57 pages 1 hour read

Rick Riordan

The Dark Prophecy

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

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Character Analysis

Apollo / Lester Papadopoulos

Known as the teenager Lester Papadopoulos in his mortal form, Apollo is an exiled god and the protagonist of The Dark Prophecy. The son of Zeus, the chief of gods, and the Titan Leto, Apollo has been exiled from Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, by Zeus as a punishment. None of the gods—not even his twin sister Artemis—are allowed to contact the mortal Apollo, leaving him to his own devices. The novel is narrated by Apollo in the first person, and his distinctive, witty tone is one of the highlights of the entire The Trials of Apollo series. As a mortal, Apollo possesses no powers and is trapped in (what he considers) the awkward body of a teenager. This often makes him lament his limitations, which is both comical and understandable. For instance, he often compares his former good looks to his current acne-ridden skin. At the novel’s start, Apollo feels stuck in his human existence. He often questions the decisions of those who gave up immortality to lead a mortal life involving family, love, domesticity, and hard work. He reminisces about his past glory and all the adulation he has received in the 4,000 years of his existence.