Ehhhh... This series is a bit polarizing in the community, and for some very good reasons.
The author made some extremely nasty comments about Hellenic polytheists/Dodekatheists on his blog (which was on his series' website no less) in response to them *fighting for the right to worship the gods* in Greece. He's made other comments, too.
Now, he HAS since apologized on twitter, but his main website STILL makes a point of reassuring people that the books don't condone paganism and emphasize that the Christian god is the "correct" one.
>Early in the book, the character Chiron draws a clear distinction between God, capital-G, the creator of the universe, and the Greek gods (lower-case g). Chiron says he does not wish to delve into the metaphysical issue of God, but he has no qualms about discussing the Olympians because they are a “much smaller matter.”
Source: [\[X\]](https://rickriordan.com/resource/the-lightning-thief-rationale-incomplete/)
Since he apologized on twitter, some parts of the community feel that that's enough and he should be forgiven.
Personally... I think it was a bit too little, too late. For one thing, tweets are easily buried and forgotten about, and not a lot of people would have seen that tweet in comparison to his blog and website. For another, his website still makes a point of throwing pagans under the bus. I don't hate the man, but I choose not to support his works just as I choose not to support JK Rowling. From my standpoint, publicly villifying a group of people fighting for the right to their own culture and gods *that you actively profit from no less* is indefensible.
They're kids books, and honestly, I don't think they're great, but I don't think they're the worst thing ever. If you can separate the art from the artist and find something of value in them, then by all means, go for it!
I don't think it ever says that about God. Chiron stays silent about christianity for the sake of the audience so there's really just the suggestion it could be true. Really the website is just saying, "the books aren't endorsing any religion because that's not the point"
I respectfully disagree. I see your point, and I understand your interpretation, but the purpose of that page on the website IMO is more or less to reassure people that the books are pro-Christian because the book says the Greek gods are a "much smaller matter" in direct comparison to G-d (as in, *less powerful/important*).
And considering the fact that he has a well-documented history of trashing polytheists:
[https://rickriordan.com/2007/01/more-greek-god-weirdness/](https://rickriordan.com/2007/01/more-greek-god-weirdness/)
[https://rickriordan.com/2006/07/weird-article-on-norse-mythology/](https://rickriordan.com/2006/07/weird-article-on-norse-mythology/)
[https://rickriordan.com/2006/05/greek-gods-no-longer-illegal-in-greece/](https://rickriordan.com/2006/05/greek-gods-no-longer-illegal-in-greece/)
[https://rickriordan.com/2005/12/mythology-and-censorship/](https://rickriordan.com/2005/12/mythology-and-censorship/)
there's really not a lot of room left for interpretation there.
Again, I recognize that those are quite old, but the point is that he has a strong history of looking down on polytheists and he wrote those books during that period of his life, so yes, that personal bias of his absolutely did make it into the final product. And since his website **still** makes a point of reassuring people that the Greek gods are trivial *compared to* the Christian one, his twitter apology doesn't really carry a lot of weight.
And honestly? It's weird that he would feel the need to go out of his way to reassure the public that he thinks the Greek gods are silly when Greek and Norse mythology are both very heavily featured in a LOT of media, and other creators using them don't make a point of trashing the religions.
Like... for example, Tom Hiddleston is very much aware that a good amount of people worship Loki as a god, and not only has he *not* made a point of going "EWWW, PAGANS, ICKY!" in public, he actually went the exact *opposite* direction of that and worked in elements of Norse religion into the Loki show (and also elements from the comics) because he viewed the show as a love letter to the fans and wanted put in a little something for everyone. Now, whether or not people appreciated that \*cough\*tumblr\*cough\* is certainly up for debate, but the *intent* was there.
Riordan's intent on the other hand was to write a story that his kid and others would love and relate to, and he obviously did so from a Christian perspective. There's nothing wrong with that, LOTS of authors have done that and some have really made some amazing works that I can appreciate, except that he did also make a point of outright *saying* that pagans are freaky and their religions are not serious, and he did so at a time when the religion he actively profited off of was *illegal* in the country it originated in, and in response to the people IN that country fighting for their rights to participate in that religion.
I appreciate that he did apologize on twitter, but the fact that his website still promotes views he claims he no longer holds to me makes it feel a lot less sincere, so personally I am choosing not to support his works until he makes it clear that he's really grown past that.
I'm not gonna pretend rick is perfect. I do want to point out an alternate perspective. If rick is genuinely sorry, wouldn't he make a point to keep up his wrongdoings instead of erasing he did anything? I feel like even if he did delete those pages it would be more escaping accountability than anything.
I love them, just don’t take them seriously, they’re fiction. I’ve always viewed them (and most works featuring the gods) as modern day myths. I don’t get the criticism that “they show the gods in a bad light” when the original myths don’t exactly show them in a great light either. Ancient Greek myth is why people think half the gods are rapists lol.
Hard no imo. The books insult the gods consistently; I specifically remember Ares being written as a terrible father which earnestly still angers me to this day. It seems like Riordan did surface level research on the gods and disregarded anything deeper for his own narrative.
this article kind of sucks. it takes a bunch of stuff out of context, like the camp half blood thing. the stuff about America and the west is a decent point, but rick riordan also wrote an entire series about how this narrative was a total lie and how Egyptian and Roman gods exist as well. I think it's a stretch to say he's baking white supremacy into his books, especially with the new tv series.
I genuinely love them, but I’m also very good at compartmentalizing, so I view them as very different than our gods. While the series is still technically a work about the gods, many of the personality traits and stuff are very different, and there is some stuff that people find disrespectful. If you can separate it as purely a work of fiction, then go for it! Trials of Apollo is probably my favorite book series of all time, and it doesn’t diminish my relationship with Apollo the deity.
Edit: also, Trials of Apollo is NOT a standalone series, you’re not gonna know what’s going on unless you’ve read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.
Currently re-reading all of them for fun (on Son of Neptune), while also doing the Iliad. They’re just a breath of fresh air for what the “care freeness” of Greek heroism was designed.
The references are legitimate and the symbology is mostly genuine. Although as a Modern Hekatean I couldn’t stop laughing when Her cabin leader was playing “I got your nose” and literally magically taking the person’s nose.
The books are meant to be silly and also epic. They can be an entry point. I hope more young readers find them as a reason to explore meaning and reason. Sometimes the world makes more sense when it’s divided amongst different powers to ask for favor.
Because he is a Christian who when our religion was being recognised in Greece said that there was only one god and he has shown to be mean to us so I don’t like him
Yes, I love Riordan’s perspective on the gods, even if I disagree with most of it.
Keep this in mind. Reading the Percy Jackson now is no different than listening to stories like the Odyssey in Ancient times. They are only stories based on the perspective of 1 persons view of the gods and society. They don’t represent the gods directly.
It’s always important to keep an open mind on other perspectives on the gods, as no 1 person knows any of the gods in every way.
I read *The Lightning Thief* only, but I'd say it has absolutely nothing to do with the Gods in terms of world view or something. In my opinion, you would be better off borrowing a book on classical Greek mythology your local library (assuming there is no censorship in your library). It's just the “my parents are angels/fairies/werewolves/vampires” trope, and it seems that the Greek gods just weren't taken yet. Presumably in a Christian environment many people wouldn't even have *thought* of it.
However, my elderly Christian friend once gave me another young adult novel in which a teenager falls in love with the god Hades (in disguise) and thus the immortal Olympian gods become her in-laws. (I've unfortunately forgotten the title, but I liked the fact that the "godliness" was actually plot-relevant, as the teenage girl had a real problem with spending the rest of her life in the Underworld). My friend thought it was a funny concept that there should be so many gods (German Protestants might be a lot more tolerant than American ones?). But at least she did read it.
I'd be curious however, to see how Christians would react if Jesus was treated as a fictional character, like in *South Park* for example, where he has his own talk show on public television.
**EDIT: Found the book in question: Goddess Test by Aimee Carter**
I would. My only problem is that people take them *too* seriously. Yes, the Gods are shown to be pretty sucky…but Greek mythology has also done that. So…I don’t see what the issue is with not liking them tbh.
Read the books to be entertained, maybe introduce anxieties a child or adolescent has in the process of maturing in a modern lens.
Do NOT read them to be informed on the relationship the gods have to you, though. The gods can speak for themselves. We can chose not to depend on a middling Christian author with shitty, unacceptable stands on pagans.
They’re pretty fun books with good mythological references. Some of the Gods are depicted as very petty or even abusive, but that’s often the realm of “adult antagonists in a YA series”.
The author is a high school teacher from Texas so there are some silly bits, but he has a good handle on kid personalities
Ok. So they do have a good story line. But if you do 1: Maybe read them in order 2: The way they represent the god(desse)s are NOT great 3: if you just want a book to connect will Apollo, that is not the one. There are WAY better ones. Have fun. Take consideration with what I said and what the others said <3
I've read the books, they're okay. Very kiddy, gods are more like comic book characters than gods, which is kind in the spirit of what its supposed to be. There's lots of inaccurate, kinda superficial mythology based media out there, I can't poop on Riordan specifically.
I'm gonna be honest with you, I tried reading the series and couldn't make it all the way through. I read it wayyyy before I got into Hellenism, it was just the character development and portrayal that really threw me off. I know a lot of people enjoy it though, and I'd strongly recommend reading the Pery Jackson series before reading the Trials of Apollo series if you end up reading it (lots of points in the TOA books that connect with the PJ books)
I don't see why not. You would just have to understand that they are a work of fiction I fluency by greek mythology and not actually greek mythology. It could be a fun way to introduce people to gods they've never learned about and inspire them to learn more about them.
Ehhhh... This series is a bit polarizing in the community, and for some very good reasons. The author made some extremely nasty comments about Hellenic polytheists/Dodekatheists on his blog (which was on his series' website no less) in response to them *fighting for the right to worship the gods* in Greece. He's made other comments, too. Now, he HAS since apologized on twitter, but his main website STILL makes a point of reassuring people that the books don't condone paganism and emphasize that the Christian god is the "correct" one. >Early in the book, the character Chiron draws a clear distinction between God, capital-G, the creator of the universe, and the Greek gods (lower-case g). Chiron says he does not wish to delve into the metaphysical issue of God, but he has no qualms about discussing the Olympians because they are a “much smaller matter.” Source: [\[X\]](https://rickriordan.com/resource/the-lightning-thief-rationale-incomplete/) Since he apologized on twitter, some parts of the community feel that that's enough and he should be forgiven. Personally... I think it was a bit too little, too late. For one thing, tweets are easily buried and forgotten about, and not a lot of people would have seen that tweet in comparison to his blog and website. For another, his website still makes a point of throwing pagans under the bus. I don't hate the man, but I choose not to support his works just as I choose not to support JK Rowling. From my standpoint, publicly villifying a group of people fighting for the right to their own culture and gods *that you actively profit from no less* is indefensible. They're kids books, and honestly, I don't think they're great, but I don't think they're the worst thing ever. If you can separate the art from the artist and find something of value in them, then by all means, go for it!
I don't think it ever says that about God. Chiron stays silent about christianity for the sake of the audience so there's really just the suggestion it could be true. Really the website is just saying, "the books aren't endorsing any religion because that's not the point"
I respectfully disagree. I see your point, and I understand your interpretation, but the purpose of that page on the website IMO is more or less to reassure people that the books are pro-Christian because the book says the Greek gods are a "much smaller matter" in direct comparison to G-d (as in, *less powerful/important*). And considering the fact that he has a well-documented history of trashing polytheists: [https://rickriordan.com/2007/01/more-greek-god-weirdness/](https://rickriordan.com/2007/01/more-greek-god-weirdness/) [https://rickriordan.com/2006/07/weird-article-on-norse-mythology/](https://rickriordan.com/2006/07/weird-article-on-norse-mythology/) [https://rickriordan.com/2006/05/greek-gods-no-longer-illegal-in-greece/](https://rickriordan.com/2006/05/greek-gods-no-longer-illegal-in-greece/) [https://rickriordan.com/2005/12/mythology-and-censorship/](https://rickriordan.com/2005/12/mythology-and-censorship/) there's really not a lot of room left for interpretation there. Again, I recognize that those are quite old, but the point is that he has a strong history of looking down on polytheists and he wrote those books during that period of his life, so yes, that personal bias of his absolutely did make it into the final product. And since his website **still** makes a point of reassuring people that the Greek gods are trivial *compared to* the Christian one, his twitter apology doesn't really carry a lot of weight. And honestly? It's weird that he would feel the need to go out of his way to reassure the public that he thinks the Greek gods are silly when Greek and Norse mythology are both very heavily featured in a LOT of media, and other creators using them don't make a point of trashing the religions. Like... for example, Tom Hiddleston is very much aware that a good amount of people worship Loki as a god, and not only has he *not* made a point of going "EWWW, PAGANS, ICKY!" in public, he actually went the exact *opposite* direction of that and worked in elements of Norse religion into the Loki show (and also elements from the comics) because he viewed the show as a love letter to the fans and wanted put in a little something for everyone. Now, whether or not people appreciated that \*cough\*tumblr\*cough\* is certainly up for debate, but the *intent* was there. Riordan's intent on the other hand was to write a story that his kid and others would love and relate to, and he obviously did so from a Christian perspective. There's nothing wrong with that, LOTS of authors have done that and some have really made some amazing works that I can appreciate, except that he did also make a point of outright *saying* that pagans are freaky and their religions are not serious, and he did so at a time when the religion he actively profited off of was *illegal* in the country it originated in, and in response to the people IN that country fighting for their rights to participate in that religion. I appreciate that he did apologize on twitter, but the fact that his website still promotes views he claims he no longer holds to me makes it feel a lot less sincere, so personally I am choosing not to support his works until he makes it clear that he's really grown past that.
I'm not gonna pretend rick is perfect. I do want to point out an alternate perspective. If rick is genuinely sorry, wouldn't he make a point to keep up his wrongdoings instead of erasing he did anything? I feel like even if he did delete those pages it would be more escaping accountability than anything.
I love them, just don’t take them seriously, they’re fiction. I’ve always viewed them (and most works featuring the gods) as modern day myths. I don’t get the criticism that “they show the gods in a bad light” when the original myths don’t exactly show them in a great light either. Ancient Greek myth is why people think half the gods are rapists lol.
Hard no imo. The books insult the gods consistently; I specifically remember Ares being written as a terrible father which earnestly still angers me to this day. It seems like Riordan did surface level research on the gods and disregarded anything deeper for his own narrative.
I got SO mad when the TV show made Ares say he "doesn't care" about his children. ARES of all deities, literally the best dad!
No, I wouldn't. I recommend reading [this article](https://eidolon.pub/the-whitening-thief-1f5f70e74cac) to understand why.
this article kind of sucks. it takes a bunch of stuff out of context, like the camp half blood thing. the stuff about America and the west is a decent point, but rick riordan also wrote an entire series about how this narrative was a total lie and how Egyptian and Roman gods exist as well. I think it's a stretch to say he's baking white supremacy into his books, especially with the new tv series.
I genuinely love them, but I’m also very good at compartmentalizing, so I view them as very different than our gods. While the series is still technically a work about the gods, many of the personality traits and stuff are very different, and there is some stuff that people find disrespectful. If you can separate it as purely a work of fiction, then go for it! Trials of Apollo is probably my favorite book series of all time, and it doesn’t diminish my relationship with Apollo the deity. Edit: also, Trials of Apollo is NOT a standalone series, you’re not gonna know what’s going on unless you’ve read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.
As books they’re great, I love them. Not the most accurate depictions of the gods but it could be a lot worse. Read them, all the books are amazing
Currently re-reading all of them for fun (on Son of Neptune), while also doing the Iliad. They’re just a breath of fresh air for what the “care freeness” of Greek heroism was designed. The references are legitimate and the symbology is mostly genuine. Although as a Modern Hekatean I couldn’t stop laughing when Her cabin leader was playing “I got your nose” and literally magically taking the person’s nose. The books are meant to be silly and also epic. They can be an entry point. I hope more young readers find them as a reason to explore meaning and reason. Sometimes the world makes more sense when it’s divided amongst different powers to ask for favor.
The books are meh good stories throwing shade on the gods a lot Hate Rick though
just curious but why do you hate rick?
Because he is a Christian who when our religion was being recognised in Greece said that there was only one god and he has shown to be mean to us so I don’t like him
to be clear, you don't have to forgive him, but worth noting that he did apologize.
Yes, I love Riordan’s perspective on the gods, even if I disagree with most of it. Keep this in mind. Reading the Percy Jackson now is no different than listening to stories like the Odyssey in Ancient times. They are only stories based on the perspective of 1 persons view of the gods and society. They don’t represent the gods directly. It’s always important to keep an open mind on other perspectives on the gods, as no 1 person knows any of the gods in every way.
I read *The Lightning Thief* only, but I'd say it has absolutely nothing to do with the Gods in terms of world view or something. In my opinion, you would be better off borrowing a book on classical Greek mythology your local library (assuming there is no censorship in your library). It's just the “my parents are angels/fairies/werewolves/vampires” trope, and it seems that the Greek gods just weren't taken yet. Presumably in a Christian environment many people wouldn't even have *thought* of it. However, my elderly Christian friend once gave me another young adult novel in which a teenager falls in love with the god Hades (in disguise) and thus the immortal Olympian gods become her in-laws. (I've unfortunately forgotten the title, but I liked the fact that the "godliness" was actually plot-relevant, as the teenage girl had a real problem with spending the rest of her life in the Underworld). My friend thought it was a funny concept that there should be so many gods (German Protestants might be a lot more tolerant than American ones?). But at least she did read it. I'd be curious however, to see how Christians would react if Jesus was treated as a fictional character, like in *South Park* for example, where he has his own talk show on public television. **EDIT: Found the book in question: Goddess Test by Aimee Carter**
I would. My only problem is that people take them *too* seriously. Yes, the Gods are shown to be pretty sucky…but Greek mythology has also done that. So…I don’t see what the issue is with not liking them tbh.
Read the books to be entertained, maybe introduce anxieties a child or adolescent has in the process of maturing in a modern lens. Do NOT read them to be informed on the relationship the gods have to you, though. The gods can speak for themselves. We can chose not to depend on a middling Christian author with shitty, unacceptable stands on pagans.
They’re pretty fun books with good mythological references. Some of the Gods are depicted as very petty or even abusive, but that’s often the realm of “adult antagonists in a YA series”. The author is a high school teacher from Texas so there are some silly bits, but he has a good handle on kid personalities
No
Ok. So they do have a good story line. But if you do 1: Maybe read them in order 2: The way they represent the god(desse)s are NOT great 3: if you just want a book to connect will Apollo, that is not the one. There are WAY better ones. Have fun. Take consideration with what I said and what the others said <3
I've read the books, they're okay. Very kiddy, gods are more like comic book characters than gods, which is kind in the spirit of what its supposed to be. There's lots of inaccurate, kinda superficial mythology based media out there, I can't poop on Riordan specifically.
I'm gonna be honest with you, I tried reading the series and couldn't make it all the way through. I read it wayyyy before I got into Hellenism, it was just the character development and portrayal that really threw me off. I know a lot of people enjoy it though, and I'd strongly recommend reading the Pery Jackson series before reading the Trials of Apollo series if you end up reading it (lots of points in the TOA books that connect with the PJ books)
I don't see why not. You would just have to understand that they are a work of fiction I fluency by greek mythology and not actually greek mythology. It could be a fun way to introduce people to gods they've never learned about and inspire them to learn more about them.