The Lost Hero

The daughter of Aphrodite and a famous Cherokee actor, Tristan McClean, Piper is a pretty brunette with eyes that shift colors. She tries not to draw attention to her beauty; she eschews makeup and cuts her hair asymmetrically. Therefore, when she learns she is a daughter of Aphrodite and receives a blessing of beauty, she feels quite uncomfortable.

Piper is somewhat self-pitying. Although she is the daughter of a famous movie star, she has always wanted a deeper connection with her father, along with knowledge of her mother. As she begins the quest with her friends, she is unsure what she can contribute, and is plagued by the knowledge that the giant, Enceladus, is trying to get her to betray her friends. However, she ultimately confides in them, and is able to save her father.

Piper gradually discovers that Aphrodite is about spreading love and beauty. She uses her powers, including charmspeak, to rescue her friends, and to rescue Jason from the brink of death. At the end of the novel, she is ready to take her place as leader of her cabin, and to pursue Jason romantically.

The son of Hephaestus and a hardworking single mother, Leo is traumatized by his mother’s early death, and uses humor to cope. He is petite, dark-haired, and has a mischievous smile. He is mechanically skilled, and has the ability to create and withstand fire. Blaming himself for his mother’s death by fire at the hands of Gaea, he is afraid of his own power, until Hera/Tia Callida assures him he is not to blame.

Leo constantly jokes, and is quick to love—both his friends, and any pretty girl he sees. The more he is able to open up about his past, the further he commits himself to his friends and his quest.

Hedge is a satyr who first appears to the demigods in the guise of a counselor at the Wilderness School. However, he is actually a retired protector looking out for demigods. He is pugnacious and eager to fight any enemy of any size. However, he is frequently distracted, and is often off eating grass at the moments the demigods need him most.

The goddess Hera, Juno in her Roman version thereof, is known for her dislike of demigods. Thalia Grace and others feel she has led them astray and tricked them. She is somewhat harsh and straightforward—she begins putting Leo into fires as a baby in order to strengthen and test him—but she is mostly well-meaning. When Khione captures her, Hera reaches out to the demigods to save her. She helps them defeat Porphyrion by revealing her true form.

While the other gods have abandoned their children, the childless Hera looks after Jason in particular, and hatches a plan to unite the Greek and Roman demigods and save the world.

Piper’s father is a handsome Cherokee movie star who refuses to take Native roles. He wants to protect his daughter from both the hopelessness he experienced growing up and the excesses of Hollywood. After meeting the giants, he is horrified to discover he inhabits a world filled with monsters, as he is not psychologically strong enough to bear it. After drinking a memory serum, however, he returns to his old self, and expresses his love and admiration for his daughter.

Jason’s sister, Thalia is a child of Zeus and an Artemis Hunter. She has spiky black hair and brilliant blue eyes. After Jason’s disappearance, Thalia ran away from her mother. She also renounced her father to join Artemis, taking a vow of chastity and doing the goddess’s bidding.

A blonde teenager, Annabeth is a Daughter of Athena. She is a leader at Camp Half-Blood. She is forlorn over the disappearance of her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, and journeys on her own to find him.

Rachel is a mortal oracle with curly red hair and freckles. She sometimes lives in a cave at Camp Half-Blood. When not there, she lives in Queens or goes to school in Connecticut. She reveals the Great Prophecy, as well as the prophecy that leads the demigods on their quest to free Hera.

Drew is a daughter of Aphrodite. She is vain and shallow, and uses her gift with charmspeak to control the other campers in her cabin. However, she is also cowardly, and steps down from her post without a fight when Piper challenges her.

Chiron is a centaur with curly brown hair. He is the head of Camp Half-Blood. When he takes on a human form, he folds his bottom half into a wheelchair. Although he knows there are two groups of demigods, he has sworn not to reveal this knowledge. He is eager to help the campers as much as he can without breaking his oath.

Khione is the goddess of snow. She has skin as pale as snow, black hair, and brown eyes. She also has an icy demeanor that fits her name. She has a gift similar to charmspeak—she can persuade even gods by speaking to their insecurities. She is aligned with Gaea and seeks to overturn the gods and destroy the mortal world.

Khione's brothers are two large teenage-appearing immortal demigods and the sons of Boreus. They both have white hair and angel wings. Cal has two black eyes and missing teeth. He is large and stupid, and keeps asking to destroy the demigods. In contrast, Zethes looks like a 1980s rock star and has a feathered mullet. 

All three Cyclopes have hairy, muscular bodies and “brutish faces.” They own a workshop, “Monocle Motors,” and eat humans (with salsa). Ma Gasket is larger than her two sons, and savvier. While Torque and Sump are almost persuaded by Piper’s charmspeak, Ma Gasket is able to see through it. Leo is ultimately able to destroy them with their own tools.

King Midas is white-haired, pudgy, and completely mad. He frequently turns his daughter to gold. His son, Lit, is muscular, with dark curly hair and a face that is scarred but handsome. Both are mortal, and have made a new home in Nebraska after being resurrected.

The king of the wolves, Lycaon is a thin, muscular man with a horrible face and “thin skin.”He has sharp teeth and red eyes. His greasy hair is topped with a crown of bones.

Mellie is a semi-transparent aura. She is petite and pretty, with brown eyes and permanently windswept brown hair. She is Aeolus’s personal assistant until he fires her, at which point she assists the demigods and Coach Hedge in escaping. She and Coach Hedge begin to date, and she takes on a new role as Tristan McClean’s assistant.

The master of Wind is also the weather reporter for the gods. He has white hair and a face that looks like it’s been subjected to elaborate plastic surgery. He must give forecasts every few minutes, and they are constantly subject to change based on the gods’ whims. This task drives him somewhat crazy. 

Enceladus is a 30-foot-tall giant. He is muscular and humanoid from the waist up, and his face is “crudely shaped […] like a half-finished clay figure” (448). His eyes glow, and his hair is dreadlocked and interwoven with bones. From the waist down, he appears to be a dragon.

Porphyrion is the King of the Giants. He is taller and more muscular than Enceladus. His skin is entirely green, and his long green hair is braided with weapons.