Rick Riordan is known for his ability to take ancient myths and weave them into present-day narratives. He incorporates countless monsters from Greek mythology into his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. 

Monsters attack Percy and his friends relentlessly throughout the books and are worthy opponents, many with magical abilities that make them very hard to defeat. Below are some of the most prominent and infamous monsters Percy and his friends encounter.

Cyclopes 

2 cyclop

While the most prominent cyclops in the Percy Jackson universe, Tyson, is friendly, there are also many evil cyclops in the series. 

Appearance: One eye in middle of forehead, larger than average humans, usually very ugly 

Magical abilities: Superhuman strength and size, can mimic any voice, fire immunity, forging skill 

Notable cyclopes: Tyson, Polyphemus, Ma Gasket, Torque, Sump In series:

  • Tyson appears often in The Sea of Monsters, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian 
  • The Sea of Monsters, Polyphemus fights Percy and his friends for the Golden Fleece 
  • The Lost Hero, Leo, Piper, and Jason battle a family of cyclopes in a factory in Detroit 

In Greek mythology: The first cyclopes, known as the Elder Cyclopes, were rescued by the gods in the titan war and became their weaponsmiths creating Zeus’ master bolt, Poseidon’s trident and Hades’ helm of darkness 

Dracanae 

The Dracaenae are female reptilian monsters that serve in Kronos’ army. Other monsters encountered in the series could also fall under this category including Echidna and Kampê because they are part woman and part serpent. 

7-Day Percy Jackson Mythology Trip
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Appearance: Humanoid features with twin serpent trunks instead of legs Magical abilities: Strong fighters, superhuman strength, Echidna and Kampê have dangerous tails .

Notable dracaenae: Echidna, Kampê, Queen Sess and Sssssarah In series: 

  • The Lightning Thief, Echidna fights Percy in the St Louis Arch
  • Last four “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” books as soldiers in Kronos’ army 
  • The Battle of the Labyrinth, Kampê appears guarding Kronos’ prisoners and later in the battle of the Labyrinth 
  • The Dark Prophecy, second Trials of Apollo book, as a prisoner of Commodus, Sssssarah is a friendly dracaena 

In Greek Mythology: The original Scythian Dracaena stole Hercules’ horses and forced him to spend the night with her to retrieve them. 

Empousai 

The empousai are disguised as beautiful women, known for seducing men and drinking their blood. They serve the goddess Hecate. Appearance: Their true form is women with flaming hair, glowing eyes, fangs, wings, one prosthetic leg made of Celestial Bronze and one donkey leg. 

Magical abilities: Charmspeak and beautiful looks to seduce men, true form that paralyzes men, flame teleportation.

Notable empousai: Kelli, Tammi, Serephone 

3-day Percy Jackson Mythology Trip (small group or private)
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In series:

  • The Battle of the Labyrinth at Percy’s high school orientation and later in Daedalus’ workshop 
  • The Last Olympian in Kronos’ army 
  • The House of Hades in Tartarus, Percy and Annabeth encounter Kelli who they previously killed in the Labyrinth 
  • The Blood of Olympus at the battle of the Acropolis, Piper uses charmspeak to convince them to fight each other instead of the demigods 

In Greek mythology: in Aristophanes's The Frogs, they scared Dionysus on his way to the Underworld 

Gorgons 

gorgons in greek mythology credits PaoloGaetano canva

Gorgons in Greek Mythology - Credits: PaoloGaetano/ Canva

Appearance: Snakes for hair, only Medusa was considered beautiful while her sisters are ugly but have wings.

Magical abilities: Poison from snake hair, hands that turn into claws, Gorgon blood is poison from one side of the body and healing from the other side, Medusa can turn people to stone with her gaze Notable gorgons: Medusa, Eurale, Stheno.

In series: 

  • The Lightning Thief at Medusa’s Gnome Emporium 
  • The Son of Neptune, Percy is pursued by Medusa’s sisters In mythology: Perseus defeated Medusa and used her decapitated head to turn many enemies to stone. He later founded Mycenae, one of our tour stops! 

Hydras 

Hercules Killing the Lernean Hydra commons.wikimedia.org

Appearance: huge, lizard-like monster with nine heads and razor sharp teeth 

Magical abilities: can spew acid from its mouth, two heads grow back for each that is cut off 

Notable hydras: None are specifically named.

In series: 

  • The Sea of Monsters, Percy, Annabeth, Percy and Clarisse encounter a hydra in Virginia 
  • The Mark of Athena in Rome when the demigods rescue Nico from the giants, Percy defeats it while his friends rescue Nico 

In Greek mythology: The Lernaean Hydra terrorized the Kingdom of Lerna, near modern-day Mycenae. Hercules defeated the hydra with his cousin’s help. If you book a tour of Mycenae you may pass Lerna!

Minotaur 

the myth of theseus and the minotaur knossosguides

The Minotaur is the second monster Percy fights in The Lightning Thief and one of the most famous of Greek Mythology.

Appearance: Taller than average human, very muscular body and head of a bull with large, very sharp horns.

Magical abilities: Extremely strong, excellent sense of smell Notable: There is only one Minotaur. 

In series: 

  • The Lightning Thief outside Camp Half-Blood 
  • The Last Olympian in the Battle of Manhattan 

In Greek mythology: The minotaur was born to King Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, after he dishonored the gods. The monster was entombed in the Labyrinth in the palace of Knossos in Heraklion, Crete where you can visit with our 7 day tour! 

Book one of our many tours of Greece to learn more about these fearsome monsters!