The Blood of Olympus Read online

  Peloponnese a large peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece, separated from the northern part of the country by the Gulf of Corinth

  Pelops According to Greek myth, the son of Tantalus and the grandson of Zeus. When he was a boy, his father cut him into pieces, cooked him and served him as a feast for the gods. The gods detected the trick and restored him to life.

  Penelope Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife. During her husband’s twenty-year absence, she remained faithful to him, fending off a hundred arrogant suitors.

  Periboia a giantess; the youngest daughter of Porphyrion, the king of the giants

  Phobos panic, the twin of Deimos (fear), son of Ares and Aphrodite

  Philip of Macedonia a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 B.C.E. until his assassination in 336 B.C.E. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.

  Phlegethon the River of Fire that flows from Hades’s realm down into Tartarus; it keeps the wicked alive so they can endure the torments of the Field of Punishment

  Phorcys a primordial god of the dangers of the sea; son of Gaia; brother-husband of Keto

  piragua a frozen treat made of shaved ice and covered with fruit-flavoured syrup, from Puerto Rico

  Pluto the Roman god of death and riches. Greek form: Hades

  Polybotes the giant son of Gaia, the Earth Mother; born to kill Poseidon

  Pompeii In 79 C.E., this Roman town near modern Naples was destroyed when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered it in ash, killing thousands of people.

  Pontifex Maximus Roman high priest to the gods

  Porphyrion the king of the Giants in Greek and Roman mythology

  Poseidon the Greek god of the sea; son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, and brother of Zeus and Hades. Roman form: Neptune

  praetor elected Roman magistrate and commander of the army

  propylon an outer monumental gateway standing before a main gateway (as of a temple)

  Pylos a town in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece

  Python a monstrous serpent that Gaia appointed to guard the oracle at Delphi

  Repellere equites Latin for Repel horsemen; a square formation used by Roman infantry to resist cavalry

  retiarius a gladiator who uses a trident and a weighted net

  Romulus and Remus the twin sons of Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia. They were thrown into the River Tiber by their human father, Amulius, and rescued and raised by a she-wolf. Upon reaching adulthood, they founded Rome.

  Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) meaning ‘The Senate and People of Rome’, refers to the government of the Roman Republic and is used as an official emblem of Rome

  shadow-travel a form of transportation that allows creatures of the Underworld and children of Hades to travel to any desired place on earth or in the Underworld, although it makes the user extremely fatigued

  Sibylline Books a collection of prophecies in rhyme written in Greek. Tarquinius Superbus, a king of Rome, bought them from a prophetess named Sibyl and consulted them in times of great danger.

  Somnus Roman god of sleep. Greek form: Hypnos

  Spartans citizens of the Greek city Sparta; soldiers of Ancient Sparta, especially its renowned infantry

  Spes goddess of hope; the Feast of Spes, the Day of Hope, falls on 1 August

  Straits of Corinth a shipping canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea

  Tartarus husband of Gaia; spirit of the abyss; father of the giants; also the lowest part of the Underworld

  Terminus the Roman god of boundaries and landmarks

  Terra the Roman goddess of the earth. Greek form: Gaia

  Thoon a giant born to kill the Three Fates

  Three Fates Even before there were gods there were the Fates: Clotho, who spins the thread of life; Lachesis, the measurer, who determines how long a life will be; and Atropos, who cuts the thread of life with her shears.

  Titans a race of powerful Greek deities, descendants of Ouranos and Gaia, who ruled during the Golden Age and were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians

  Ulysses Roman form of Odysseus

  Venus the Roman goddess of love and beauty. She was married to Vulcan, but she loved Mars, the god of war. Greek form: Aphrodite

  Victoria the Roman goddess of strength, speed and victory. Greek form: Nike

  Vulcan the Roman god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Jupiter and Juno, and married to Venus. Greek form: Hephaestus

  Zeus Greek god of the sky and king of the gods. Roman form: Jupiter

  Zoë Nightshade a daughter of Atlas who was exiled and later joined the Hunters of Artemis, becoming the loyal lieutenant of Artemis