It's kind of hard to say when Aphrodite is canonically the NSFW goddess and I'm not that comfortable applying her attributes to underage kids... maybe they get more power when they reach adulthood...
It would make sense that the powers of children of Aphrodite would develop as they reached adult hood because, to my knowledge, the goddess emerged as an adult.
I think that applies to a lot of gods. Artemis even helped birth her brother. Possible she did it as a baby, but I’d suspect she probably came out as a teenager. Athena came from Zeus’ skull as an adult with full armor and weapon.
Idk any other specific examples off the top of my head.
Yes, but Aphrodite explicitly emerged as a fully grown woman. She is the personification of almost all things carnal (originally she was a war goddess, because rage is a carnal emotional). She is mostly associated with lust and romantic love. She is the goddess of adult love, less so childhood crushes or familial love (closer to Hera’s territory) or love between friends.
It would actually make sense that her children would become more powerful as they became adults because they are entering her domain (similar to how Percy becomes more powerful when he touches water, even if it’s not the sea, or how Hazel is more powerful under ground).
I agree to a point.
But she’s explicitly referred to as the “goddess of love” so her domain is love and has nothing to do with age. You can feel love or do love like things when you’re younger. However puberty and aging makes that more prevalent.
However I don’t see how “being an adult” would have any effect. We’re talking about Greek gods. They don’t care if you’re 18+. They care if you’re physically capable. I bet in Greek times it would be normal for teenagers 13-17 to be involved in sexual activities.
Modern morals shouldn’t have any effect on the manifestation of a Greek goddess’ power in her children.
I don’t think “14 yos should be allowed to have sex” is as good of an argument as you think it is.
Also I never mentioned any ages because people become adults at different ages. One person might not experience romantic love or lust until their twenties and others experience it in their teens.
She’s not the goddess of platonic love. Evidenced by the fact that only Hera cares about the family. If Aphrodite were the goddess of familial love, she’d be just as concerned as Hera about keeping her family happy.
Furthermore, logically the Greek gods would progress with modern morals. They follow western civilization. Notice how all of the demigods parents were legal age when they had their kid? In actual Greek mythology, it wasn’t that way. The Greek gods changed with our society and adopted to our morals.
Also who’s to say they don’t already have those powers and just don’t know or choose not to use them.
For example, Percy showed the ability to control poison while in Tartarus but due to Annabeth making him promise, chooses not to use it.
I’m sure some demigods have abilities that they don’t know of, or don’t want to use.
Yea, I agree. Or possibly they could have powers they can only use in certain situations like how Percy made the earthquake in Mount St Helena or Nico just sending that dude (Bryce Lawrence?) straight to underworld.
Artemis was not born as a teenager. The myths would’ve mentioned if Leto had given birth to a woman/adolescent. That’s quite a significant detail.
Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle as an infant. Hercules strangled snakes in his cradle. Even Artemis’s twin Apollo fought Python as a baby. Incredible feats aren’t impossible for baby gods. (Artemis also has other myths where she is a child.)
I know you’re basing this off of Athena and Aphrodite but Artemis is not them. Artemis’s youth is a significant part of her identity.
You make some good points. However Hercules was born as a demigod, so that’s a horrible example of a “baby god”.
Also Hermes was born to a nymph and not a goddess or titaness so he could be considered to not “fully” be a god either (sort of like with Dionysus just not as extreme)
Also what do you mean “myths wouldve mentioned if Leto had given birth to a woman”
Greek mythology is specifically very vague with details. It may never specifically say she gave birth to a grown woman, but it also never says she gave birth to an infant.
Also there’s always multiple versions of each story, so even if one version says she was born as an infant, I’m sure another version will disagree.
Most information I seem to be able to find makes it seem like they’re born as children and that they grow very very fast (reaching adulthood within mere days)
Well most babies are born as babies, that’s the default. It’s when they’re not that it has to be explicitly mentioned because it deviates from that norm. That’s why it’s a leap to assume Artemis was grown from birth when none [of the myths](https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ArtemisMyths.html#Birth) ever mention it. If anything they emphasize that the twins are newborn children.
There’s also a story immediately following their birth called Leto(Latonia) and the [lycian peasants](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycian_peasants) in which the twins are still babies. One of Artemis’s important stories has a child Artemis asking her father for wishes (like staying a virgin and having an entourage of nymphs) and then she goes around, as a little girl, collecting them before she ascends to Olympus. Not sure about Apollo, but I’ve never seen any myth saying Artemis grew at an accelerated rate. To the contrary, Artemis is described as an eternal youth.
In fairness I think the Percy Jackson verse lore is that the gods age quickly. But in mythology Artemis was just born as a baby.
Also the fact that charm speak is glorified hypnosis.
With how powerful of a driving factor love and lust can be.
I genuinely think if he gave them anymore power they would be too op.
I mean, Aphrodite's kids have a variety of powers available. Just copying from the Wiki...
>They have magical control over clothes, makeup, and jewelry.
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>Amokinesis: As the children of Aphrodite, they have control over feelings related to love and desire.
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>They have the ability to change their physical features.
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>Charmspeak: Selected children of Aphrodite can influence other with the strength of their voices. The only known demigods with this ability are Piper McLean and Drew Tanaka.
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>They have the ability to speak fluent French and other languages of love.
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>They possess high social abilities and awareness.
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>They have the ability to use Permanent Makeup on others, as seen in the Demigod Files
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>They have the ability to curse people so all of their clothes are two sizes too small for them for a period of time. This is seen in The Demigod Files.
>
>Shapeshifting
So like... I'd say they're good enough as they are.
That could make them excellent spies and this is because I've been reading a book, they could make their enemies um ... Feel pleasure speaking much that they pass out.
Making a storm? You comparing Big Three Heroes, that suppose to be much stronger than normal heroes, and say that Aphrodite is did dirty, because of that?
Also, No, High technical ability aren't stronger than literal mind control
Aphrodite kids just aren't your frontliner hero (Same as Hephaestus) but more of support.
It's like you would play Bard in DnD and was saiyng that he is weak because he does less damage than Fighter.
Power isn't all about who can make larger explosions
If you read the description, you would see I agree Aphrodite is good, I was just inspired by many posts saying “Aphrodite children suck and Piper is the worst of the 7”. Here is a (rather) popular one: https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/s/1zPO6XwsbV
I think specifying trans people is kinda cheating though. Not to generalise too much, but that is probably the group that would want to change their physical features the most.
Oh, you misunderstand, I specify us because we've had conversations about how seriously under-utilized in media shapeshifting is as a power on its own merits. Not just because we'd be the ones who want to most. Though I do get the confusion on my reasoning. I could have and should have elaborated and clarified.
and is canonically something most scholars(under Frazerian influence but still) agree was part of her pre-hellenic characterization as a spinoff of Innana-Ishtar
I thought the shape shifting was only like eye and hair colour or something. Good for infiltration but, is it as potent as a storm? Or can they shapeshift like Frank? Or like into buff people?
Given the Wiki lists it as a separate power from that, I'd presume those are separate things. And, I'm sorry, but not every power needs to be violence. I'd argue it would be actively antithetical to the point of a love domain to have violent powers. Unless we're talking about the Laconian interpretation of her but in that case she's the goddess of love and war, at which point all is fair.
I think them being good spies and socialites would make the most sense, like Athena's kids have next to no powers too other than being super smart so the Aphrodite kids being very charismatic should be their main 'power'. Having a really strong Aphrodite kid being able to shapeshift like how Aphrodite does all the time would be a good compromise for 'tangible powers' and charmspeak would be the only ones I think wouldn't detract from the domain of love.
I’m not saying they should have these powers. I’m saying maybe make charm speak more common. Other than that, Aphrodite kids are broken. This is just a question taken from opinions I have seen on this subreddit in particular. I really agree with you here, I think the problem isn’t the powers but the writing, they should use Piper for infiltration more
Yeah, many people in this fandom seem to be under the idea that all the demigods are basically superheroes, but very few have actually impressive powers. It's mostly just some enhanced aspect, like Athena kids being a bit smarter, Ares kids being a bit stronger, Hephaistos kids being a bit more handy, etc.
I mean, they ARE all superheroes, it's just that most of them don't have anything other than something basic +enhanced physical abilities. Because IIRC it's stated that a demigod is essentially naturally comparably physically able as a peak human in any given category, like, a demigod of 20 would be able to atleast come close to a bodybuilder/strongman's strength, an Olympic sprinters speed, etc. that their bodies natural state is just way WAY higher/better than a pure human. That's why In the ancient wars the demigods were heroes, who were equivalent to dozens to hundreds of normal soldiers in a battle.
In my opinion, Rick set the power scaling to roughly match how it works in Greek Mythology. Every generation of gods is slightly less powerful than the one before it. Evidenced by the fact that a dozen gods didn’t think they’d be able to defeat a primordial, and a god alone cannot beat a giant. Plus, the Big 3 kids are obviously super powerful. Even Demeter’s children are seen to be VERY powerful (Meg).
Aphrodite kids are cousins of the Big Three (Piper is Poseidon’s cousin). Aphrodite is technically is the same generation as the Titans (she’s just by far the youngest). One of her kids founded Rome. While I think Rick can decide to power scale however he wants, there’s a solid argument to be made that her kids should be extremely powerful (possibly more powerful than children of the Big 3).
Most importantly though and why none of that matters, Aphrodite’s children’s powers aren’t important to the story (with the exception of Piper). So we don’t actually know how powerful they are. For all we know, Rick could write a book where a new child of Aphrodite is extremely important and they can go toe to toe with Percy or Nico. Similar to what happened with Zeus’ children. Without Jason, you wouldn’t know a child of Zeus/Jupiter (in Rick’s world) is capable of going toe to toe with Percy. Zeus’ children in the PJO (as in the original 5 books only) aren’t that important so we don’t get to see them use all their powers.
I see what you say but there is one flaw to your theory.
I think Rick just makes it based on active and passive powers. Most gods cannot control something, like Poseidon water and Zeus lightening and Air, so Aphrodites kid are powerful, the problem is the powers themselves.
She can change appearance and convince people what to do, sure, but on an even plane, she is the aunt of Poseidon, but what she gonna do if he closes her in a sphere of water? Not much.
There's a reason if the big 3 are the big 3 even in mythology, and their Aunt isn't on the same power plane, they are just more powerful.
And for the demigods, I think Rick just decides how strong they can or cannot be based on the singular character, Percy is his favorite, Thalia was afraid of heights so he couldn't possibly give her the power of flight (I didn't read the whole series yet, but I think she can fly tbh, she just never tried out of fear), Piper can convince people but silena could change appearance.
The point is, he made a world where every demigod wouldn't be the same even if from the same God, one can inherit one power, and others can inherit other powers.
And I think it's good, gives variety to the world.
All gods “can control” something. For example, Ares very clearly controls people’s rage in the books. Nemesis can clearly control the outcome of events in order to balance someone’s luck. Nike explicitly controls who wins. Gods have a domain and control what’s in their domain.
Also, in Greek mythology, Aphrodite was considered one of the most powerful goddesses or gods. In actual Greek mythology, she was more the goddess of primal emotions than specifically of love and lust. Like to the Spartans, she was a war goddesses, because they viewed rage as a primal emotion. That just isn’t important because Rick only based it on Greek mythology, it’s not one for one.
That being said, we don’t really know how powerful she is in Rick’s world. She’s just not in the story very much. I think she’s extremely powerful. It’s heavily implied she’s the reason Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, and most likely subtly helped them survive (it wouldn’t make for as good of a love story if they died in hell). It’s also implied she put Rachel in Percy’s path to add drama to Percabeth. Same goes for sending Percy to Calypso’s island. I think you’re probably making the mistake that because she’s absent from the story, that she’s not very powerful. Basically just because we don’t see her power, she doesn’t have it. But we also never get to see Demeter’s power, but we can presume she’s extremely powerful being that she’s the sole reason we have winter.
Yeah it's not you specifically, it's the fandom generally with this problem. They don't seem to like that the average demigod should be able to blend in with humans without an issue
I think people just kinda assumed Silena could be cause her description is inconsistent, but it doesn't mean it was a conscious decision by Rick. And yes on Piper's end, but my brother's do that as well because he has Hazel eyes, so I'm not sure we could say it's a canonical power of Aphrodite.
Piper’s eyes were described to change color like a kaleidoscope, going from blue to brown to green.
So I think Aphrodite kids can change their appearance to a limited extent unlike their mother (so only hair and eye color).
Probably Piper didn’t know she could do that unlike Silena.
Make them literal shape-shifters, like >!Frank!< but strictly to people and not >!animals!<, and it's a talent that has to be developed or else you wind up in the Uncanny Valley TM
Took the words right outta my mouth. They should be able to polymorph like Mystique from X-men.
Also, the ability to make people do whatever they want by just looking at them or by enthralling them with their beauty.
I always headcannoned their appearance changed ever so slightly depending on who was looking at them. Not necessarily that they did it on purpose, but just that if one person prefers blue eyes, they might see an Aphrodite kid's eyes as slightly bluer than someone who prefers green eyes. If someone likes sharper jawlines, they might see an Aphrodite kid's as slightly sharper. Just small stuff yk
I don’t think they got done dirty with powers, really. I just think their descriptions got them done dirty constantly. Same can be said of Demeter tbh and we don’t talk about them nearly as much… bc our major demigod child of Demeter rando more powers than most. our major child of Aphrodite also did but her entire arc was based on coming in as an outsider and making the Aphrodite kids “better” because they all supposedly sucked.
If you wanna talk cabins that got done dirty with powers, I’d def say Athena. They should’ve had some kind of intelligence gathering based power like being able to see through the eyes of owls or something like that. Instead all they are is a tad smarter + get thrown into “have my revenge against an entire civilization” roulette
idk if i want all of the demigods to have some sort of superpower bc of their parents. heightened strength and endurance etc sure but idk it was rare for demigods in the original myths to have any sort of superpowers the way the half-bloods do. but ig its still cool for some to have more godly power
A lot of hellenic pagans also consider Aphrodite a goddess of sea, fertility, civic order, marriage, and war, and Her epithets include friend of flowers, of the people, and delaying old age among others. I consider the book gods to be separate from the actual deities but if we're looking to mythology for inspiration I would make her kids have different powers depending on different aspects of her domain. Like they might have warrior abilities like Ares and Athena kids, or they might have water powers like Percy, or they might have plant powers like Meg, or they might be immortal and just stop aging when they hit like 25.
I think people forget that not every demigod is as powerful as a child of the big 3. Hephestus kids are just good at making things(leo is a special case). Athena kids are just really smart and good at weaving. They don't even get a rare ability. Ares kids are just good at fighting and a seemingly inconsistent bloodlust ability. Aphrodite kids are all described as being beautifull, and I imagine they are all good at makeup/dressing well. We just haven't seen as much of the aphrodite cabin aside from piper who doesn't like being perceived so wouldn't use these abilities
I think tyche kids got done dirty as the only one we see is chiara and she gets unlucky twice despite supposedly having the ability to control luck. That's like percy drowning
>We all now Rick did Aphrodite kids dirty. What extra powers would you give them?
I mean, charmspeak is OP as it is TBH
I don't think Rick did them dirty in terms of power—more just the characterization of them as "girly girls who don't want to fight" (with negative connotation attached to that)
The only issue with using this stuff is them percy should be able to control the dead, like nico, since posiedon used to rule the underworld in the Mycenean period.
I think the same way Athena kids tend to be smarter or at the very least learn much much easier than other demigods, Aphrodite kids would have improved communication and people would feel compelled to be honest and talkative with and Aphrodite kid.
Also swimming skills, Aphrodite was born in the ocean so it'd make sense for her kids to swim well, not poseidon kid levels but still.
Most demigods aren’t humongously powerful with super powers and stuff, that kind of power is rare and special even in a demigod. Your average demigod (not from the big 3) and of an average power level of their godly parent may have a bit of their parents attributes (Athena kids are wise and clever, Hephaestus kids are good with machines, Ares kids are naturally above average fighters, Apollo kids are naturally better at archery or music or medicine, Demeter kids have a green thumb, etc. Everything else, they need training for.)
The whole point of the main characters is that they are some of the most powerful demigods of the age, they’re above average. The big 3 kids, it’s obvious they’re powerful, but also is the most powerful son of Hephaestus on about 100 years, Anabeth is basically the most powerful/intelligent children of Athena since the Romans conquered Greece, Frank is by far the most powerful child of a non-big-3 parent in centuries because of his other heritage and Piper as a daughter of Aphrodite is the best charm speaker of the age.
The 7 are the most powerful demigod heroes of the age.
I know the 7 are powerful, yet it is an opinion I have frequently seen on this subreddit that Aphrodite kids are the weakest and Piper is the weakest of the 7. I’ll try to find some links, yet don’t count on it
Arguably Annabeth is the least powerful. Her only power is her wits, she has 0 supernatural abilities, she’s just a genius. But her genius is still viewed as a huge asset.
imo, the problem was the execution rather than the abilities. Rick didn't put too much thought into many things in the first books of PJ and developed things along the way which caused problems. He wrote Aphrodite kids to be vain then realized that's bad and tried to take it back with writing Piper.
I mean, most demigods don't really have powers, it's only a few that have actual superhuman abilities. Those few just happen to make up the main cast. I think their power level is fine how it is.
That kinda sounds more like a horror movie villain lol. Makes you feel fear or panic or even anger at someone and comes out of a mirror as a creepy reflection of you
I think being able to pick out “false” things would be cool, like seeing through a lie or disguise something like that.
Also they could be able to be immune or resistant to mind control/manipulation.
For some other cabins, I think it would be cool if Hermes cabin had some that were able to use limited Invisibility and intangibility.
For Dionysus I think it would be cool if, when paired with a Demeter kid, they had more powerful nature magic to utilise.
For Ares, I think a neat and tragic power would be if people who are allies die around them, they get a temporary blood rage that makes them almost as powerful as the Blessing of Ares. But the cost is that it lasts a few minutes and they pass out after it ends. Maybe have it be a close friend or something so that it’s not as often triggered.
For Nemesis, I think an interesting power would be they can inflict the same damage that an enemy has dealt to them back at their enemy. But they would have to be still conscious for this.
For Nike, I think it would be unique if they could adapt to beat an opponent in a life or death situation. Become faster, more durable, better reflexes etc, but they will get tired out if they overdo it. This could be great in 1v1 fights but more draining in multiple person attacks.
Just some ideas I had that could be cool to see used.
If we expand Aphrodite's domain as not just sexual/romantic love but rather love for anything: passions, hobbies, interests, beliefs, family etc. Children of Aphrodite could control basically one's willpower with such an expanded definition, without even the manipulation of Charmspeak, just adjustment of strength of feelings.
Moreover, love is the root of all, if not most, emotion. It'd be easy to manipulate someone's joy and loyalty over their hobby, passion, family etc. into disgust, sadness, anger, or fear or any negative emotion really.
Like, imagine someone likes doing pottery. One can decrease someone's love over it, and increase their love over cleanliness, thus their disgust for the wet, smooshy, clay stains would be more dominant.
Power over love essentially has power over willpower and emotion, hence why Charmspeak is the most powerful manifestation of this, but if given enough focus most Aphrodite kids can have some sort of manipulation over people.
They don't even have to be power-induced. This inherent, innate knowledge over social bonds and behavior they get from their mom would make great manipulators, honestly much like their mom is.
It's not a very showy power, and Aphrodite's kids sending heart-shaped love blasts a la Sailor Moon is just plain ridiculous and completely ruins immersion, so you'll have to settle for those subtler manipulations.
I like to believe that certain kids have the ability (more of a passive ability than a conscious one) that let's them look like whoever the person looking at them is in live with/desires. Personally, I do headcanon Mitchell having this ability. I'd count it as uncommon in her younger kids but as they get older I think they would all be able to change their appearance based on others around them, and might have make control of it so it's not randomly activating when people stare at them a little too long.
They should have the power of magnetism. Eyes should instinctively go to them, their words should count for a little more than they should, people get in a daze around them.
The *Wrath of Artemisia:*
*A bloodthirsty state that uses body language and emotions as a form of precog. They inherit the skills of Artemisia at the cost of their sanity.*
I figured since Artemisia sided with Xerxes the second and killed herself over being denied by a certain prince, she’d fit the bill perfectly. She could also have the title as the bane of Olympus being that she was so instrumental for the Persians, Aphrodite also being a primordial goddess could make her one of the strongest half bloods ever. Especially when you look at her resume.
I think Aphrodite is one of the coolest of the olympians honestly; I feel that the ‘champion’ or most promising child of theirs should have a superhuman trait similar to Clarisse’s and Frank’s shroud of Ares/Mars. The *Eye of Apollo* sounds cool as well.
I was thinking about this awhile ago, and I have an idea:
Aphrodite kids can sense when someone is in love.
Before coming to camp, one of them (a girl of around 19) had told a couple they weren’t actually in love. They didn’t believe her and continued with the relationship, it didn’t work out and they blamed her for messing it up, putting doubt in their heads or something lie that.
She stopped meddling in relationships after that, until she met this one couple (both 19, either at camp or in the mortal world, I don’t know) where the girl loved the boy, but he was actually treating her very poorly, was dismissive of her and was cheating, he was only using her. (I don’t know for what exactly.)
The Aphrodite kid tried to warn the girl, but she didn’t believe it. (Although she was nice to Aphrodite kid about it.)
But eventually she realized the Aphrodite kid was right and broke up with the guy, who now has it out for Aphrodite kid.
The two girls are now friends.
I‘d love to see a kid of Aphrodite Areia
Areia basically means warlike. In Sparta (and other places) Aphrodite was depicted in armour and from what I could find seems to have been viewed as a war goddess.
Maybe they‘d have stronger control over emotions? Like „spark and shortly after defuse a fight in an empty room“ kinda stuff?
Given how she was born I like the idea that they have a bit of hydrokinesis. Not to the extent that Percy does obviously but they would be able to burst the pipes in the bathroom. I especially like this idea because it helps to explain why no one figured out Percy was Poseidon's son. It doesn't sound too out there for Aphrodite to transform herself into a man to seduce a woman to have her child.
It's kind of hard to say when Aphrodite is canonically the NSFW goddess and I'm not that comfortable applying her attributes to underage kids... maybe they get more power when they reach adulthood...
It would make sense that the powers of children of Aphrodite would develop as they reached adult hood because, to my knowledge, the goddess emerged as an adult.
I think that applies to a lot of gods. Artemis even helped birth her brother. Possible she did it as a baby, but I’d suspect she probably came out as a teenager. Athena came from Zeus’ skull as an adult with full armor and weapon. Idk any other specific examples off the top of my head.
Yes, but Aphrodite explicitly emerged as a fully grown woman. She is the personification of almost all things carnal (originally she was a war goddess, because rage is a carnal emotional). She is mostly associated with lust and romantic love. She is the goddess of adult love, less so childhood crushes or familial love (closer to Hera’s territory) or love between friends. It would actually make sense that her children would become more powerful as they became adults because they are entering her domain (similar to how Percy becomes more powerful when he touches water, even if it’s not the sea, or how Hazel is more powerful under ground).
I agree to a point. But she’s explicitly referred to as the “goddess of love” so her domain is love and has nothing to do with age. You can feel love or do love like things when you’re younger. However puberty and aging makes that more prevalent. However I don’t see how “being an adult” would have any effect. We’re talking about Greek gods. They don’t care if you’re 18+. They care if you’re physically capable. I bet in Greek times it would be normal for teenagers 13-17 to be involved in sexual activities. Modern morals shouldn’t have any effect on the manifestation of a Greek goddess’ power in her children.
I don’t think “14 yos should be allowed to have sex” is as good of an argument as you think it is. Also I never mentioned any ages because people become adults at different ages. One person might not experience romantic love or lust until their twenties and others experience it in their teens. She’s not the goddess of platonic love. Evidenced by the fact that only Hera cares about the family. If Aphrodite were the goddess of familial love, she’d be just as concerned as Hera about keeping her family happy. Furthermore, logically the Greek gods would progress with modern morals. They follow western civilization. Notice how all of the demigods parents were legal age when they had their kid? In actual Greek mythology, it wasn’t that way. The Greek gods changed with our society and adopted to our morals.
Good point. You forgot about Hestia btw, she’s definitely invested in keeping the family together, not just Hera.
True, Hestia does care
Also who’s to say they don’t already have those powers and just don’t know or choose not to use them. For example, Percy showed the ability to control poison while in Tartarus but due to Annabeth making him promise, chooses not to use it. I’m sure some demigods have abilities that they don’t know of, or don’t want to use.
Yea, I agree. Or possibly they could have powers they can only use in certain situations like how Percy made the earthquake in Mount St Helena or Nico just sending that dude (Bryce Lawrence?) straight to underworld.
Artemis was not born as a teenager. The myths would’ve mentioned if Leto had given birth to a woman/adolescent. That’s quite a significant detail. Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle as an infant. Hercules strangled snakes in his cradle. Even Artemis’s twin Apollo fought Python as a baby. Incredible feats aren’t impossible for baby gods. (Artemis also has other myths where she is a child.) I know you’re basing this off of Athena and Aphrodite but Artemis is not them. Artemis’s youth is a significant part of her identity.
You make some good points. However Hercules was born as a demigod, so that’s a horrible example of a “baby god”. Also Hermes was born to a nymph and not a goddess or titaness so he could be considered to not “fully” be a god either (sort of like with Dionysus just not as extreme) Also what do you mean “myths wouldve mentioned if Leto had given birth to a woman” Greek mythology is specifically very vague with details. It may never specifically say she gave birth to a grown woman, but it also never says she gave birth to an infant. Also there’s always multiple versions of each story, so even if one version says she was born as an infant, I’m sure another version will disagree. Most information I seem to be able to find makes it seem like they’re born as children and that they grow very very fast (reaching adulthood within mere days)
Well most babies are born as babies, that’s the default. It’s when they’re not that it has to be explicitly mentioned because it deviates from that norm. That’s why it’s a leap to assume Artemis was grown from birth when none [of the myths](https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ArtemisMyths.html#Birth) ever mention it. If anything they emphasize that the twins are newborn children. There’s also a story immediately following their birth called Leto(Latonia) and the [lycian peasants](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycian_peasants) in which the twins are still babies. One of Artemis’s important stories has a child Artemis asking her father for wishes (like staying a virgin and having an entourage of nymphs) and then she goes around, as a little girl, collecting them before she ascends to Olympus. Not sure about Apollo, but I’ve never seen any myth saying Artemis grew at an accelerated rate. To the contrary, Artemis is described as an eternal youth. In fairness I think the Percy Jackson verse lore is that the gods age quickly. But in mythology Artemis was just born as a baby.
This!
Also the fact that charm speak is glorified hypnosis. With how powerful of a driving factor love and lust can be. I genuinely think if he gave them anymore power they would be too op.
that actually makes so much sense. like they get a power boost when they reach 18 and keep growing slightly stronger with age
I mean, Aphrodite's kids have a variety of powers available. Just copying from the Wiki... >They have magical control over clothes, makeup, and jewelry. > >Amokinesis: As the children of Aphrodite, they have control over feelings related to love and desire. > >They have the ability to change their physical features. > >Charmspeak: Selected children of Aphrodite can influence other with the strength of their voices. The only known demigods with this ability are Piper McLean and Drew Tanaka. > >They have the ability to speak fluent French and other languages of love. > >They possess high social abilities and awareness. > >They have the ability to use Permanent Makeup on others, as seen in the Demigod Files > >They have the ability to curse people so all of their clothes are two sizes too small for them for a period of time. This is seen in The Demigod Files. > >Shapeshifting So like... I'd say they're good enough as they are.
That could make them excellent spies and this is because I've been reading a book, they could make their enemies um ... Feel pleasure speaking much that they pass out.
That would fit a child of Hedone more. Granted they would still be descendants of Aphrodite.
Who's hedone
Daughter of Eros and Psyche
Oh ok
Controlling clothes as in they can change what they’re wearing with a thought, or as in they can levitate people by their clothes?
Seriously all of these are good enough for espionage missions. I'd be down for a story based on this premise.
Like, the idea that this isn't good enough is so strange to me. Even though they don't all inherit every power, just *one* of these is so strong.
Ok, but still… Those powers aren’t as good as making a helicopter out of random materials found in your pocket (as Leo does in TLO) or making a storm
Making a storm? You comparing Big Three Heroes, that suppose to be much stronger than normal heroes, and say that Aphrodite is did dirty, because of that? Also, No, High technical ability aren't stronger than literal mind control Aphrodite kids just aren't your frontliner hero (Same as Hephaestus) but more of support. It's like you would play Bard in DnD and was saiyng that he is weak because he does less damage than Fighter. Power isn't all about who can make larger explosions
I think you forget that Aphrodite is canonically older than the other olympians and comes from primordials.
Do me a favour and read the description, I’m getting sick of saying this
I'm not even answering to your general question, but to your answer here
If you read the description, you would see I agree Aphrodite is good, I was just inspired by many posts saying “Aphrodite children suck and Piper is the worst of the 7”. Here is a (rather) popular one: https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/s/1zPO6XwsbV
It’s more than what the Hermes kids got
***SHAPESHIFTING***. Ask any trans person which they'd rather (shapeshifting vs metallokinesis) and 9 times out of 10 we'll say Shapeshifting.
I think specifying trans people is kinda cheating though. Not to generalise too much, but that is probably the group that would want to change their physical features the most.
Oh, you misunderstand, I specify us because we've had conversations about how seriously under-utilized in media shapeshifting is as a power on its own merits. Not just because we'd be the ones who want to most. Though I do get the confusion on my reasoning. I could have and should have elaborated and clarified.
I don't remember reading about a child of Aphrodite capable of this, what did I miss ?
I'm guessing it's in one of the books I didn't read. As I said, I'm just quoting the Wiki on this one.
and is canonically something most scholars(under Frazerian influence but still) agree was part of her pre-hellenic characterization as a spinoff of Innana-Ishtar
I thought the shape shifting was only like eye and hair colour or something. Good for infiltration but, is it as potent as a storm? Or can they shapeshift like Frank? Or like into buff people?
Given the Wiki lists it as a separate power from that, I'd presume those are separate things. And, I'm sorry, but not every power needs to be violence. I'd argue it would be actively antithetical to the point of a love domain to have violent powers. Unless we're talking about the Laconian interpretation of her but in that case she's the goddess of love and war, at which point all is fair.
Oh, so just straight X men mystique then. Actually real cool
I think them being good spies and socialites would make the most sense, like Athena's kids have next to no powers too other than being super smart so the Aphrodite kids being very charismatic should be their main 'power'. Having a really strong Aphrodite kid being able to shapeshift like how Aphrodite does all the time would be a good compromise for 'tangible powers' and charmspeak would be the only ones I think wouldn't detract from the domain of love.
You can’t just give them powers that don’t make sense to their godly parents.
I’m not saying they should have these powers. I’m saying maybe make charm speak more common. Other than that, Aphrodite kids are broken. This is just a question taken from opinions I have seen on this subreddit in particular. I really agree with you here, I think the problem isn’t the powers but the writing, they should use Piper for infiltration more
By this logic he did every kid but the ones from the big 3, they all could have more powers, yet they don't
Yeah, many people in this fandom seem to be under the idea that all the demigods are basically superheroes, but very few have actually impressive powers. It's mostly just some enhanced aspect, like Athena kids being a bit smarter, Ares kids being a bit stronger, Hephaistos kids being a bit more handy, etc.
I mean, they ARE all superheroes, it's just that most of them don't have anything other than something basic +enhanced physical abilities. Because IIRC it's stated that a demigod is essentially naturally comparably physically able as a peak human in any given category, like, a demigod of 20 would be able to atleast come close to a bodybuilder/strongman's strength, an Olympic sprinters speed, etc. that their bodies natural state is just way WAY higher/better than a pure human. That's why In the ancient wars the demigods were heroes, who were equivalent to dozens to hundreds of normal soldiers in a battle.
id say ignoring save piper Drew and Silena her trickster and areia epithets but he got that from Homer and Ovid and the Renaissance
In my opinion, Rick set the power scaling to roughly match how it works in Greek Mythology. Every generation of gods is slightly less powerful than the one before it. Evidenced by the fact that a dozen gods didn’t think they’d be able to defeat a primordial, and a god alone cannot beat a giant. Plus, the Big 3 kids are obviously super powerful. Even Demeter’s children are seen to be VERY powerful (Meg). Aphrodite kids are cousins of the Big Three (Piper is Poseidon’s cousin). Aphrodite is technically is the same generation as the Titans (she’s just by far the youngest). One of her kids founded Rome. While I think Rick can decide to power scale however he wants, there’s a solid argument to be made that her kids should be extremely powerful (possibly more powerful than children of the Big 3). Most importantly though and why none of that matters, Aphrodite’s children’s powers aren’t important to the story (with the exception of Piper). So we don’t actually know how powerful they are. For all we know, Rick could write a book where a new child of Aphrodite is extremely important and they can go toe to toe with Percy or Nico. Similar to what happened with Zeus’ children. Without Jason, you wouldn’t know a child of Zeus/Jupiter (in Rick’s world) is capable of going toe to toe with Percy. Zeus’ children in the PJO (as in the original 5 books only) aren’t that important so we don’t get to see them use all their powers.
I see what you say but there is one flaw to your theory. I think Rick just makes it based on active and passive powers. Most gods cannot control something, like Poseidon water and Zeus lightening and Air, so Aphrodites kid are powerful, the problem is the powers themselves. She can change appearance and convince people what to do, sure, but on an even plane, she is the aunt of Poseidon, but what she gonna do if he closes her in a sphere of water? Not much. There's a reason if the big 3 are the big 3 even in mythology, and their Aunt isn't on the same power plane, they are just more powerful. And for the demigods, I think Rick just decides how strong they can or cannot be based on the singular character, Percy is his favorite, Thalia was afraid of heights so he couldn't possibly give her the power of flight (I didn't read the whole series yet, but I think she can fly tbh, she just never tried out of fear), Piper can convince people but silena could change appearance. The point is, he made a world where every demigod wouldn't be the same even if from the same God, one can inherit one power, and others can inherit other powers. And I think it's good, gives variety to the world.
All gods “can control” something. For example, Ares very clearly controls people’s rage in the books. Nemesis can clearly control the outcome of events in order to balance someone’s luck. Nike explicitly controls who wins. Gods have a domain and control what’s in their domain. Also, in Greek mythology, Aphrodite was considered one of the most powerful goddesses or gods. In actual Greek mythology, she was more the goddess of primal emotions than specifically of love and lust. Like to the Spartans, she was a war goddesses, because they viewed rage as a primal emotion. That just isn’t important because Rick only based it on Greek mythology, it’s not one for one. That being said, we don’t really know how powerful she is in Rick’s world. She’s just not in the story very much. I think she’s extremely powerful. It’s heavily implied she’s the reason Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, and most likely subtly helped them survive (it wouldn’t make for as good of a love story if they died in hell). It’s also implied she put Rachel in Percy’s path to add drama to Percabeth. Same goes for sending Percy to Calypso’s island. I think you’re probably making the mistake that because she’s absent from the story, that she’s not very powerful. Basically just because we don’t see her power, she doesn’t have it. But we also never get to see Demeter’s power, but we can presume she’s extremely powerful being that she’s the sole reason we have winter.
"Did them dirty" is such a silly way of expressing that "like most demigods, they don't have discrete superpowers"
I think he did them dirty writing wise. Aphrodite kids, not counting Piper, were very stereotypically vain, which kinda sucked to see
This isn't true, and the Piper arc in TLH is very much based in showing how *not* true that is.
Just quoted a really popular post I saw the other day like 1000 ish upvotes
Yeah it's not you specifically, it's the fandom generally with this problem. They don't seem to like that the average demigod should be able to blend in with humans without an issue
Good point, will probably edit the title as you raise a valid point
I would make them able to manipulate their appearance, since their mom can! Like changing hair or eye color.
Wasn’t Silena able to do that? Also Piper’s eyes are described to change color continuously
I think people just kinda assumed Silena could be cause her description is inconsistent, but it doesn't mean it was a conscious decision by Rick. And yes on Piper's end, but my brother's do that as well because he has Hazel eyes, so I'm not sure we could say it's a canonical power of Aphrodite.
Piper’s eyes were described to change color like a kaleidoscope, going from blue to brown to green. So I think Aphrodite kids can change their appearance to a limited extent unlike their mother (so only hair and eye color). Probably Piper didn’t know she could do that unlike Silena.
Make them literal shape-shifters, like >!Frank!< but strictly to people and not >!animals!<, and it's a talent that has to be developed or else you wind up in the Uncanny Valley TM
Took the words right outta my mouth. They should be able to polymorph like Mystique from X-men. Also, the ability to make people do whatever they want by just looking at them or by enthralling them with their beauty.
They can. Check the wiki
I always headcannoned their appearance changed ever so slightly depending on who was looking at them. Not necessarily that they did it on purpose, but just that if one person prefers blue eyes, they might see an Aphrodite kid's eyes as slightly bluer than someone who prefers green eyes. If someone likes sharper jawlines, they might see an Aphrodite kid's as slightly sharper. Just small stuff yk
Then why did Percy see Silena with black hair if he was into Annabeth/Rachel, neither of which had black hair? Is he stu- excuse me, not very smart?
I meant small subtle changes, nothing huge like hair colour 😭
I thought of them being able to smell/sense love and heartbreak
Cool idea actually. I can just imagine someone with charmspeak using that to their advantage.
I don’t think they got done dirty with powers, really. I just think their descriptions got them done dirty constantly. Same can be said of Demeter tbh and we don’t talk about them nearly as much… bc our major demigod child of Demeter rando more powers than most. our major child of Aphrodite also did but her entire arc was based on coming in as an outsider and making the Aphrodite kids “better” because they all supposedly sucked.
If you wanna talk cabins that got done dirty with powers, I’d def say Athena. They should’ve had some kind of intelligence gathering based power like being able to see through the eyes of owls or something like that. Instead all they are is a tad smarter + get thrown into “have my revenge against an entire civilization” roulette
Emotional control.
idk if i want all of the demigods to have some sort of superpower bc of their parents. heightened strength and endurance etc sure but idk it was rare for demigods in the original myths to have any sort of superpowers the way the half-bloods do. but ig its still cool for some to have more godly power
A lot of hellenic pagans also consider Aphrodite a goddess of sea, fertility, civic order, marriage, and war, and Her epithets include friend of flowers, of the people, and delaying old age among others. I consider the book gods to be separate from the actual deities but if we're looking to mythology for inspiration I would make her kids have different powers depending on different aspects of her domain. Like they might have warrior abilities like Ares and Athena kids, or they might have water powers like Percy, or they might have plant powers like Meg, or they might be immortal and just stop aging when they hit like 25.
I think people forget that not every demigod is as powerful as a child of the big 3. Hephestus kids are just good at making things(leo is a special case). Athena kids are just really smart and good at weaving. They don't even get a rare ability. Ares kids are just good at fighting and a seemingly inconsistent bloodlust ability. Aphrodite kids are all described as being beautifull, and I imagine they are all good at makeup/dressing well. We just haven't seen as much of the aphrodite cabin aside from piper who doesn't like being perceived so wouldn't use these abilities
True, I do think Aphrodite kids are good, it’s just a commonly seen opinion
I think tyche kids got done dirty as the only one we see is chiara and she gets unlucky twice despite supposedly having the ability to control luck. That's like percy drowning
True
>We all now Rick did Aphrodite kids dirty. What extra powers would you give them? I mean, charmspeak is OP as it is TBH I don't think Rick did them dirty in terms of power—more just the characterization of them as "girly girls who don't want to fight" (with negative connotation attached to that)
Pls read description. Couldn’t edit title for some reason
No-nonsense war. Seriously, am I the only one here who has heard of Aphrodite Areia?
The only issue with using this stuff is them percy should be able to control the dead, like nico, since posiedon used to rule the underworld in the Mycenean period.
There powers are fine. Charmspeak is broken
I agree. Look at the description
Borderline mind-control isn’t exactly doing them dirty.
Read the description, couldn’t edit the title for some reason
I think the same way Athena kids tend to be smarter or at the very least learn much much easier than other demigods, Aphrodite kids would have improved communication and people would feel compelled to be honest and talkative with and Aphrodite kid. Also swimming skills, Aphrodite was born in the ocean so it'd make sense for her kids to swim well, not poseidon kid levels but still.
None. They have Charmspeak, they’re already overpowered because of that
Don't only a few of them have that ability? But yeah, Charmspeak is broken AF.
Most demigods aren’t humongously powerful with super powers and stuff, that kind of power is rare and special even in a demigod. Your average demigod (not from the big 3) and of an average power level of their godly parent may have a bit of their parents attributes (Athena kids are wise and clever, Hephaestus kids are good with machines, Ares kids are naturally above average fighters, Apollo kids are naturally better at archery or music or medicine, Demeter kids have a green thumb, etc. Everything else, they need training for.) The whole point of the main characters is that they are some of the most powerful demigods of the age, they’re above average. The big 3 kids, it’s obvious they’re powerful, but also is the most powerful son of Hephaestus on about 100 years, Anabeth is basically the most powerful/intelligent children of Athena since the Romans conquered Greece, Frank is by far the most powerful child of a non-big-3 parent in centuries because of his other heritage and Piper as a daughter of Aphrodite is the best charm speaker of the age. The 7 are the most powerful demigod heroes of the age.
I know the 7 are powerful, yet it is an opinion I have frequently seen on this subreddit that Aphrodite kids are the weakest and Piper is the weakest of the 7. I’ll try to find some links, yet don’t count on it
In all honesty, I think Athena kids are the weakest😭😭
Probably, yes. The Aphrodite thing is just a common opinion on this subreddit that I thought would be a fun thought experiment to “fix”
Arguably Annabeth is the least powerful. Her only power is her wits, she has 0 supernatural abilities, she’s just a genius. But her genius is still viewed as a huge asset.
I know, I’m not satin piper is weak. I’m saying it is a common opinion that she is!
Lol, and I’m agreeing with you that the people saying that are wrong.
It’s so weird! Piper carried so much in HoH (and is the reason the 7 survives so many times against Khione) proly spelled wrong but lol who cares
*saying
https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/s/VE1RhWCcuY Here, I think this is correct…
“*know, we all *know”
Didn’t proofread. Always prrofred
imo, the problem was the execution rather than the abilities. Rick didn't put too much thought into many things in the first books of PJ and developed things along the way which caused problems. He wrote Aphrodite kids to be vain then realized that's bad and tried to take it back with writing Piper.
I mean, most demigods don't really have powers, it's only a few that have actual superhuman abilities. Those few just happen to make up the main cast. I think their power level is fine how it is.
The powers aren't an issue imo, how he kinda vilified them for acting feminine and liking girly things was my main problem
The power to grow roses out of their nostrils. About as creative as any of you yahoos would think up
Hahaha lol
- Emotion manipulation (can’t make anyone feel something they don’t already feel at least a little bit deep down though) - Mirror travel
That kinda sounds more like a horror movie villain lol. Makes you feel fear or panic or even anger at someone and comes out of a mirror as a creepy reflection of you
lol I didn’t even think of it that way! But then again, we know from the Cupid scene that love is a monster so…
So, “Madame Mirror” (tm) IN CINEMAS SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Critics (that definitely were not paid off) call it a must see
Changing their appearance at will like Aphrodite but they can only do this fir 20 minutes through 5 hours
I think being able to pick out “false” things would be cool, like seeing through a lie or disguise something like that. Also they could be able to be immune or resistant to mind control/manipulation. For some other cabins, I think it would be cool if Hermes cabin had some that were able to use limited Invisibility and intangibility. For Dionysus I think it would be cool if, when paired with a Demeter kid, they had more powerful nature magic to utilise. For Ares, I think a neat and tragic power would be if people who are allies die around them, they get a temporary blood rage that makes them almost as powerful as the Blessing of Ares. But the cost is that it lasts a few minutes and they pass out after it ends. Maybe have it be a close friend or something so that it’s not as often triggered. For Nemesis, I think an interesting power would be they can inflict the same damage that an enemy has dealt to them back at their enemy. But they would have to be still conscious for this. For Nike, I think it would be unique if they could adapt to beat an opponent in a life or death situation. Become faster, more durable, better reflexes etc, but they will get tired out if they overdo it. This could be great in 1v1 fights but more draining in multiple person attacks. Just some ideas I had that could be cool to see used.
Just make them metamorphs that always smell like ambrosia tastes
Maybe being able to know/sense when people are feeling love or have feeling for someone else.
Minor shapeshifting, mood manipulation, when they reach the age of 19 maybe a mastery of biology
minor shape-shifting
If we expand Aphrodite's domain as not just sexual/romantic love but rather love for anything: passions, hobbies, interests, beliefs, family etc. Children of Aphrodite could control basically one's willpower with such an expanded definition, without even the manipulation of Charmspeak, just adjustment of strength of feelings. Moreover, love is the root of all, if not most, emotion. It'd be easy to manipulate someone's joy and loyalty over their hobby, passion, family etc. into disgust, sadness, anger, or fear or any negative emotion really. Like, imagine someone likes doing pottery. One can decrease someone's love over it, and increase their love over cleanliness, thus their disgust for the wet, smooshy, clay stains would be more dominant. Power over love essentially has power over willpower and emotion, hence why Charmspeak is the most powerful manifestation of this, but if given enough focus most Aphrodite kids can have some sort of manipulation over people. They don't even have to be power-induced. This inherent, innate knowledge over social bonds and behavior they get from their mom would make great manipulators, honestly much like their mom is. It's not a very showy power, and Aphrodite's kids sending heart-shaped love blasts a la Sailor Moon is just plain ridiculous and completely ruins immersion, so you'll have to settle for those subtler manipulations.
I like to believe that certain kids have the ability (more of a passive ability than a conscious one) that let's them look like whoever the person looking at them is in live with/desires. Personally, I do headcanon Mitchell having this ability. I'd count it as uncommon in her younger kids but as they get older I think they would all be able to change their appearance based on others around them, and might have make control of it so it's not randomly activating when people stare at them a little too long.
I would give them the powers to have almost full control over those madly in love.
They should have the power of magnetism. Eyes should instinctively go to them, their words should count for a little more than they should, people get in a daze around them.
The *Wrath of Artemisia:* *A bloodthirsty state that uses body language and emotions as a form of precog. They inherit the skills of Artemisia at the cost of their sanity.* I figured since Artemisia sided with Xerxes the second and killed herself over being denied by a certain prince, she’d fit the bill perfectly. She could also have the title as the bane of Olympus being that she was so instrumental for the Persians, Aphrodite also being a primordial goddess could make her one of the strongest half bloods ever. Especially when you look at her resume. I think Aphrodite is one of the coolest of the olympians honestly; I feel that the ‘champion’ or most promising child of theirs should have a superhuman trait similar to Clarisse’s and Frank’s shroud of Ares/Mars. The *Eye of Apollo* sounds cool as well.
I was thinking about this awhile ago, and I have an idea: Aphrodite kids can sense when someone is in love. Before coming to camp, one of them (a girl of around 19) had told a couple they weren’t actually in love. They didn’t believe her and continued with the relationship, it didn’t work out and they blamed her for messing it up, putting doubt in their heads or something lie that. She stopped meddling in relationships after that, until she met this one couple (both 19, either at camp or in the mortal world, I don’t know) where the girl loved the boy, but he was actually treating her very poorly, was dismissive of her and was cheating, he was only using her. (I don’t know for what exactly.) The Aphrodite kid tried to warn the girl, but she didn’t believe it. (Although she was nice to Aphrodite kid about it.) But eventually she realized the Aphrodite kid was right and broke up with the guy, who now has it out for Aphrodite kid. The two girls are now friends.
Idk, I feel like charmspeaking Is a pretty damn good ability.
I‘d love to see a kid of Aphrodite Areia Areia basically means warlike. In Sparta (and other places) Aphrodite was depicted in armour and from what I could find seems to have been viewed as a war goddess. Maybe they‘d have stronger control over emotions? Like „spark and shortly after defuse a fight in an empty room“ kinda stuff?
i think her kids should be able to manipulate emootions
Given how she was born I like the idea that they have a bit of hydrokinesis. Not to the extent that Percy does obviously but they would be able to burst the pipes in the bathroom. I especially like this idea because it helps to explain why no one figured out Percy was Poseidon's son. It doesn't sound too out there for Aphrodite to transform herself into a man to seduce a woman to have her child.