Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5
The Last Olympian
by Rick Riordan
Contents
7. My Math Teacher Gives Me A Lift
Overview
Percy and Nico enter the Underworld through the Door of Orpheus after waking Grover, who reveals that Morpheus has been scouting Central Park for Kronos. The chapter pivots from preparation to betrayal when Nico delivers Percy to Hades, who wants to remove Percy from the prophecy and make Nico the decisive child instead. Hades’s refusal to aid Olympus and his warning about Kronos’s imminent trap sharply raise the urgency of Percy’s escape.
Summary
Percy, Nico, and Mrs. O’Leary emerge in Central Park near the hidden Door of Orpheus, a lesser entrance to the Underworld that requires music to open. Percy uses his empathy link to locate Grover, who has been asleep in the park for two months, half-buried by tree roots.
Grover wakes when Percy mentally tempts him with food and arrives by being passed through the trees by dryads. Grover explains that he followed a shadowless man in black who made humans fall asleep and spoke of scouting a battlefield before a “main event.” Nico identifies the figure as Morpheus, the God of Dreams, confirming that Kronos’s forces are preparing an invasion. Grover opens the Door of Orpheus with his reed pipes, then leaves to warn Juniper and rally the nature spirits.
Percy, Nico, and Mrs. O’Leary descend into the Underworld. After reaching the River Styx, Percy expects to begin Nico’s power-gaining plan, but Nico insists they must first go inside the gates to retrieve something. They pass through the security checkpoint, where Mrs. O’Leary greets Cerberus, and enter the Fields of Asphodel.
As they near Hades’s palace, the Furies appear, including Percy’s old math teacher Mrs. Dodds, also called Alecto. Nico reveals that Hades ordered him to bring Percy to the palace before attempting the river plan; Hades has promised Nico information about his family in exchange. Percy realizes he has been betrayed, but he is seized by the Furies and carried away while Mrs. O’Leary is forced to stand down.
At Hades’s palace, Percy meets Hades, Persephone, and Demeter. Hades explains that Nico’s mother was Maria di Angelo, that Nico and Bianca were hidden in the Lotus Casino because World War II made children of Hades especially vulnerable, and that Alecto later freed them disguised as a lawyer. Hades refuses to fully answer Nico’s questions about Maria and reveals his larger plan: he intends to stay out of the war, imprison Percy so Percy cannot fulfill the prophecy, wait for Nico to turn sixteen, and then use Nico as the prophesied child who will make Hades king of the gods.
Nico protests that Hades has broken their agreement, but Hades dismisses him and sends him away. Hades imprisons Percy instead of killing him, claiming he has technically kept his promise not to harm him. Before sending Percy to the dungeon, Hades reveals that Kronos has a trap prepared and that by tonight it will be too late for Mount Olympus.
Who Appears
- Percy JacksonEnters the Underworld for power but is betrayed and captured by Hades.
- Nico di AngeloGuides Percy underground, then delivers him to Hades for promised family information.
- Grover UnderwoodAwakens from Morpheus’s spell, warns of Kronos’s scouting, and opens the Underworld entrance.
- HadesImprisons Percy, manipulates Nico, and plans to exploit the prophecy for himself.
- Mrs. O’LearyAccompanies Percy and Nico, leads them underground, and reacts protectively during Percy’s capture.
- Alecto / Mrs. DoddsFury and former math teacher who helps seize Percy and reveals her lawyer disguise.
- PersephoneHades’s queen; shows mild interest in Percy but does not intervene.
- DemeterPersephone’s mother; bickers with Hades and Persephone during Percy’s audience.
- MorpheusGod of Dreams; previously put Grover to sleep while scouting Central Park for Kronos.
- CerberusHades’s three-headed guard dog, distracted by greeting Mrs. O’Leary.