Throwing down your staff may sound like a sign of surrender, but in Egyptian magic, it's bad news. It usually means, 'Hey, I'm going to summon a big nasty thing to kill you while I stand safely inside my circle and laugh'.
Rick RiordanIn a way, it's nice to know that there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some devine force is really trying to mess up your day.
Rick RiordanRachel: They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb. Annabeth: Was it hard?
Rick RiordanPiper leaned toward [Jason], her caramel braid falling over her shoulder. Her multicolored eyes made it hard for him to think straight. โAnd where is this place?โ she asked. โA . . . uh, a town called Split.โ โSplit.โ She smelled really goodโlike blooming honeysuckle. โUm, yeah.โ Jason wondered if Piper was working some sort of Aphrodite magic on himโlike maybe every time he mentioned Reynaโs name, she would befuddle him so much he couldnโt think about anything but Piper. He supposed it wasnโt the worst sort of revenge.
Rick Riordan