43 pages • 1 hour read
Rick RiordanThe Chalice of the Gods
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “I Get Flushed”
Percy Jackson has just started his senior year at a new school, Alternative High. As the son of Poseidon, Percy plans to attend New Rome University, a university for demigods in California. He visits his guidance counselor, Eudora, only to learn that she is a Nereid, a water nymph who works for Poseidon. She advises him that to attend New Rome University, he will need three letters of recommendation from three gods. Though he has saved the world several times, he will need to complete new quests to get the letters. Percy wishes Poseidon could have told him about the letters himself. Eudora opens a water vortex and flushes Percy to Poseidon’s domain.
Chapter 2 Summary: “My Dad Helps Out* (*No Actual Helping Occurs)”
Percy arrives in Poseidon’s underwater villa. He rarely sees his father. Poseidon explains that the letters are the only way Percy can work off the debt he owes for existing. The Big Three gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) made a pact 70 years ago not to have any more children, because their offspring were too powerful. All of them broke this agreement, and now Percy must pay the price. Helping Percy get the recommendation letters is all Poseidon can do for his son. He cannot write Percy a letter himself. Percy cannot directly ask any of the gods for the letters, but Poseidon has put his name on the “Olympian quest board” (25); the gods can ask him to do quests for them, and he will receive one letter per quest. Poseidon wishes him luck and flushes him back to school.
Chapter 3 Summary: “We Complain about Quests and Decorative Gourds”
Percy and his girlfriend, Annabeth, discuss the recommendation letters. Annabeth is a daughter of Athena. She assures him that she will help him complete the quests. She is also planning to attend New Rome University and wants Percy to come with her. She has already helped him save the world many times. Annabeth is currently attending the School of Design, New York City (SODNYC). Percy’s mother, Sally, calls them inside to help make dinner. Her husband, Paul, is chopping vegetables. Percy is glad to have a happy home life after so many years of “monster-fighting, divine prophecies, or near-death experiences” (32). His best friend, Grover, a satyr, arrives with a basket of strawberries for dessert. Grover also offers to help Percy with his quests.
Chapter 4 Summary: “I Take a Himbo for Smoothies”
Percy gets a quest request the next day on his way home from school. The beautiful minor god Ganymede asks for his help. Percy takes him to a smoothie bar to meet Annabeth and Grover. Ganymede used to be a mortal until he caught Zeus’s eye. Zeus turned into an eagle, snatched Ganymede, and brought him to Mount Olympus to be his cupbearer. Although he was granted immortality, Ganymede hates his job. The gods are very demanding, and he is afraid that Zeus will punish him if he does anything wrong. Now, his symbol of office, the chalice of the gods, has been stolen.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Everybody Hates Ganymede Because He’s So Pretty”
Ganymede wants Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to keep the chalice’s theft secret. If Zeus finds out, he will be very unhappy. The chalice will grant immortality to any mortal who drinks from it. Ganymede trusts Percy to help him find it because Percy turned down an offer of immortality from the gods once before. Ganymede suspects the goddesses Hebe and Iris of the theft as they both used to be cupbearers before Ganymede arrived on Olympus. Percy has met Iris, a messenger goddess, but not Hebe, the goddess of youth. He agrees to start his investigation with them. Ganymede stresses the importance of getting his chalice back before Zeus’s next feast, which could be announced at any time. If Percy succeeds, Ganymede will write Percy a recommendation letter.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Because Licorice”
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover head to Times Square to find Hebe. Grover takes them to Hebe Jeebies, a massive arcade and entertainment center that Hebe runs. Everything in Hebe Jeebies is meant to trigger patrons’ nostalgia. Grover sometimes goes there to get licorice. The friends ask a store employee, Sparky, where they can find Hebe. Sparky looks about nine years old. She tells them that Hebe is in the karaoke bar. On their way to the bar, they pass a chicken coop; chickens are Hebe’s sacred animal. In the karaoke bar, old people are dancing and singing old songs. A beautiful young girl watches them. Percy recognizes her as Hebe. She invites him and his friends to sit.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Big Shocker: I Offend a Goddess”
Hebe asks if Percy regrets turning down immortality, but Annabeth comes to his defense: He made a selfless choice and helped demigod children instead. Hebe believes that getting old is terrible, but Percy looks forward to a time when monsters will stop attacking him, as they usually target younger demigods. Grover realizes that the old people singing karaoke are getting younger. Everything at Hebe Jeebies makes people age in reverse through the power of nostalgia, although Hebe is always the youngest person in any room. Percy and his friends try to ask Hebe about Ganymede’s chalice. She is offended that they would accuse her of theft. She vows to teach Percy some manners and casts a spell on them.
Chapter 8 Summary: “I Want My Mommy”
Percy, Grover, and Annabeth regress to about age eight. Because satyrs age half as fast as humans, Grover acts more like a four-year-old. Percy is disturbed to be so young and helpless. They try leaving the store, but they remain young, and all of them behave like children. They return to Hebe Jeebies and ask Sparky for help. She is shocked; she is 65 and cannot imagine why anyone would not want to be young again. She exclaims that they are making an “age-based complaint” (78), which whips everyone in the store into a frenzy. Sparky releases the chickens from the hen house; the birds rush toward them, prepared to kill. Percy uncaps his pen, which conceals his sword, Riptide, but the sword does not appear. Grover suggests that the pen might be childproof; Annabeth suggests that they all run.
Chapter 9 Summary: “The Chickens Draw First Blood”
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover run for their lives. They barricade themselves in a playground area, and Grover explains that he can speak to chickens. He tries to ask them to back off, but they do not listen. Annabeth begins to formulate a plan. She tells Percy and Grover that they need to grab a baby chick. Percy and Grover are dubious, but Annabeth urges them to trust her. Grover distracts the chickens while Annabeth and Percy run to the chicken coop. Annabeth grabs a chick, which bites her finger and draws blood. They all return to the karaoke bar and barricade the entrance. Annabeth guesses that the karaoke bar is Hebe’s temple, so they should be able to ask for her forgiveness as petitioners. She and Percy will perform a karaoke duet to summon her.
Chapter 10 Summary: “My Singing Makes Things Worse, and Everyone Is Totally Shocked”
Percy reluctantly agrees to sing “Jealous Guy” by John Lennon. He and Annabeth sing, quite badly, until Hebe appears and asks them to stop. The three friends beg Hebe’s forgiveness for offending her, but she refuses. She then starts to get younger very quickly: Because she has to be the youngest in the room, she becomes a newborn baby so that she is younger than the chick. Annabeth picks up baby Hebe and offers to remove the chick from the karaoke bar if Hebe will restore them to their real ages and tell them whatever she knows about Ganymede’s chalice. Hebe gurgles to express agreement, and Grover returns the chick to the coop. Hebe becomes a teenager again and turns Percy, Annabeth, and Grover back into 17-year-olds. She will tell them what she knows.
Chapters 1-10 Analysis
Rick Riordan’s books take Greek myths and adapt them for contemporary middle-grade audiences. That sometimes means adjusting the myths or leaving out certain elements. Ganymede’s story is adjusted quite significantly. This text refers to Ganymede as a god, but it would be more accurate to call him a divine hero. He was human, but Zeus made him immortal. In the original myth, Zeus thought that Ganymede was strikingly beautiful, and he turned into an eagle and brought Ganymede to Olympus so they could have a sexual relationship. This relationship is hinted at in The Chalice of the Gods, but it is downplayed. Similar relationships can be found in other Greek myths, including the story of Apollo and Hyacinthus and the story of Herakles (Hercules) and Hylas.
Like many of the Percy Jackson books, The Chalice of the Gods emphasizes The Power of Friendship in Percy’s life. Even though the idea of completing new and dangerous quests for the gods is daunting, Percy knows that Grover and Annabeth are always ready to help him. The three of them have had many adventures together, and they each have their own skills. They know how to trust and uplift each other in life-or-death situations. Grover has a lot of skills relating to the natural world, and Annabeth has an encyclopedic knowledge of Greek mythology. She is extremely resourceful. When the three of them are turned into young children, their friendship is tested because they suddenly lack the maturity that usually lets them trust and rely on each other. Their bond proves strong enough to overcome that hurdle.
By now, Percy is used to The Challenges of Being a Demigod. He has barely been able to get through his education up to this point because he is constantly being attacked by monsters or sent on thankless quests. He cannot attend a regular college like most of his peers as he would need to conceal his demigod nature at all times. Instead, he wants to attend New Rome University with Annabeth, the girl he loves more than anything. Being a demigod makes it difficult to live a normal teenage life, though Percy does his best. His mother works hard to provide him with a safe and loving home with a regular rhythm of dinner preparation and chores, which he appreciates more than most teenagers might. However, being a demigod comes with its advantages. He is able to see through the Mist, which most mortals cannot do. He also gets to visit his father in his underwater palace, even though their relationship is fraught. Percy’s closest friends understand what he is going through as they, too, have to conceal parts of themselves from the world around them.
The most central theme in this book is Embracing the Passage of Time. Percy is at a transitional point in his life where he is not sure what the future holds. He wants to go to New Rome University, but he also notes how nice it is to have a normal routine at home without any overwhelming expectations. Despite his fears, Percy has thought about the passage of time more than most kids his age: He has already been offered immortality, and he turned it down. Zeus offered to make him a minor god as thanks for saving Olympus, but instead, Percy asked that all the gods recognize their demigod children. This book forces him to confront that choice and decide whether it really would be better to age normally or to remain young forever. The first deity to confront Percy with this question is Hebe, goddess of youth. One of Hebe’s epithets is Ganymeda, which means “Gladdening Princess.” This epithet is the female form of Ganymede, reflecting a connection between the two of them. Both are immortals known for their youth and beauty. Many of the patrons at Hebe Jeebies believe that it is better to be young than to be old. They are willing to let Hebe’s magic turn back the clock. Percy’s experience of being eight years old is very different: Being a child makes him feel helpless and afraid. He may not yet have fully thought through what it means to embrace the future, but he is aware that being a young child is not better than being a teenager or an adult. This realization is an important step on his journey of self-understanding.
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