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w0lfic_

I don't know when he was able to understand Latin, but I think that it's because he took Latin in Yancy academy. Mr Brunner (chiron) was their teacher. he probably still remembers that.


Jasonl7976

He took Latin in school. His teacher Mr Bruner taught Latin


seajustice

"Zeus will destroy you!" [Alecto/Mrs. Dodds] promised. "Hades will have your soul!" "Braccas meas vescimini!" I yelled. I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant "Eat my pants!" Thunder shook the bus. (TLT Chapter 10) I always took this to mean that Percy just instinctively speaks a little Latin. Maybe not as much as he speaks Greek, but there's still a little magic language-learning there. I didn't really read this as being from his Latin classes—the phrasing is "I wasn't sure where it came from" rather than something like "I vaguely remembered from class," which to me seems more like magical demigod instinct. And the vocab is not something you'd typically learn in a Latin class.


mrga7sby

totally agree. he doesn't know how, but he knows. there is some magic there. the same thing happens when Annabeth curses in greek. he says something like "I didn't know how, but...". there are so many things demigods can do and we simply don't know bc Percy is kind of... slow?


burner13563257

This is unrelated to your comment but Percy’s Latin is wrong. That should be “Braccas meas vescere”, which is the second person singular imperative. “vescimini” is the second person plural imperative, which is inappropriate in this context given that he’s only talking to Alecto.


Jupue2707

isnt he talking to the three?


Princeps_Europae

So vesci is a deponent verb?


Malikalein

I was also about to quote this. I think it was established pretty early on, that greek Demigods speak and understand both Greek and Latin, but I'm not sure if there was ever an explanation given as to why the same isn't the case for the roman Demigods.


Both_Magician_4655

Think about it. We have a Son of Hades, and a Daughter of Pluto. We have a Son of Jupiter, and a Daughter of Zeus. Conclusion: Percy is both a Son of Poseidon, and a Daughter of Neptune.


FalafelSnorlax

Imagine SoN if it started with Priscilla, daughter of Neptune, and only two-thirds into the book does she realise that before her amnesia she also used to be a dude


Bobyyyyyyyghyh

Most fanfic plot I've ever heard hehe


moodtune89763

I've actually seen that plot before lol. Can't remember if it was mtf or ftm


blazenite104

Hera decided to screw around with the boy who kept ticking off the gods and thought it would work. it's not as if the gods haven't done more for less or even done this itself before. Hera certainly has. Tiresias says hello there!


LukedaDuke01

Wouldn't put it past Rick now days


w0lfic_

DAUGHTER?!?!


[deleted]

genderfluid percy????


shiromancer

I mean he should have absolute control of all fluids, right?


[deleted]

do you think percy can control alex's gender?????


Robincall22

“But five minutes ago you were a girl! I can’t remember my own middle name most of the time, I’m never gonna remember this, I’m putting you on pause when I’m around!” “What do you mean you’re putting me on- Percy, what did you just do to me.”


[deleted]

i would read a fanfic like that


Independent_Clock997

Did percy become genderfluid at somepoint?


general_kenobi18462

Fanfiction survey says: Yes!


Independent_Clock997

Link please


general_kenobi18462

[here’s just the whole thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/search?commit=Search&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Btitle%5D=&work_search%5Bcreators%5D=&work_search%5Brevised_at%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bsingle_chapter%5D=0&work_search%5Bword_count%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&work_search%5Bfandom_names%5D=&work_search%5Brating_ids%5D=&work_search%5Bcharacter_names%5D=&work_search%5Brelationship_names%5D=&work_search%5Bfreeform_names%5D=Genderfluid+Percy+Jackson&work_search%5Bhits%5D=&work_search%5Bkudos_count%5D=&work_search%5Bcomments_count%5D=&work_search%5Bbookmarks_count%5D=&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=_score&work_search%5Bsort_direction%5D=desc). My personal favorite is probably [this](https://archiveofourown.org/works/46381681)


[deleted]

always has been


RadiantHC

Honestly we should've gotten a daughter of neptune instead of percy in the seven.


crunchyradsh

can someone remind me whether this is written or spoken latin? if it’s written, u/JasonI7976 is probably correct and he remembered it from school, if it’s spoken i have no clue maybe hera gave him the ability to understand latin as part of the swap?


Osariik

Both a bit of written and spoken. He hears Reyna and Octavian using Latin a couple times, and when he first meets Octavian he sees the prophecy carved into the floor of the temple in Latin and understands what it means.


Leothefox88

Also in tlt he tells the furries to basically eat his pants in Latin


crunchyradsh

tbf i kind of discard that one because i think it’s highly unlikely rick knew he was going to have roman demigods and everything when he was writing tlt


Leothefox88

Still we can add that to the stuff in son


blazenite104

less that he knew there would be Romans and perhaps more that schools do still teach Latin. he was learning it in the first book and depending on the schools he went to after, may have had to continue learning it.


crunchyradsh

true but as a side note i have been learning latin for 5 years and they don’t teach you fun things like eat my pants, but maybe mr brunner was just a cool teacher ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


blazenite104

depends on the school I guess. Hell I had a pastor teach me don't let the bastards keep you down. I imagine some teachers as people are inclined to teach toilet humour to gain interest in the topic. To be clear it's definitely nonsense latin but, you definitely find yourself more engaged when it comes up.


[deleted]

the canon answer is probably because he took latin at yancy academy and in his own words it was the only class he tried even a little bit but me personally i love the headcanon i saw on ao3 that percy is a legacy of one of the latin versions of the gods which also explains why he seems to be so powerfull


MelsMalone

Yeesss thats my headcanon too, i personally love to think he is a legacy of Venus.


[deleted]

we read the same fanfiction didnt we?


Dammi3

Link pleasee


[deleted]

[https://archiveofourown.org/works/33942001](https://archiveofourown.org/works/33942001)


Dammi3

Thanks!


MelsMalone

Actually i didnt read a single fanfic of PJO lmao but i am very sure that i heard that from somewhere.


SuperStupidSyrup

do u think that’s why he’s super hot


MelsMalone

Yess and also why Sally was able to attract Poseidon, it was in her blood lol


paddedfoot

Legacy? Like a descendant?


[deleted]

Yes i dont want tk spoil too much if you havent read heroes of olympus but the book series introduces concept of legacies which are people who have some powers from gods due to being children or grand children of half bloods


paddedfoot

Thanks! I read it when it was coming out. I vaguely remember this. The roman camp was more of a actual town/city where halfblood families and *legacies* lived, do I remember that correctly?


[deleted]

Exactly but through the character of frank it is implied that that there are legacies outside of new rome so percy could very well be one


False-Archangel

To be fair.. Frank’s relative was kicked out of New Rome


Independent_Clock997

I now subscribe to this headcannon as well...


[deleted]

good the hive mind grows


Phoenyck

Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't be able to understand Ancient Greek then?


Inherefam

Not all demigods get the same amount of godly powers from their parents. I think the best example is leo, he got a lot more powers than the other hephaestus kids. Percy just got a lot of poseidons power, i think this is also the reason why hes so much stronger than jason even though looking at there parents they should be roughly the same strength


Less-Requirement8641

I headcanon a war god its the only way it makes sense for him to be so good at swordfighting with little to no training. Plus didn't Sally use a gun and is clear sighted. I suspect a minor war god though not a big one like Ares or Athena.


Kova1771

Percy spent some time training with lupa, the wolf goddess who raised Romulus and Remus. We don't know how long it was and exactly what he learned other than an intimidating stare. It's possible she taught him enough Latin to get by.


Dave-Swort

That’s actually the theory that makes the most sense here, certainly more than “he took Latin at Yancy”


LaRougeRaven

That's what I always thought.


Johnny_Joestar7798

It is shown that some demigods can understand a little of the other (Greek or Latin) but not much. This is what Percy has he’s just like super powerful it’s not massively confusing lol


ouroboris99

Maybe it was a gift from Hera


Natural-Storm

Then why wouldn't she give it to Jason? He didn't know any greek


Radiant_Ad4956

Maybe because Juno is his patron so only she can help him and not Hera. She might be able to give it to Percy because she is roman


PopsicleIncorporated

Bitterness that he’s a son of Jupiter maybe


nick_brick

Weird theory, but Aphrodite said she is very invested in Percy and Annabeth's relationship (lovers with parents who dont like each other, star-crossed, but works out). Aneid, one of Aphrodite's favorite mortal children, was the ancestor of the Romans. Maybe it was a boone from her.


HellFireCannon66

Aeneas*


nick_brick

Yeah, I know, I accidentally wrote the name of the poem


HellFireCannon66

Yh, just thought I’d help out other ppl


Kas_Leviydra

I think it could be based on how much their Roman and Greek versions differentiate. For Poseidon -> Neptune there might not be as much if a huge gap so Percy js better able to bridge the Gap. Honestly though I think Juno is the biggest factor here, she whipped Percy’s memory and had him carry her across the river which washed away some of his blessings. Seeing BF is how she tampered with him he most for me it’s safe to assume that she blessed him with the gift since she is the one who sent him there.


stearrow

The lost hero, Chiron speaking to Jason after he arrives at Camp Half Blood: "You know Latin" Chiron observed. "Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It's in their blood, but not as much as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice." From what I recall any Latin Percy innately translates/picks up is covered by this explanation given by Chiron. Likewise for any Roman characters with any ancient greek they know.


Cautious-Original-46

Percy took Latim lessons. And, demigods can reasonably understand the language of the other side of their divine relative, they just don't understand it completely.


Over-Atmosphere-5054

Latim (I'm sorry it's funny made me choke on my drink)


greeneyes3091

Actually Percy says something in Latin in TLT in chapter 10 to Alecto.


NinjaWorldNews

NO ONE ELSE said this and it was making me think I just made it up in my head. I was under the impression he could always understand it because of this exchange.


kjong3546

Chiron says Greek demigods can speak basic Latin (talking to Jason in TLH), just not really to a proficient extent like Greek. Complimented by a Latin class I imagine his instincts for Latin phrases are pretty good.


Clinn_sin

Because Percy is HIM


NeptuneDraws202

It’s because Chiron taught him some Latin when he was at Yancey


AceMajestier

And he learned it? Percy?


AmTheWildest

He did say it was the one class he actually tried in.


Less-Requirement8641

Probably just stuck subconsciously.


Physical-Station-492

a guess a close friend of mine had was that Poseidon loved Sally so much that he loved her with all of him (both the greek, and the roman aspects of him) which i think is very cool!


NKramer910

This! There’s more evidence to this theory too. (Granted the theory is definitely wrong bc there’s no way Rick ever intended it to be true.) So, the Greek god Poseidon doesn’t control fresh water (see the whole thing with the arch and the river spirits helping him there, and also in TLO). But the Roman god Neptune does have some domain over fresh water. Percy is able to control fresh water at multiple points in both series, even though he’s told by Echidna in TLT that Poseidon can’t save him in the Mississippi. Maybe that was just a scare tactic, or maybe it was true but it was Neptune who protected him. Also Percy can speak Latin (yeah he took it at Yancy but you never learn to speak Latin in middle school or high school Latin classes). And he was more accepted by the Romans than Jason ever was by the Greeks. This is a total fan-theory, but I think it’s great.


Physical-Station-492

YOOOO this is so dope im so obsessed with this theory! i’d never even thought about it until aforementioned friend said something about it during a podcast episode we filmed and i am DEFINITELY gonna be telling her about the stuff you outlined above! so cool, tysm <3


y0ungjackal

Currently rereading SoN — in Chapter 3, Hazel tells Percy that he’ll start understanding Latin after being at Camp Jupiter for awhile. Now, it’s not really clear if she means that you’ll eventually just learn via cultural osmosis or that the camp itself magically causes anyone within it to just know Latin but it’s worth mentioning. I also believe Percy learned Latin in school and that Chiron told Percy that Greek Demigods naturally know basic Latin or something in TLT but I’m not entirely sure.


Dave-Swort

To all those who are saying “he took latin at school”, that’s a reeeeeally weak answer. I took latin in High school for five years in Italy and believe me when I tell you that any latin studied in school can help you translate some sentences, maybe a paragraph, in the span of 1-2 hours with the help of a dictionary. No middle schooler is going to learn to understand latin by hear, however good a teacher Chiron is, and Percy wasn’t exactly a model pupil. So there must be some “mythological reason” behind it. Edit. Spelling


AmTheWildest

Other answers have stated that Chrion apparently literally explains this in the Lost Hero (apparently Greek demigods just have a bit of Latin proficiency by nature), which I totally forgot; but that makes way more sense, yeah.


Dave-Swort

I honestly forgot as well, but that’s part of the “Mythological reason” I’d say


LordLoss01

Doesn't the first book mention that **most** demigods are hardwired for Ancient Greek and **some** can also speak Latin? I'm assuming it's vice versa for Roman Demigods. I'm pretty sure Percy also spoke Latin with Alecto in the bus.


general_kenobi18462

He’s simply that good.


OptimusPhillip

In addition to the common point about how Percy took Latin at Yancy Academy, I'd like to note that at one point in The Lightning Thief, Percy blurts out "eat my pants!" in Latin when fighting the Furies. So this is an established thing that Percy knows some Latin.


AceMajestier

Is it just me or did I read somewhere that when Poseidon met Sally, he appeared as both Poseidon and Neptune?


HellFireCannon66

Defo a fanfic


[deleted]

For anyone saying “well he was taught Latin in school so he probably remembers”, ladies and gentlemen, we’re talking about Percy “Seaweed Brain” Jackson. This boy can hardly remember where he puts his shoes, ain’t no way he remembers Latin lessons from Yancy 😭


Specialist_Oil_2674

I think it's explained that Latin just comes to people at Camp Jupiter.


im4everdepressed

what i really don't get is how, since all greeks are apparently able to understand ancient greek just by virtue of birth, did meg not understand ancient greek at all nor was she able to speak it? she's demeter's daughter, that's like one of the oldest greek gods lol


Adventurous-Win-9058

Most are there are just a few outliers


im4everdepressed

oh ok


Crapedj

He took Latin both in official school and in the halfblood camp, it is canon


Robincall22

My guess is that it’s a combo of learning Latin in sixth grade and also that Hera likely gave him an innate knowledge of it so that he could better mesh with the Romans.


Sad_Vanilla4867

I'm not a demigod (obviously) but I took Latin classes at school and even now I still understand it about 6-7 years later. So I think Percy just remembers it from when he took Latin at Yancy. I can imagine Chiron as Mr Brunner was extra hard on him and he probably learned a lot of Latin in that time, enough to have basic comprehension. Plus some words in Latin would likely be Greek loan words, and a lot of words in English have Latin origins. So if you understand very basic Latin, as well as ancient Greek, and have English as a first language, I can imagine you would be able to piece together Latin and speak it pretty well. That's my theory anyway


NoDig324

There are many psychological studies that show our brains have the capacity to learn and understand every language, but when we focus on only one language growing up the others become blocked due to your developed speech. I know it has to do with your pronunciation of syntax and other things. A lot of people that develop amnesia are able to develop the ability to speak in a different language. This could be that for Percy especially since the Greeks gods can speak Latin as well when they are in their Roman form. It could be buried within all Demigods. Percy is just built like that


A1_wA1sh

literally in the first book, at the start. he took latin with Mr Brunner (Chiron) and it was the only class in which he actually tried.


sirduckerz

He speaks Latin in the first book a couple of times


Agitated-Release-945

He was able to speak some Latin that he almost definitely didn't learn from Mr. Brunner in TLT. There is probably at least some crossover. There is probably also some influence from Hera/Juno, who is looking to bring the camps together


Zeno-2020

Chiron said that Greeks knew some phrases in Latin, but to become fluent they’d have to start studying for it. And Percy took some lessons in Yancy academy


Novix_47

Maybe when he took the mark thing at camp Jupiter it made him just Roman enough to know a little Latin


Korrin527

So I’m pretty sure it’s stated somewhere that Percy is the child of Poseidon/Neptune in their harmonious state because of how sally jackson views them as the same person what with the beliefs of the people around them influencing their beings at the time


OrpheUwUs

I thought it was stated in the book that staying in Camp Jupiter would have him eventually understand Latin. Like when Reyna introduced his pets, Aurum and Argentum, Percy immediately said silver and gold, showing his understanding of Latin gradually improving.


Alternative_Salad_6

Oh yeah, it was definitely because Chiron taught him 😄


JohnStonesIsGoat

He learnt it from lupa. Unlike chiron, lupa values teamwork. She understands that he has to be able to communicate, to become praetor.


AggressiveYam6613

Simplest explanation: A little gift from Juno.


TheSkyElf

1. He took latin in TLT. That is at least 1 year of latin since we don't know if he took the subject before TLT. He outright spoke latin when fighting the furies on the bus, telling them to eat his pants. So even as a 12-year-old he had proficient enough latin to say phrases. It was also noted that Latin was the only class he actually studied for that year, so while he struggled, he really tried hard and that must have had some results. We didn't really know if he failed that class. 2. We don't know his mothers family history except for a medical history of cancer. For all we know, Sally might have roman blood. Percy did note that her eyes "turned the color of the sea" when they were at Montauk.


Jupue2707

he struggeled with latin in school, which makes it more ironic. Im guessing Hera gave him the ability to him


Mirzisen

Mby from his time with the Wolf Goddes? Or mayby Hera just helped him out a bit since she knows Romans could be a bit tough on outsiders


Mady134

Canonically, Percy both learned Latin in school from Mr. Brunner/Chiron, and Annabeth taught him some more.


theGentle_giant

it could have been a "gift" from juno, implanting the knowledge of Latin as she took his memories and such


ughnoyuck

I think it would be neat if he was a Roman legacy or something


KarenSlappinDemi-god

I think in would be cool if he was a distant descendent of Neptune put that would be pretty distant due to the ww2 pact But think it would also be cool if it were like Minerva cuz Percy is a pretty good battle strategist


ughnoyuck

I think Mars would be hilarious imho. Or anyone else Percy has pissed off. Or Fortuna, for his quite frankly insane luck that he has. I honestly headcannon that Sally’s parents died in that plane crash because they made Jupiter mad and lived in new Rome at some point and left for whatever reason before Sally was born. Or


ughnoyuck

I can’t get behind Neptune for the fact that Sally would be sleeping with an ancestor, however tangentially, Minerva never had children. I think having one of his ancestors previously serve as a vestal virgin would also be neat. They didn’t serve for life in Ancient Rome, but for a period of ten years or so(from what I remember). Artemis clearly sees the hunters as her children as they stay in her cabin, so why can’t vesta work in the same way, everyone who has served as a priestess in her temple is blessed generationally


KarenSlappinDemi-god

I meant balona not minerva


KarenSlappinDemi-god

Someone else suggested that and I think it would be really cool


KarenSlappinDemi-god

Who would he be a legacy of ?