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The Battle of
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“Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats.”
— New York Times Book Review
“A fantastic blend of myth and modern.”
— Eoin Colfer, Author of Artemis Fowl series
A New York Times Series Best Seller
A Book Sense Children’s Series Best Seller
A Publishers Weekly Children’s Best Seller
114 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011
hyperionbooksforchildren.com • rickriordan.com
percyjacksonbooks.com
ISBN: 9781423119074
Host your own Olympian day with a
Mythomagic Party!
An EVENT KIT for the
PERCY JACKSON
THE OLYMPIANS series
percyjacksonbooks.com
A NOTE FrOM rICK rIOrDAN
Dear Bookseller:
Percy’s biggest battle ever looms over Camp Half-Blood,
and it is up to Percy and his friends to hold Kronos and his
minions at bay! Welcome to The Battle of the Labyrinth and the
Mythomagic Party Event Kit!
Many booksellers have reported great success in hosting their
own “Percy Party,” and now you can, too. You will find
everything you need for a truly Olympian in-store event,
including reproducible activities, an event flyer, and a guide to the
gods. Best of all, you will find Mythomagic character icons that
can be used as take-aways for trading and game-play for fans of
all ages.
The Battle of the Labyrinth arrives on May 6, 2008, and is the
penultimate adventure in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians
series. Thank you so much for recommending Percy’s past
adventures to your customers. We believe you’ll find The Battle
of the Labyrinth to be Percy’s most exciting, surprising,
and rewarding odyssey yet!
Regards,
Table of contents
Setting the Stage for an Olympian Event............................ 2
Draw Your Own Kampê Monster....................................... 3
Escape the Labyrinth ........................................................... 4
Percy Jackson Word Search.................................................. 5
Twelve Olympian Gods + 2................................................. 6
Olympian Crossword Puzzle....................................... 7
Improvisational Greek Theater........................... 8–9
An Interview with Rick Riordan..................... 10–11
Answer Page......................................................... 12
Event Poster.......................................... 13
Setting the Stage
for an Olympian EVENT!
Our suggestions for an a-MAZE-ing party!
1) Dress the Part
Invite guests to come in costume, dressed as their favorite Percy characters and/or Greek
gods. Give a prize for the most original costume.
2) Happy Birthday, Percy!
Every year, Percy’s mom gives him a “blue” birthday party. Make your event
blue for Percy.
• Blue punch
• Blue birthday cake
• Blue corn chips
• Blue dip (just a few drops of food coloring make any dip blue-licious!)
As a special treat, find a Poseidon look-alike to come and dispense party favors based on a blue or Hawaiian theme, just like Santa Claus! (Be sure to use recyclable or washable plates and cups, to be kind to the environment!)
3) Make Name Tags
As your guests arrive, ask them to fill out name tags. In the space provided, ask the guests also
to indicate a magical godly gift, like Annabeth’s cap of invisibility, or Percy’s sword, that is
transformed from an everyday object.
4) Host a “Chariot Race”
Go outside and have guests represent different “chariots” as they run through a maze constructed of simple elements like chairs and boxes.
Decorate the elements to represent traditional Greek objects such as vases, statues, horses, and chariots.
5) Percy Jackson Trading Cards
Enclosed you will find 20 sheets of trading cards (10 each of
2 sets). Cut them up any way you like, and share with your
participants. Encourage them to trade and share like
true Olympians!
2
Draw Your Own Kampe Monster
Percy describes Kampê, the jailer of Alcatraz, in the following words: “I got the feeling I was looking
at something half formed, a monster so old it was from the beginning of time, before shapes had been
fully defined.”
The qualities of Kampê:
Beware! These qualities can change drastically, depending on how Kampê is feeling at any given time!
• Dragon’s lower body, black and scaly, with enormous claws and barbed tail
• Woman’s body from the waist up
• Legs covered in sprouting snakes looking for something to bite
• Hair like Medusa’s, also made of snakes
•Around its waist, animal heads, constantly erupting—such as bear, lion, wolf­—almost like a
vicious, living belt
Be creative! Mix it up! Make Kampê as horrible as possible!
3
Escape the Labyrinth
Make your way through the maze – but beware the monsters!
(Solution on page 12.)
4
Percy Jackson Word Search
Discover the hidden words lurking in this puzzle!
(Solution on page 12.)
Sphinx
Grover
Percy
Briares
KAMPÊ
Pan
Riptide
Annabeth
Chiron
Calypso
Nico
Minos
Tyson
Hera
Poseidon
Luke
Titan
Grover
Rachel
Janus
Labyrinth
Olympians
Daedalus
Sphinx
Typhon
Clarisse
Geryon
hellhound
Kronos
Backbiter
5
Rick riordan
(The Percy Author!)
The Twelve Olympian gods + 2
A handy chart for all Olympians!
God / Goddess
zeus
Sphere of Control
sky
animal / symbol
eagle, lightning bolt
hera
motherhood, marriage
cow (motherly animal),
lion, peacock
poseidon
sea, earthquakes
horse, trident
demeter
agriculture
red poppy, barley
hephaestus
blacksmiths
anvil, quail (hops funny,
like him)
athena
owl
wisdom, battle, useful arts
aphrodite
love
dove, magic belt
(that makes men fall for her)
ares
war
wild boar, bloody spear
apollo
music, medicine, poetry,
archery, bachelors
mouse, lyre
artemis maiden girls, hunting she-bear
hermes
travelers, merchants,
thieves, messengers
caduceus, winged helmet
and sandals
dionysus
wine
Tiger, grapes
hestia
home and hearth
crane (gave up her
council seat for Dionysus)
hades
Helmet of terror
the Underworld
6
Olympian Crossword Puzzle
Test your knowledge of Percy Jackson and the Olympians!
(Solution on page 12.)
ACROSS
2. Lord of the Dead
5. The ____ Fates
6. Percy’s best friend
7. Percy’s half-brother Tyson is a ___
11. This monster wears Fruit of the Loom underwear
13. Percy’s cousin, daughter of Zeus
14. Percy is entering this year at school
16. Percy has the ability to control this element
17. God of the Sea
18. Hot-tempered female bully, daughter of Ares
20. Another name for a half-blood
25. Also known as “The Kindly Ones”
26. Percy’s mom loves food that is this color.
28. Percy’s magical sword
29. Annabeth’s hat makes her turn this
30. Luke is the son of this god
7
DOWN
1. Percy’s Birthday Month
2. Wife of Zeus
3. Titan Lord
4. Lord of the Sky
5. Dr._______ (evil manticore in The Titan’s Curse)
8. Activities Director at the Camp
9. Medusa’s hair is made of these
10. Camp visited by Percy and friends
12. Annabeth is deathly afraid of these creatures
15. Nike is the goddess of _____
19. Zeus’s mother
21. Name of the link Percy and Grover share
22. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are all ____.
23. Hydras have multiple ____
24. Thalia had once been turned into a ______
27. Aphrodite is the goddess of _____.
improvisational
The story of Daedalus and Icarus is one of the most poignant in
Greek mythology and plays an important part in The Battle of the
Labyrinth. Pick your favorite retelling of the myth and choose a cast
and narrator. Create an improvisational theater with your guests.
Give everyone a sheet with character descriptions and an outcome,
and watch the show!
Daedalus
Son of Athena. A brilliant inventor with a dreadful secret, he builds
the Labyrinth, a maze, to contain the monstrous Minotaur. Daedalus
is imprisoned in the Labyrinth and, knowing his only escape is by
air, builds wings. He and his son, Icarus, escape, using the wings he
has created. He warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, or the
beeswax holding the feathers will melt. Daedalus mourns when Icarus
falls to his death.
Minos
King of Crete. He is a vengeful king, who is angry at Daedalus for
helping his daughter, Ariadne, and Theseus escape the Labyrinth
after Theseus defeats the Minotaur. Minos imprisons Daedalus in the
Labyrinth.
Icarus
Son of Daedalus. Imprisoned with his father, he escapes with his
father, using the wings his father created. Freedom is sweet, and he
flies too close to the sun, which loosens the feathers, causing Icarus
to fall to his death.
8
Greek Theater
Daedalus
and
Icarus
As told by Thomas Bullfinch in THe Age of Fable
The labyrinth from which Theseus escaped by means of the clew of Ariadne was built by Daedalus,
a most skilful artificer. It was an edifice with numberless winding passages and turnings opening into one
another, and seeming to have neither beginning nor end, like the river Maeander, which returns on itself,
and flows now onward, now backward, in its course to the sea. Daedalus built the labyrinth for King
Minos, but afterwards lost the favor of the king, and was shut up in a tower. He contrived to make his
escape from his prison, but could not leave the island by sea, as the king kept strict watch on all the vessels,
and permitted none to sail without being carefully searched.
“Minos may control the land and sea,” said Daedalus, “but not the regions of the air. I will try
that way.” So he set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his young son Icarus. He wrought feathers
together, beginning with the smallest and adding larger, so as to form an increasing surface. The larger ones
he secured with thread and the smaller with wax, and gave the whole a gentle curvature like the wings of
a bird.
Icarus, the boy, stood and looked on, sometimes running to gather up the feathers which the wind
had blown away, and then handling the wax and working it over with his fingers, by his play impeding his
father in his labors. When at last the work was done, the artist, waving his wings, found himself buoyed
upward, and hung suspended, poising himself on the beaten air. He next equipped his son in the same
manner and taught him how to fly, as a bird tempts her young ones from the lofty nest into the air. When
all was prepared for flight he said, “Icarus, my son, I charge you to keep at a moderate height, for if you fly
too low the damp will clog your wings, and if too high the heat will melt them. Keep near me and you will
be safe.”
While he gave him these instructions and fitted the wings to his shoulders, the face of the father was
wet with tears, and his hands trembled. He kissed the boy, not knowing that it was for the last time. Then
rising on his wings, he flew off, encouraging him to follow, and looked back from his own flight to see how
his son managed his wings.
As they flew the ploughman stopped his work to gaze, and the shepherd leaned on his staff and
watched them, astonished at the sight, and thinking they were gods who could thus cleave the air.
They passed Samos and Delos on the left and Lebynthos on the right, when the boy, exulting in his
career, began to leave the guidance of his companion and soar upward as if to reach heaven. The nearness
of the blazing sun softened the wax which held the feathers together, and they came off. He fluttered with
his arms, but no feathers remained to hold the air.
While his mouth uttered cries to his father it was submerged in the blue waters of the sea which
thenceforth was called by his name. His father cried, “Icarus, Icarus, where are you?” At last he saw the
feathers floating on the water, and bitterly lamenting his own arts, he buried the body and called the land
Icaria in memory of his child.
9
An interview with Rick Riordan
Adapt this interview with the popular author of the Percy and the Olympians series for your Web site or
newsletter. Send it to your community paper with information about your Mythomagic party.
Question: The stakes have been raised again for Percy and his demigod friends in The Battle of the Labyrinth. How did the idea for
the setting of the Labyrinth and its ability to adapt to its inhabitants
come to you?
The Labyrinth is the single most fascinating place in Greek mythology. Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed about exploring it with sword in
hand, looking for monsters! I started thinking about what the Labyrinth would be like in Percy’s world. If gods and monsters have
adapted to modern America, why not the maze? The Labyrinth has
become the ultimate challenge. It wends its way under the entire
country and can lead you anywhere you want to go, but it will try to
thwart you at every turn. Navigating the maze is the most dangerous
quest Percy has ever undertaken, and he quickly learns he’s going to need help.
Percy has girl trouble for the first time in this book. How did Rachel Elizabeth Dare develop? Where
did her name come from? Is her art project/fund-raiser based on a true story? How did you develop
the idea of mortals who see through the mist?
In the Titan’s Curse, Aphrodite promised that she was going to make things “interesting” for
Percy, and the goddess of love fulfills her promise in The Battle of the Labyrinth. Like many of my
characters, Rachel Elizabeth Dare just popped to life in my mind. I’m not sure where she came from.
She is feisty, outspoken, and creative, and at first Percy is not sure what to make of her. Rachel is
completely mortal, but she can see through the Mist even more clearly than half-bloods. This idea
came from Greek mythology. There have always been some humans, like Tiresius and Cassandra,
who could see the world of the gods clearly even though they had no other powers. Percy finds
himself relying on Rachel. Annabeth, to say the least, is not pleased. The scene in Times Square,
where Rachel’s art club is raising money, is right out of real life. I was passing through Times Square
one day and saw a high school art club outside the Marriott. They were painted metallic and standing
like statues, raising money for their program. I thought, That’s what Rachel Dare would do. And so
I made it happen!
Grover finally learns the truth about Pan and seems to grow in the process. Why is Pan important to
his community? To the world?
Yes, Grover does learn the truth about Pan. For centuries, the satyrs have been growing increasingly concerned about the state of the earth. The wild is disappearing. Pan’s domain is almost gone.
10
Humans are mucking up the environment. Grover is desperate to find Pan, and when he learns the
truth about the god’s long absence, he has to do some serious soul-searching. I think we can all relate
to Grover’s desire to find Pan. We look around the world; we read headlines about global warming
and ecological disasters. Wouldn’t it be nice if Pan, the god of nature, could set everything right for
us? But of course in real life, as in mythology, the answers never come easily.
Do heroes ever prove themselves, or is it a never-ending process? Is there ever a happy ending, or is
it just delayed doom?
In Greek mythology, heroes hardly ever have a happy ending. They struggle ceaselessly. They prove
their bravery and ingenuity over and over, but in the end, they succumb to their fatal flaws or they
are brought low by fate. Still, we remember them for their efforts. They become immortal because
they struggled against impossible odds. Will Percy have a happy ending? I can’t tell you! His mother
named him Perseus because the original Perseus was an exception to the rule. He lived happily ever
after. Book five will tell if Percy is able to live up to his namesake.
What’s your favorite monster in The Battle of the Labyrinth and why?
So many great monsters! It’s hard to choose, but I would have to say Mrs. O’Leary, the friendly
hellhound. She’s a little intimidating, being the size of a tank and chewing the heads off warrior mannequins, but she proves a very important helper in Percy’s quest.
Daedalus is such a fascinating figure—was it hard to wait for the fourth book before you gave him
flesh, so to speak?
The inventor Daedalus has always been one of my favorite figures in mythology. He’s really the precursor to every great mortal thinker, from da Vinci to Einstein. It was great fun imagining what his
workshop would be like, and what he would’ve been inventing over the last few thousand years if
he were still alive. He’s a troubled person. He has a lot of anger and bitterness, but he’s also brilliant.
The big question for me was: Will he be an enemy or a friend for Percy? The Battle of the Labyrinth
hinges on the answer.
Question: What’s next for Percy and the Olympians?
Book five­—the big finale! I’m writing the conclusion for the series right now, and I’m having so
much fun. Will Olympus fall? Is Percy really the hero of the prophecy? Will Annabeth and Percy
ever get together? Will Luke escape the clutches of Kronos? Will Grover ever learn to play something besides Hilary Duff on his wooden pipes? All of the big questions are finally answered. I can
promise quite a few surprises, and a battle of . . . well, Olympic proportions. It will be the final
chapter of Percy’s story, though I’m not closing the door on Camp Half-Blood forever. There are
many other possible stories there, and it’s a place I would love to return some day. We’ll just have
to see what the future holds!
11
Answer page
ANSWERS to OLYMPIAN CROSSWORD
SOLUTION to PERCY JACKSON WORD SEARCH
SOLUTION to WORKSHOP of DAEDALUS MAZE
12
The a-MAZE-ing
Mythomagic Party
You are cordially
invited . . .
to track down and defeat
terrifying monsters, navigate
the most complex maze in
the history of the world,
and solve truly mindboggling puzzles, and to
become a master demigod
expert worthy of Percy
himself!
Date
___________________________________
Time
___________________________________
Place ___________________________________
Percy Jackson