89 pages • 2 hours read
Rick RiordanThe Hidden Oracle
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Symbols & Motifs
Oracles, Prophecies, and Dreams
Oracles and prophecies feature prominently in The Hidden Oracle. In Greek mythology, the oracles offered people guidance, insights, and warnings. Oracles were often inspired by the gods and could foretell the future. An oracle typically referred to the priest or priestess speaking the prophecy, such as the Pythia at the Oracle at Delphi. For the demigods in Rick Riordan’s extended universe, the Oracles are extremely important as they provide the heroes crucial clues about their quests. In the absence of prophesizing, the demigods often find themselves at sea, especially when confronted by dark and mysterious forces, such as when campers start disappearing into the woods in The Hidden Oracle. Since the Oracle at the camp has stopped prophesizing, the other campers and Chiron do not have any pointers about where to search for the missing demigods.
At the symbolic level, the silence of the Oracles signifies the fall of Apollo, the god of prophecy and the patron of the Oracle of Delphi. Apollo himself can no longer see the future in his present form. Delphi, Apollo’s most important Oracle, described as the “deepest taproot of a tree” (98), has been captured by Python, the ancient snake-like monster. Python’s seizure of Delphi has “strangled” this taproot, starving off the branches of the trees of prophecy. Apollo’s current priestess, Rachel Dare, can no longer paint the future on the walls of her cave. In frustration, she has white-washed her previous paintings, leaching the cave of color. The loss of prophecy thus symbolizes the loss of color and vitality. The seize of Delphi represents the bid of evil forces to control and block all communication and mirrors real-world anxieties about corporations and tyrannical governments controlling media and free speech.
With the other Oracles blocked, the most ancient Oracle, the Grove of Dodona, is the one symbol of hope for both Apollo and the world. Because Dodona is patronized by Rhea (classical texts vary on this point) instead of Apollo, Apollo’s fall or Python’s seizure of Delphi cannot block the ancient Oracle. Apollo must access the Grove of Dodona for a prophecy about his next quest. Thus, Apollo must learn to trust powers other than himself to regain his godhood. Apollo’s alliance with the Grove is important for the once-imperious god to learn the values of empathy and teamwork. Though the voices of the Grove are unfocused in the beginning, it does manage to communicate with Apollo, often in the form of dreams and whispers, such as his visions of “the man in purple” (80), who turns out to be the Emperor Nero. Apollo’s dreams function as a plot device, spurring the narrative forward, and also show the god that although he may feel frustrated by his own inability to see the future, there are other visions and voices ready to help him.
Blood
In literature and art, blood is an archetypal symbol of both life and mortality. In The Hidden Oracle, blood signifies these traditional meanings as well as the growth in Apollo’s character. The symbol of blood makes an appearance in the first few chapters, with Apollo being beaten up until he bleeds, and recurs thereon. For instance, in Chapter 2, Apollo is surprised that the golden ichor or ethereal fluid that runs in his veins has turned into blood, a realization that indicates his grief at the loss of his immortality. In Chapter 4, the trail of blood Apollo leaves on the floor of Percy’s apartment reminds Percy of his own blood falling on the earth during the battle at the Acropolis and enraging Gaia. The blood motif keeps making an appearance in later chapters, such as when, after overhearing Python in the lair, Meg is described as biting her lip so hard in fear “her teeth were pink with blood” (171). Further, Paolo’s leg is bitten off in the three-legged race, and as Will tends to him and other injured racers, “his scrubs were speckled with blood” (177). The mentions of blood and violence are more exaggerated in The Hidden Oracle than in Riordan’s Percy Jackson books because the blood symbolism establishes the fragility and fallibility of the human form with which Apollo must grapple.
As the plot unfolds, Apollo becomes more tolerant of his humanity and his mortal blood. The text now begins to develop the idea of blood as the symbol of not just fragility, but also vitality, courage, and selflessness. As Apollo sheds more blood over the course of the book, he makes a sacrifice that is redemptive in nature. Becoming more comfortable with his mortal blood, Apollo also stops viewing his human body as precious and fragile. This comfort is mirrored in Apollo’s increased willingness to risk physical danger to save those whom he cares about, such as Meg, Kyla, Austin, and the other campers. For example, Apollo does not hesitate to brave the fires set by Nero in the later chapters to save the hostages who have been bound as human torches. Thus, Apollo learns that his mortal blood makes him more noble than ichor ever made his godly existence. In this light, the blood motif also represents Apollo’s growth into empathy and courage.
Trees, Fruit, and Plants
With a daughter of Demeter, the powerful ancient goddess of the harvest, a major character in the book, it is fitting that flora constitutes one of the text’s most important symbols. Significantly, fruit makes an appearance even in the Manhattan cityscape, when Meg mobilizes them to chase away Nero’s thugs, Cade and Mikey. Fruit, symbolic of nature itself, thus represents hope and rescue. The fruit motif recurs when frozen peaches stall the nosoi, and eventually Peaches the karpos, a literal manifestation of organic produce, eats the plague spirits. The message is emphatic: Nature saves. Significantly, Apollo’s two great loves are Daphne and Hyacinthus, both of whom transformed into plants because of Apollo’s overbearing passion. Apollo is thus in debt of nature, a debt that coincides with him being in Meg’s service. Apollo must protect nature to right the wrongs he has committed against it. That is why the text links him with the rescue of the Grove of Dodona.
The Grove of Dodona represents the power of nature at its most primal and ancient. Because it is planted by the titan queen Rhea, the grove is also linked with nurturing energy. Nero, who symbolizes the antithesis of nature, wants to break the natural order, burn the woods, and build a commercial, capitalistic empire that destroys the environment. Nero’s disrespect of the geyser spirit Paulie, as well as his violence against the Grove of Dodona, represent real-world concerns about the destruction of forests. For Apollo and the world to be whole again, nature must be respected and spared. The talking-tree motif represents the wisdom of nature, while the anger of Peaches, Meg, and the trees is symbolic of nature’s fury. Finally, the sacrifice of the dryads is symbolic of the destruction of nature, as well as its nobility.
Fire
Fire occurs as a symbol of both destruction and hope in the text. In the very first chapter, Apollo falls out of the sky, flames streaming around him. The flames are linked with the loss of Apollo’s divine form and powers, as well as his transformation. As the god of the sun, Apollo is linked with the sun’s heat and fire. Just as the sun’s energy can be both life-giving and harmful, Apollo, too, has a dual nature. In his most blazing, imperious form, Apollo has been a temperamental, willful god. However, as a human, Apollo grows into the more benign, healing aspect of the sun. Apollo’s dreams in the text often include fire, such as his incandescent chariot, whereas the voices of Dodona and Nero often refer to a burning. The text contains multiple references to Nero’s witnessing of the burning of ancient Rome, as well as his habit of burning Christians as human torches. Chillingly, Nero turns the kidnapped campers and Paulie the geyser god into torches waiting to be ignited. True to his arsonist nature, Nero tries to set fire to the Grove of Dodona, leading to the sacrifice of the dryads. Thus, Nero represents the destructive energy of fire.
However, as symbolized by the campfire of Camp Half-Blood, fire often also represents warmth, family, and friendship. The last line of the text describes Apollo, Leo Valdez, and Calypso moving toward “music, laughter, and a warm, crackling fire” (359). Further, fire represents the constructive fire of industry and metallurgy, as represented by Harley and Leo, the children of Hephaestus, the god of fire and metalworking. It is Harley who constructs the beacon that brings Leo home, and Leo himself appears as a symbol of hope for Apollo at the end of the book, atop his “fire-eater,” or fire-breathing metal dragon Festus. The coming together of Leo and Apollo symbolizes the confluence of the energies of fire and sun.
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