As a special Labor Day weekend treat, Rick Riordan has given us the final three new characters we can expect to see in Mark of Athena. They are Venus, the goddess of love, Hercules, the famous hero, and Arachne, the woman who made the mistake of angering the goddess Athena.
First up, we have Venus:
According to his blog, Venus (whose Greek equivalent is Aphrodite) is constantly changing and morphing her appearance. This is because each person’s idea of beauty is different. In the picture above, she is transitioning between a blonde and a brunette.
Venus will most likely try to help out our heroes, but at what cost? As Riordan notes, she usually has the best intentions but doesn’t always go about it the right way. Her “help” could actually hinder our crew on its quest.
Secondly, we have the character art for Hercules:
Hercules is a minor god, but we’re warned (if we should ever meet the hero) not to mention this to his face. Another subject he’s touchy about? That movie Disney made based on his life. He’s also carrying his infamous club, although it looks a bit more like an oversized baseball bat than some of the more traditional depictions we’re accustomed to.
Hercules could be a friend of Percy & Co., but it’s possible he could also be an enemy. Only time will tell and Riordan hints that demigod luck has never been that good.
Last up is Arachne:
She was human once – and a foolish one at that. She dared to say she was a better weaver than Athena and was promptly challenged by none other than the goddess herself. Although some of the stories differ, upon losing to Athena, Arachne soon became a spider.
We know from previous books that Annabeth is terrified of spiders, and it would seem that they don’t much like children of Athena, either. Arachne is still bitter, and you can bet that she’s going to cause some problems for our favorite demigods. Riordan even boasts her as one of his favorite villains yet!
Don’t forget to check out previous reveals for Nemesis and Bacchus.
Mark of Athena comes out exactly one month from today, on October 2 in the U.S., the U.K., and in Canada. For other countries, be sure to check with your local bookstores.
So, tell us: which character are you most looking forward to and why?
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