The Mark of Athena

by Rick Riordan

Paperback, 672 pages

English language

Published Nov. 3, 2012 by Disney-Hyperion.

ISBN:: 978-1-4231-4200-3

(9 reviews)

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon figurehead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket, Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving command: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena …

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader—but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare. . .

12 editions

✨Timelord Iroh(she/her)🏳️‍⚧️✨ reviewed The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #3)

What a trip

5 stars

Content warning General spoilers from throughout the book

Going from New Rome with Percy and Annabeth getting reunited and Leo (under possession) bombing New Rome all the way across the Atlantic to old Rome, meeting lots of new friends (mostly mythical this time) and taking some time outs to get nostalgic, even going back to the Lightning Thief and the first quest. Annabeth really gets her time to shine and I love her parts of the story. The way the story connected the beginning with Frank getting some "chinese handcuffs" to that being the solution for Arachne was great. Part of me really does feel bad for Arachne. I wish/hope Annabeth's stalling and promising Arachne that her art would be on Mount Olympus will come back and, like the Minor Gods got pardoned, the same can happen with some of the monsters. A lot of them don't deserve their punishments. Maybe Ahena could give up weaving and Arachne could be the (minor) Goddess of Weaving. I liked how Jason and Percy both struggled with feeling like they should be the leader and their own self doubt, and managed to come together as a team. A team as good as Percy/Annabeth, even. The trio between Frank/Leo/Hazel is settling down a bit. I'm glad that Frank and Leo were able to come to an understanding about their mutual distrust of each other, and Hazel got to talk with both of them about how much they both mean to her. I'm curious to see who she gets closer with (or even chooses someone else).