The fact that Percy Jackson has friends is amazing. It's an unshakable fact that any of his friends within a ten mile radius will be in a life or death situation with him before dinner, and they aren't always as lucky as he is. However, that's a bit too far ahead. Over the course of the five-part young adult contemporary series, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, the title character, Percy Jackson, must embrace his divine Greek parentage and save Olympus with the help of his fellow demigods. The purpose of this article is to discuss its hero's journey throughout the series, provide in-depth character analysis, and draw parallels between Percy and the three classic Greek heroes of mythology: Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules . The first novel in the series, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, is the starting point for Percy's hero's journey, encompassing the first five stages. The Ordinary World, the first stage, introduces the main hero. “The hero, whether worried, uncomfortable, or unconscious, is presented sympathetically so that the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma” (Campbell). Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old with both dyslexia and ADHD, lives in New York with his loving, overworked mother and abusive stepfather. He begins his story by attending a boarding school for “troubled youth” and has a less than spectacular time as the new kid. Despite his good intentions to protect his only friend Grover from a bully, Percy gets into trouble at school and is sidelined by one of his teachers, who turns out to be the Fury Alecto, one of the disguised servants of Hades. It is at this point in the story that the second stage, The Call to Adventure, comes into play....... middle of paper ......During this novel, Percy must embarking on a quest to clear his name, just as Hercules had to endure his Twelve Labors. These Twelve Labors would prove to be a recurring theme for Percy throughout his five-part series. While Hercules abandoned his quest for the Golden Fleece with Jason, Percy did not and succeeded where the former hero had failed. Hercules was also directly referenced in Titan's Curse in a flashback of Percy and Hesperides' new friend Zoe, a goddess charged with protecting the Apples of Hera that Hercules had stolen. During the long chain of events throughout the series, Percy and his friends encountered and fought many of the monsters that Hercules had originally killed during his Twelve Labors, such as Cerberus, a Hydra, the Lion of Nemea, the Erymanthian Boar and the cleaning of the Aegean stables. , which is home to carnivorous horses. Suffice it to say that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a contemporary masterpiece of a series and is more than worth its salt in the context of classical Greek mythological and factual references. Therefore, one can examine the series through the scope of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey and explore the heroic parallels between Percy Jackson and the great Greek heroes Perseus, Theseus and Hercules through a timeless lens. No paragraph provided.