‘Percy Jackson’: Everything You Need To Know About Tartarus

We’re more than halfway through the ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ show, and things are getting spicy, to say the least. Percy, Annabeth, and Groover are about to embark on the critical part of their journey through the Underworld, and we know that the most menacing and evil part of it is the so-called Tartarus. This is why we decided to create this special guide today that will answer any and all questions you have about the place – and the primordial being. So, let’s go.

Editor’s Note: This guide contains spoilers for the ‘Percy Jackson franchise; read at your own risk.

Tartarus is both a physical location and a primordial being

Now, most of us will associate Tartarus with the grim prison in mythology. But the prison, or at least part of the prison, was named after an immortal primordial being called Tartarus. He was the father of Typhon and the giants and served as a prison guard since time immemorial, hence why he came to be known as Protogenos of the Abyss, the Pit of Evil, and the Father of Giants. Tartarus was born out of pure Chaos.

Tartarus is not a Titan; he is something far more ancient and powerful; one could make connections between him and the primordial forces that made up this world. Since Tartarus is most often associated with the prison, it would be a good idea to describe that as well. Tartarus, situated in the deepest reaches of Hades’ Underworld, serves as a place of imprisonment for the enemies of the gods.

Percy was close to Tartarus in the first book when he, Annabeth, and Groover visited the Underworld to deal with Hades since they believed that he was connected to the theft of Master Bolt. Since Kronos was at that time imprisoned in Tartarus, the winged shoes that Luke Castellan, the true thief of the master bolt, gave them tried to pull Percy to Kronos. When Percy went closer to the entrance of Tartarus, he realized that Kronos was seeping into his mind, trying to manipulate him and that his nightmares and evil were originating from Tartarus itself.

Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus in the fourth book, ‘House of Hades’

Even though Percy and Annabeth figured that Tartarus was an incredibly inhospitable place, they got a taste of it in the fourth book titled ‘House of Hades.’ In the ‘House of Hades, ‘ something is wrong with the Underworld, and demigods need to close the Doors of Death to prevent the rise of the Giant army made out of giants and other monsters. Percy and Annabeth literally fell into Tartarus and soon found out that the whole place was deadly to them as they were unable to breathe the air within the place, and terrible blisters started appearing on their skin.

Luckily, they were able to heal their wounds with the water from the River Phlegethon. After this, they continued to journey deeper into Tartarus. Annabeth and Percy need to locate the Doors of Death but plenty of monsters and other nightmarish creatures are attacking them on the way after the two were attacked by empousi but were rescued by the amnesic Titan Bob. Bob, gradually regaining his memory, agrees to guide them to the Doors of Death. They use a fallen Hermes shrine to contact Camp Half-Blood. Along the way, they encounter Hyperion and Arai, receiving curses from dying monsters.

Despite learning Percy erased his memory, Bob aids them against the monsters. Cursed, Percy is cured by the friendly Gigantes Damasen, but he refuses further help. Bob leads them to Akhlys for Death Mist, facing betrayal and battles with her and Nyx. Reuniting at the Mansion of Night, Bob regains memories after an encounter with Koios and assists them. In Tartarus’ core, they discover monsters returning through the Doors of Death manned by Hyperion and Krios.

It was never specified how long were Annabeth and Percy in Tartarus

The exact time that Annabeth and Percy spent in Tartarus was never outright stated, but we can assume that it was around 2 to 3 days. They were relatively short in there when compared to Nico, and due to the highly toxic and dangerous nature of the place, we can assume that a prolonged stay would leave serious consequences for them. However, it’s also important to take into account that time in Tartarus doesn’t exactly flow like it does on Earth, so a day in Tartarus could be a second on Earth.

According to Hesiod, it takes nine days to reach the bottom of the pit, but it is also hard to judge whether Annabeth and Percy were falling for 9 seconds (Earth time)or 9 days (Tarturs time).

Annabeth and Percy fought against Tartarus and his forces

When Annabeth and Percy reached the Doors of Death, they noticed that Tartarus started taking on his mortal form, distracted him just long enough so he “forgot” to kill them. But Tartarus would be able to deal with them with a single thought since he was one of the most powerful primordial beings against which even Titans doesn’t stand a chance. The only reason for why Annabeth and Percy escaped Tartarus and managed to hold their ground against him and his forced is due to Damasen and Bob.

How powerful was Tartarus as a god?

Tartarus stands as one of the most powerful primordial entities in the series, as he had nearly total power within his domains. His superiority is evident as Titans, including Krios and Hyperion, prove no match for him. Damasen, Iapetus, Small Bob, and a Drakon struggle to hold him off. In addition to his incredible powers, he is also inhumanly physically strong. Tartarus wields godly might, easily defeating even his own children and demonstrating dark gravity that pulls objects into his “whirlpool” face. His essence absorption ability allows him to “kill” immortals by drawing them into darkness.

He also commands monsters with absolute authority and possesses umbrakinesis, controlling darkness with the ability to generate solid bolts and engulf enemies in lightless space. Tartarus’ terrifying capabilities make him a supremely powerful and malevolent force, capable of annihilating opponents with a mere thought if he so wishes.

Annabeth and Percy were saved by Damasen

Annabeth and Percy escaped Tartarus only due to the sacrifice of Damasen (Tartarus’ son) and amnesiac Bob. When Percy and Annabeth discovered the Doors of Death, when they reached them, basically all giants used the opportunity to escape. This was when Percy and Annabeth stood face to face with Tartarus, who tried to keep them from leaving by any means necessary.

In a surprising turn, Damasen, with the tamed Maeonian drakon and the Bob, came to their rescue and proved to be a perfect distraction for Tartarus. This allowed Percy and Annabeth to leave the place. Before they left, Annabeth destroyed the chains on the Tartarus side, and Hazel Levesque broke the chains on the mortal side of the doors. This stopped the escape of monsters from Tartarus since their “easy” exit was sealed.

Nico di Angelo visited Tartarus twice, spending around a week in the place

Tartarus is a pretty inhospitable place, even for demigods and gods. This is why it’s surprising that Nico traveled through Tartarus twice, spending a total of around one week within the hellish space. The first time, Nico, in search of the Doors of Death, stumbles upon Tartarus by accident and is sucked into the realm. Spotting the Giant Army, he flees from pursuing wolves and encounters Nemesis, who guides him. In the house of Hades, Nemesis, in the form of his father, advises him to restore balance in his heart with pomegranate seeds. Following the River Phlegethon’s guidance, Nico faces challenges, encountering Nyx and Hypnos. Attempting to escape, he is eventually handed over to Ephialtes and Otis, who use him as bait for the Seven. Nico, confined in a jar, loses hope but remains in a death trance and survives only by eating pomegranate seeds.

In ‘The Tower of Nero, ‘ Nico decides to return to Tartarus to save Bob. Although Will is deadly scared of the place, being the son of Apollo, he still decides to accompany him on his journey.

Tartarus is in control of Tartarus

Considering that Hades is the lord of the Underworld, one would assume that he has jurisdiction over Tartarus as well, but this is not the case. Technically, Tartarus is isolated from the rest of the Underworld and lies on the deepest level; the Lord of Darkness and Monsters Tartaurs is in absolute control of the place; he is Tartarus, although occasionally, he does manifest in physical form.

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