Wrath of the Triple Goddess

“There was a lot to unpack in that statement. My big takeaway was that Hecate was going trick-or-treating. She seemed to believe that Halloween had been created just for her.”

The above passage exemplifies Rick Riordan’s characteristic use of incongruity for comic effect. Up to this point, the scene emphasizes Hecate’s terrifying power and explained why she will be traveling around the world: “[A]t the end of October, people still remember me! So I must travel the world and make my presence known” (12). Percy thus concludes that because she will be going “trick-or-treating,” an activity associated with children, and that this is why she wants him and his friends to pet-sit for her, a comically mundane need and request.

“I’d had a bad experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and by bad experience I mean almost getting killed by my sixth-grade math teacher when she turned out to be a Fury.”

Across the novel, Riordan incorporates references to events and characters from earlier books in his Percy Jackson universe. In the scene above, Annabeth and her classmates are working on an assignment that asks them how they would redesign the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For those who have read The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Percy’s words recall his encounter with his math teacher/a Fury, who attacked him during a school field trip at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Through Percy’s recollection, Riordan offers long-time series fans a deeper connection to the events in Wrath of the Triple Goddess, but he does so in a way that allows readers new to the series to follow the plot effortlessly.

“Outside, we walked to Annabeth’s favorite thinking spot—a park bench under a maple tree in a nearby churchyard. She’d told me some famous architect was buried there. Peter Stuyvesant? Yeah, that’s the dude.”

The above passage typifies how Riordan incorporates foreshadowing across the novel. The novel is set during the week of Halloween, and they will be pet-sitting for Hecate, an underworld goddess. Thus, setting a scene in a graveyard and mentioning a famous architect buried there suggests these will become important later in the story, which they do: The demigods will summon Stuyvesant and the dead from this graveyard to fix Hecate’s mansion. Such foreshadowing creates a sense of tension and expectation while also engaging the reader to try to predict how the clues will come together.

“Seeing a black Labrador the size of a rhinoceros, with bloodied eyes, a slobbering maw, and dagger-like fangs, my first instinct was to give her a big hug. I couldn’t help it. She looked so much like my old friend Mrs. O’Leary.”

The above passage offers another instance of Riordan’s humorous use of incongruity, as it begins with something that seems terrifying but that is revealed to be familiar: Hecuba reminds Percy of his own hellhound friend, Mrs. O’Leary, who will appear later in the book. In the case of hellhounds and other “monsters,” the humor has an additional intent. Across the novel (and series), Riordan invites readers to reflect on what qualifies as a “monster” and why.

“I know what you are thinking. This looks like the set of The Great Witches’ Brew Off. And you’re right. We filmed all seven seasons here.”

Riordan’s modernization of ancient Greek and Roman myths often employs a filter of contemporary pop culture, as in the passage above. In the scene, Hecate has brought Percy, Annabeth, and Grover into her laboratory/kitchen, where she proudly informs them that The Great Witches’ Brew Off was filmed. The title is a play on the popular British series The Great British Bake Off.

“We had some trouble on Third Avenue when Hecuba decided to attack a Lil Zeus Greek food cart, but I managed to pull her off before she killed the cook or devoured his meat supply. Dude wasn’t too happy. He yelled something in Greek at me—maybe Please control your rhinoceros—but I couldn’t be too mad at Hecuba. For one thing, the food smelled good. For another, anything labeled Zeus sent me into attack mode, too.”

The passage above exemplifies Riordan’s use of humor, foreshadowing, and allusions to ancient myth. Percy and his friends are taking Hecate’s animals for a walk when Hecuba decides to attack a Greek food cart. This references the war, most famously described in Homer’s Iliad, between the Trojans (whom Hecuba was queen of) and Greeks. The scene also foreshadows when Hecuba gets loose and terrorizes Greek restaurants in Astoria. Percy’s empathy with her desire to attack “anything labeled Zeus” speaks both to his own experiences across Riordan’s series as well as to antagonism between gods and heroes in ancient myths (61).

“‘Hey, man…’ I patted his shoulder. I couldn’t tell him everything was okay. Clearly it wasn’t. But I tried my best. ‘We’re here for you. Do you remember what happened?’”

The scene above takes place after Grover drinks Hecate’s forbidden milkshake and, under its influence, destroys her mansion. Percy attempts to comfort his friend not by trying to put a positive spin on a terrible situation but by affirming his support, no matter how angry he may be and how desperate the situation is. His response reflects The Importance of Friendship and Teamwork across the novel.

“This was a smart move—enlisting Grover to help, making him feel like he was part of the solution. Why hadn’t I thought of it? Probably because I was so angry at him. I kept telling myself I shouldn’t blame my best friend for what had happened. I was the one who’d left him alone in the house, after all. Even Annabeth had contributed to the situation, by losing track of time at school. Still, despite these rationalizations, I was shaking with rage.”

Across the novel, characters provide positive models of The Need for Empathy and Responsibility, as in this inner monologue of Percy’s. He is able to confront his true feelings while also acknowledging that he and Annabeth are partly to blame. His reflection on Annabeth’s attempt to engage Grover in solutions also offers young people a way of responding to friends in times of conflict.

“‘Well…I’ve seen worse. When Sinon convinced the Trojans to let the wooden horse inside their gates, for instance, or when Salmoneus pretended to be Zeus and got his entire city destroyed.’

‘Great.’

‘At least Hecate won’t destroy all of New York. She owns property in Manhattan, so that borough’s probably safe…’”

In the scene above, Percy has been discussing his predicament with Chiron and has asked him how bad their situation is. Chiron’s response draws on various catastrophes narrated in Greek myths. The movement from ancient myths (Sinon and Salmoneus) to modern realities (Hecate owning property in Manhattan) exemplifies Riordan’s ability to weave ancient and modern together. The incongruity also provides humor, providing contrast and relief from the seriousness of the demigods’ and Grover’s predicament.

“Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that she’d left a strawberry-flavored experiment behind—with a loose lid, at that—to tempt Grover. Or that she’d suggested I use her torches. Or that she’d mentioned her tantalizingly dangerous library…which Annabeth would be exploring right about now.”

The demigods and Grover each face temptations in Hecate’s house that seem designed specifically to test them, as Percy begins to realize in the above passage. As a goddess of crossroads, Hecate does not make decisions for people but presents them with options that they can choose or not. These decisions—or crossroads—become learning and growing opportunities, which Percy understands by the end of the book. By making growth and responsibility a central theme of the novel, Riordan provides young people with tools for facing difficult decisions in life, showing that their choices do matter, that they will face both success and failure, and that what matters is doing their best with whatever they face.

“‘I can only imagine what you went through when Troy fell,’ I confessed. ‘But you can scare all the Greeks you want…It won’t heal the grief. It’s just chucking more wood into the fire. I think it’s better to find your pack and protect it.’”

Percy speaks the above words to Hecuba after she shadow travels with him to Troy. Having seen her memories, Percy understands how much pain she is in and her inability to verbalize that pain. His suggestion that destruction can never satisfy her rage echoes Hecuba’s own observation about Achilles in Homer’s Iliad. Across the novel (and series), Riordan weaves myths into the story in ways that young readers can relate to and learn from.

“I’ll miss you two. And it’s selfish, so I haven’t said anything. I want to help. I really do. But part of me wonders…maybe that’s why I drank that strawberry potion. Subconsciously, maybe, but still…just to sabotage things. What if I did that? I couldn’t live with myself.”

Grover’s admission strips Percy of his anger as Percy realizes that he did not do enough to make his friend feel confident that he was not being left behind. This scene between the two friends exemplifies how Riordan uses conflict to teach young readers how to engage productively with one another, developing themes around friendship, empathy, and responsibility. In this instance, Percy does not jump in to reassure Grover but pauses to reflect before replying. When he does respond, he begins by taking responsibility for not having discussed the situation with Grover earlier. By the end of the scene, the two friends have come to a deeper appreciation for what the other is going through.

“Grover tried to pronounce it. ‘It looks like something Hephaestus might scream when he drops a hammer on his foot.’”

Grover’s remark above is in response to seeing the name “Aeaea” on a storefront. This is the name of Circe’s island in Greek mythology and in Riordan’s series, but it also sounds like the exclamatory cry of grief found in ancient Greek sources: “ai ai.” Riordan here plays with sound and meaning in a way that many ancient Greek texts do, but he does so in a way that bridges ancient Greek and English (as screams sound similar across language). This exemplifies his deep knowledge of the source material, which enables him to craft stories that entertain both young and expert readers.

“I’d been wrong about Hecate. She hadn’t turned Gale into a polecat out of jealousy. The reason was worse. She’d empathized. She’d lacked faith that Gale could survive on her magical talents alone. Hecate of all people knew how the world saw witches. She’d pitied Gale, admired her, and yes, maybe even feared her a little, but she could not imagine a mere human succeeding when she, a goddess, had failed. So Gale had to cease being human.”

Across the novel, Riordan emphasizes empathy and responsibility as keys to meaningful and productive relationships. Riordan explores this theme as it applies to all characters, from the demigods and Grover to Hecate and her animals. In the scene above, Percy realizes that he was mistaken in assuming that Hecate’s power made her insensitive to the lives of Hecuba and Gale. What he assumed was jealousy was something more complex and deeper. This passage exemplifies the attention Riordan gives to character growth, providing young readers with models of empathy and personal responsibility.

“The students needed…more than we could give them. Empathy. Opportunities for healthy communication. I didn’t know how to close the rift. And Hecate, well, she believes in crossroads, in people making their own choices, even if all the choices are bad. She refused to intervene. Things got nasty toward the end. Then she kicked everyone out, swore never to teach again.”

In the above passage, Eudora explains to Percy why Hecate’s school ended up closing: World War I had broken out, students had taken sides, and they were unable to reach across their divides and communicate productively with each other. Hecate oversees crossroads, not the process of actually navigating one’s way through them. By saying that the students needed more than Hecate alone could offer, Eudora emphasizes the importance of friendship and teamwork. Hecate needed to rely on others as well but was unable to do so, a central preoccupation in ancient Greek myth narratives as well.

“They’d been slumbering in their graves for centuries as new York rose around them, burying almost every trace of their lives, eroding the names on their gravestones, making it impossible for them to sleep with all the traffic and construction. Now they were disoriented and angry.

I couldn’t blame them. Resting in peace wasn’t something that happened a lot in Manhattan.”

Riordan weaves descriptions of New York City throughout the novel, rendering it almost a character with its own personality and growth arc. The passage above demonstrates this as well as the novel’s juxtaposition of the mythic and mundane. Percy refers to earlier inhabitants of the city who can no longer rest because of the loud and persistent traffic and construction that characterizes modern Manhattan, playing on the dual spiritual and everyday connotations of “rest.”

“All heroes had fatal flaws. Annabeth’s was pride. She always aimed as high as possible, confident she could go even higher. Most of the time, she was right. But calling for help after one block? The situation had to be desperate for her to swallow her pride like that.”

In ancient Greek narratives, what makes heroes “tragic” is that they participate in their own destruction through the mistakes they make. Riordan puts a modern twist on this with his own heroes, incorporating it in a way that emphasizes each person’s limitations and their need to rely on each other. Here, the immediate danger of the ghosts overwhelming the demigods forces Annabeth to rely on Percy. Though Percy repeatedly emphasizes her preeminent skill, she too must remember the need for friendship and teamwork.

“‘Pete!’ I yelled. ‘Get your ghosts off my lawn!’

I figured my buddy Geras, the god of old age, would approve of my cranky shouting. I also suspected I might not be seeing Geras again, since I was likely to die right now in my prime. (Also, if this was my prime, that was a whole ’nother level of sad.’”

The above passage exemplifies the way Riordan weaves in humorous references to his earlier books and uses pop culture catch phrases. “Get off my lawn” is a stock phrase mocking older people’s stereotypical grievances with the young. Here, Riordan turns the tables, having Percy use the phrase to complain to the centuries-older Stuyvesant. Geras featured in Riordan’s first book in The Senior Year Adventures, The Chalice of the Gods.

“Annabeth tried to cross the torches by herself, but she didn’t have the strength. ‘Too…too heavy.’

‘Hey, Wise Girl,’ I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice, ‘be wise. I don’t know much, but I do know we’re stronger together. Always.”

Across the three series set in the Percy Jackson universe, Annabeth has consistently been the dependable and capable daughter of Athena. In this novel, Annabeth retains that role, but Riordan also gives her a growth arc that includes showing how her greatest strength can also be her biggest flaw, a central theme in his Heroes of Olympus series and in ancient Greek myth. Annabeth’s arc across the novel is resolved in the moment above, when Percy reminds her that teamwork is always the better way, highlighting one of the novel’s central themes.

“‘It’s okay, cousin,’ Clovis said. ‘It’s a big city now. It belongs to all of us. You’ve done your part. Now you deserve a rest. Bring it in.’

Clovis embraced the ghost, and with a long sigh, Stuyvesant let go and dissolved.”

Riordan often gives famous historical figures immortal parents, thus making them demigods; this ties them into his mythical universe while providing an explanation for remarkable acts, both great and terrible. In Wrath of the Triple Goddess, Riordan does this with Peter Stuyvesant, revealing him to be a son of Hecate. As occurs across the novel, resolving anger requires not retribution but recognizing The Need for Empathy and Responsibility: Stuyvesant returns to his eternal rest after Clovis acknowledges his role in creating New York City, reaffirms that the city does not belong to him alone, and hugs him.

“‘So you’re saying I shouldn’t feel guilty?’

‘None of us should. Grover’s fatal flaw is apparently strawberry milkshakes, right? But sometimes life gives you strawberry milkshakes. Then you gotta count on your friends to look out for you. We’re a team. How many times have you propped me up?’”

After Hecate’s mansion has been repaired, Percy and Annabeth have a heart-to-heart where she admits feeling guilty for her mistakes. Percy comforts her by reminding her that everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes it is Percy himself, other times Grover, and other times Annabeth. That is why they need each other. This pivotal moment emphasizes the importance of friendship and teamwork, which must be remembered by all.

“Then it occurred to me that, whether Hecate knew it or not, she was offering me another crossroads—a temptation just as dangerous as the strawberry milkshake. It would be too easy to leave now with my recommendation letter. It would be a hundred percent safer. It would also be wrong.”

Across the novel, the demigods and Grover have faced many challenges. Here, Riordan suggests that the most difficult challenge is doing the right thing when it would be easier and safer to do the wrong one. Dealing with the missing pets and ghosts had to be done, but when Hecate gives him his recommendation letter, Percy could walk away without fulfilling his promise to Hecuba and Gale. Instead, he chooses to fulfill it, exemplifying the need for empathy and responsibility.

“‘I’m trying to show you the best path,’ I said. ‘Whether you take it…that’s up to you. But Grover drinking that strawberry potion and tearing up the manse—in a way, it’s the best thing that could’ve happened. I think, on some level, you meant for it to happen. We got the pets back, but now we understand what they need. We repaired the mansion, but its foundation has been cracking for over a century. Our architect, Annabeth, figured that out. You’ve got a ghost problem. Old regrets. Old grudges. We saw that last night when we met your son Pete.”

Riordan explores the importance of friendship and teamwork and the need for empathy and responsibility across the novel. Percy could choose to restrict these lessons to the friends he began with, Grover and Annabeth, but he chooses to continually expand his circle, becoming close with Gale, Hecuba, and Nope as the story progresses. In the end, he behaves like a friend toward Hecate as well. He could have seen her as his antagonist, but instead, he chooses to empathize with the pain she is in and show her that she has an opportunity to improve her life and the lives of those around her.