leo empathizes when he relates to Frank’s fear of fire, imagining what it would be like to have the girl who literally holds her life in your hands growing closer to a demigod whose gift is the ability to burst into flames at will. Percy has compassion for the mythical sea monsters Keto and Phorcys have entrapped for display and entertainment. Even though she knows that she will have to kill Arachne, Annabeth can recognize the truth in her criticism of Athena—that she destroyed Arachne’s work and transformed her into a monster out of jealousy. Similarly, Piper pities Achelous for how Hercules has treated him though she must secure his horn to save herself and her friends.
The danger of anger, especially when it tips into a desire for vengeance, is repeatedly shown through the demigods’ experiences. The anger of the nymphs trapped in the underground nymphaeum has been weaponized to destroy the demigods. Escape is achieved through compassion and correction rather than not punishment and violence: Piper’s strategy to detoxify their environment, with Jason and Percy’s help, heals the nymphs, making it possible for them to release their anger and, subsequently, the demigods. In contrast, Annabeth stokes rather than relieves Arachne’s negative feelings by goading her. In retaliation, Arachne is determined to destroy the chamber and Annabeth. Annabeth’s inability to control her emotions in that moment has lasting consequences for her and her friends.
Greeks Versus Romans
In modern times, it is common to speak of Rome inheriting Greek mythology, but this benign characterization tends to mask Rome’s violent conquest of the Greek-speaking world during the second and first centuries BCE. Riordan’s Gods of Olympus series acknowledges that Greek and Roman are two distinct cultures, with different priorities and agendas, and the relationship between them can be tense and fractious. At the same time, series’ narrative arc tries to resolve the tension between the two cultures and reconcile them in a productive way. Some might argue this occurred in history via the integration of Greek and Roman cultures in the Eastern Roman Empire.
The prophecy that drives the quest across the novel and larger series suggests that the Greek and Roman camps must work together for Gaea to be defeated. While both Greek and Roman demigods continue to be suspicious of one another, the seven demigods who join the quest represent both the Roman Camp Jupiter (Frank, Hazel, and Jason) and the Greek Camp Half-Blood (Leo, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth). Despite tensions among them, they put effort into understanding each other, learning to trust each other, and working cooperatively.
Jason and Percy pool their powers to defeat the giants with Bacchus’s help. Leo gains deeper insight into Frank’s anxiety about Leo’s specific power and accommodates him thoughtfully. Piper and Jason, in their romantic relationship, respect each other’s different approaches and complement one another, as when they battle Hercules and the toxic underground nymphs. In addition to the personal relationships that show the need for productive reconciliation, Annabeth’s quest seeks to right a wrong that can bring the camps into harmonious coexistence and cooperation: recovering the famous statue that the Romans stole when they conquered Athens.
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