The Tyrant's Tomb

The Tyrant’s Tomb redefines heroism and sacrifice by contrasting the honor of a noble death with the difficult duty of living to lead and rebuild. By contrasting the fates of Jason Grace with Frank Zhang, the novel implicitly argues that the greatest sacrifice is sometimes the conscious choice to endure loss for the sake of others. The narrative initially presents Jason Grace’s death as the epitome of heroic sacrifice. He dies saving his friends in the previous novel, and in this installment, his memory becomes a powerful catalyst for the legion, inspiring them to build his envisioned temples and unite in their grief. His funeral is a solemn state event that honors his heroism, reinforcing a traditional view in which dying for a cause is the noblest possible end.

This traditional view is complicated by Frank Zhang, who faces his own fated death with equal heroism but makes a different choice. Confronting the emperor Caligula, Frank decides to burn his life-giving piece of firewood, a sacrifice he makes explicitly in Jason’s honor. “If I’m going to burn,” he said, “I might as well burn bright. This is for Jason” (357). While Frank’s words indicate that he is fully committed to giving up his life for the cause, his selfless act breaks his curse, freeing him from his fate. Upon his abrupt return to the camp, his comrades’ confusion reflects their long-held belief in the immutable will of prophecy. As Romans and demigods beholden to the deities of Olympus, they have always believed that what is prophesied must inevitably come to pass, and Frank’s survival ostensibly breaks this pattern. However, Apollo’s thoughtful explanation frames Frank’s survival within the existing rules of destiny even as his take on the matter honors Frank’s highly nuanced act of sacrifice. As Apollo explains to Hazel:

Frank went into that tunnel knowing he might die. He willingly sacrificed himself for a noble cause. In doing so, he broke free of his fate. By burning his own tinder, he kind of… I don’t know, started a new fire with it. He’s in charge of his own destiny now” (393).

Thus, Apollo’s divine experiences with the dynamics of sacrifice gives him the insight needed to explain Frank’s survival as a personal culmination of destiny rather than an anomalous occurrence. With this approach, Riordan maintains the novel’s emphasis upon the importance of free will and suggests that Franks act of self-sacrifice is the highest possible expression of personal agency. 

The theme of sacrifice is also broadened by the actions of other characters as well. Most notably, Reyna sacrifices her title of praetor and gives up her political power and influence in order to invest in personal healing and offer her courageous service to Diana and the Hunters. With this momentous decision, she essentially gives up her entire way of life and her current identity in order to forge a bold new path in life. By contrast, Harpocrates and the Sibyl embrace the oblivion of death—both for their own benefit and for the good of the world. As they choose to fade into oblivion together, their joint “death” is framed as a quiet act of love and release from suffering. By presenting these varied forms of self-denial, the novel suggests that heroism is not confined to the battlefield and that the most profound sacrifice is to surrender all that one is for the sake of the greater good.