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The Percy Jackson & The Olympians series of books is one of the most well-known and well-loved fantasy series in the world and one of the biggest reasons for its success is its likeable characters and heroes.
The main character is of course Percy Jackson himself – a young boy who discovers that he is a demigod in a world where the Greek gods of Olympus are real and are walking around modern day USA.
However, because the series itself stretches for five books, it’s easy to lose track of how old Percy actually is.
So, how old is Percy Jackson?
Here we are going to be taking a look at how old Percy Jackson is and why it’s super important to keep track of his age in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series.
How Old Is Percy Jackson In The Lightning Thief?
The Lightning Thief is the first book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series both chronologically and in order of publication. It is our first introduction to Percy Jackson and his world, as well as the start of his journey.
On the very first page, Percy introduces himself to the reader through first-person narration and here he straight up tells us his age:
“My name is Percy Jackson. I am twelve years old.”
So, at the very start of the series and at the start of Percy’s journey, he is only twelve years old.
However, he is approaching his thirteenth birthday because The Lightning Thief takes place in June and Percy’s birthday is August 18th, but this means that Percy was only twelve when he fought the Minotaur, Medusa, and the god of war himself Ares. At least, that is in the books.
In the 2010 movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Percy is played by the then 18 year old Logan Lerman so the character was drastically aged up.
This was a move seriously criticised by fans because Percy’s age was an important part of the story in the books – but why?
The Great Prophecy
In The Lightning Thief, Percy and the readers discover that there is a great prophecy that potentially involves him. This prophecy is finally revealed in the final book of the series, The Last Olympian.
When unravelled, the prophecy meant that Percy would face a choice on his sixteenth birthday to either destroy or save the Olympians, and the ‘end his days’ line was often interpreted to mean that Percy would die.
This prophecy is a constant shadow over Percy’s head as some gods treat him with fear and some even seek to destroy him. He struggles to find allies and prove his loyalty to the Olympians while also facing constant hurdles and threats from the main villain and his forces.
During the events of The Titan’s Curse, the Olympians even take a vote to decide whether or not to kill Percy before he reaches his sixteenth birthday.
This means that the prophecy and by proxy, Percy’s age, are vital factors to the story that cannot be changed in adaptations or they risk throwing the plot off balance and causing plot holes.
Despite this, the movie adaptations did change the prophecy when it was included in the sequel Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Sea Of Monsters. The prophecy now stated that Percy would reach twenty against all odds.
How Old Is Percy In The Olympians Series?
So, Percy starts out as twelve years old in the first book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series.
In the second book of the series, The Sea Of Monsters, Percy has passed his thirteenth birthday and is thirteen years old during the events of the book.
He passes his birthday again and is fourteen years old in the third book, The Titan’s Curse, which takes place during the winter rather than the summer like the rest of the series.
Because of this, Percy is still fourteen years old during the events of the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth.
Then, in the final book of the series, Percy is fifteen for most of the events. He reaches his sixteenth birthday in which he makes the decision foretold in the Great Prophecy and the book (and the series) finished just after his sixteenth birthday.
So, while Percy started the series at twelve years old, he finished it at sixteen years old.
But The Olympians series is not Percy Jackson’s only appearance in literature. He also makes an appearance in the sequel series, The Heroes Of Olympus.
Taking place after the events of The Olympians series, we see an older Percy face new foes and find new allies – so how old is he in those books?
How Old Is Percy In The Heroes Of Olympus Series?
Unlike The Olympians series, The Heroes Of Olympus series of books all take place over a shorter period of time.
The first book, The Lost Hero, takes place a few months since the ending of The Olympians series. Percy does not make an appearance because he has recently gone missing. This means that Percy is still sixteen years old.
However, in the next book, Percy awakens from a few months of deep sleep in the Wolf House. Two months later, he arrives in Camp Jupiter and starts the events of The Son of Neptune.
Percy will stay sixteen for the rest of the series because all of the events take place before his birthday in late August.
Conclusion
Percy Jackson is a major character in both the Percy Jackson & The Olympian series and The Heroes Of Olympus series. During the span of these ten books, we see Percy grow from twelve years old right up until he nearly turns seventeen.
He makes minor appearances during The Trials of Apollo books, during which he finally passes his eighteenth birthday so in the Rick Riordan connected world of mythology fantasy books, Percy Jackson is currently eighteen even though he no longer plays a huge role in the universe.
I first had the idea for Seeking A Good Book when I was in college and everyone would come to me for book recommendations. More often than not, everyone I recommended a book to would always come back with a glowing review of it.
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