43 pages • 1 hour read
Rick RiordanThe Chalice of the Gods
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 19-27Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary: “I Taste the Rainbow and It’s Pretty Nasty”
Percy uses Iris’s newly restored staff to create rainbows that get the serpents’ attention. Annabeth uses her magic baseball cap to turn invisible and find Grover. Percy trips as he runs from the serpents, twisting his ankle. They close in around him, and he realizes that they will soon rip him to shreds. He does not want to die, and he wishes he could tell Annabeth how much he loves her. As soon as he makes his wish, the staff lifts him into the air and transforms him into a rainbow, transporting him directly to Annabeth and Grover at the mouth of the cave. The staff is a messenger god’s staff, after all, so its job is to deliver messages. Percy’s friends are relieved that he is safe; he tells both of them that he loves them.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Iris Takes Venmo”
Percy and Annabeth return the staff to Iris the following day. Grover is doing his photoshoot with Blanche. Iris is pleased to get the staff but reluctant to provide information about the chalice, because she thinks its true thief is very dangerous. Eventually, she tells them that they will find the thief in Greenwich Village. The thief is going by the name “Gary.” She gives them a vial of pure nectar from Mount Olympus. A few drops of the nectar will guide them to the chalice.
Chapter 21 Summary: “I Offer Relationship Advice. No, Seriously. Why Are You Laughing?”
Grover attends Percy’s swim meet to cheer him on. He will not stop talking about Blanche, and he is obsessed with the photos she took of him. Juniper seemed angry about the photoshoot, but Grover does not know why. Percy suggests that she is jealous, which Grover had not considered. Percy advises Grover to apologize to his girlfriend. Grover thinks that they will find “Gary” in Washington Square Park, as he has heard that all the nymphs and dryads have left that area. Neither Percy nor Grover can think of a god with a name that sounds like “Gary.” They decide to meet at the park early on Monday morning to find him. Grover admits that he is dreading the time when Percy and Annabeth will leave him behind to attend college in California. Percy assures him that they will visit often and that their friendship will survive the change.
Chapter 22 Summary: “I Get a Cupcake and a Surprise”
Annabeth comes over to Percy’s house for dinner. She brings cupcakes for dessert. At dinner, Percy notices that his mother is drinking sparkling water, not wine. She reveals that she is pregnant. Percy is shocked but delighted to learn that he will have a younger sibling. He congratulates his mother and Paul. The baby is due in March, several months before Percy leaves for college. Percy realizes that he will miss much of his sibling’s life by going to college. He feels conflicted about leaving, but his mom insists that he not change his plans. Later, Percy reflects that if he fails to get all three recommendation letters, he still has the option of staying home and helping raise his younger sibling. He is okay with either option.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Ganymede Explodes All the Beverages”
Percy updates Eudora on the quest status. When he mentions “Gary,” she turns gray and tries to convince him to forget about the letters and the quest and simply pick a different university. When Percy asks who “Gary” is, she leaves in a whirlpool of water. At lunch, Ganymede visits Percy and asks for an update. Percy asks who “Gary” is, but Ganymede has no idea. Percy informs Ganymede that Zeus has set a date for the next feast, which distresses Ganymede so much that he makes all the students in the cafeteria’s drinks explode. Percy visits the library to research who “Gary” could be. None of the books on Greek mythology offer any answers. He tries to do his homework but cannot concentrate because he is thinking about how much Ganymede fears Zeus and how terrible it would be to remain a teenager forever without aging or changing.
Chapter 24 Summary: “I Brush My Teeth (in the Most Heroic Way Possible)”
Annabeth sneaks into Percy’s room at 4:30 a.m. on Monday to wake him up for their trip to Washington Square Park. Juniper told her that pure nectar can send demigods who smell it into a coma, so she, Percy, and Grover will need to stuff their noses with menthol-soaked tissues before using it. Annabeth asks if Percy is having second thoughts about coming to California given the news about the baby, but Percy assures her that he never wants to leave her. He gets ready, and they both head out to find the chalice.
Chapter 25 Summary: “I Meet the Goblet Ganker”
Percy and Annabeth meet Grover at the park. They plug their noses and release three drops of nectar into the air. The nectar floats off in three different directions, so they split up. Percy ends up at a playground, where he sees an extremely decrepit old man. The man is Geras (“Gary”), the god of old age. He wants all humans to grow old and die, so he hates it when they become immortal. He stole Ganymede’s chalice because it has the power to confer immortality. He hopes that Percy will understand him because he once turned down immortality, but Percy demands that Geras give the chalice back. Geras challenges Percy to a wrestling match. If Percy wins, Geras will give him the chalice. If he loses, Geras will turn him into dust.
Chapter 26 Summary: “I Negotiate the Terms of My Disintegration”
Percy does not want to wrestle Geras; the idea of even touching him is quite disgusting. He insists that Geras must let Grover and Annabeth go even if Percy dies; Geras agrees. Grover and Annabeth come over to Percy and Geras, and Annabeth warns Percy that Geras is much stronger than he looks; beating him in a wrestling match will be impossible. The last hero to fight him was Hercules, who only came out unscathed because of his super-human strength. Even Hercules was only able to end the fight with a stalemate. Percy briefly considers allowing Geras to keep the chalice. Zeus could take Ganymede’s immortality away as punishment for losing the chalice, which might actually allow him to develop and change like a regular human. This is tempting, but Percy decides not to override Ganymede’s wishes. The fight begins.
Chapter 27 Summary: “My Dying Words Are Super Embarrassing”
Geras is much stronger than Percy, and Percy soon realizes that he will certainly lose the wrestling match. Just as Percy begins to despair, he remembers a conversation with his stepfather. Paul told him that aging is a privilege not afforded to everyone. Getting old might come with many challenges, but it is better than the alternative. Percy pictures himself, Annabeth, and Grover together as old people, still sharing their lives and taking care of one another. He is moved by this image and realizes that he has to embrace old age. Percy stops fighting Geras, hugs him, and tells him that he loves him
Chapters 19-27 Analysis
To escape the serpents at the river Elisson, Annabeth dons a baseball cap that turns her invisible. Annabeth always has this cap in the Percy Jackson books, just like Grover always has his pan pipes and Percy always has Riptide. The cap was a gift from her mother, Athena. Later, Annabeth makes a brief reference to Hercules fighting Geras. The Percy Jackson books are based on Greek mythology, but they repeatedly reference Hercules. In fact, Hercules is the Roman version of the Greek hero Herakles. The Roman spelling is more recognizable to contemporary readers. In the myth, Herakles did not defeat Geras, but neither was Geras able to defeat him. As a result of this fight, Herakles gained immortality because old age could not destroy him. This is one of the lesser-known stories about Herakles.
As the tension in the novel ramps up, Percy recognizes The Power of Friendship more than ever. His desire to tell Annabeth that he loves her literally saves his life when the serpents surround him. Percy’s love for Annabeth is rooted in deep, meaningful friendship; she is his girlfriend, but she is also one of his best friends. Although Percy wants to go to college with Annabeth in California, he reassures Grover that their friendship will survive separation. In fact, Grover’s reluctance to part with his friends indicates that their friendship is a strong anchor point in all their lives. Their very reluctance to be separated is what will keep them together while Percy is away. Percy is at his weakest when separated from his friends, like when he first meets Geras. Thinking about spending his whole life with Grover and Annabeth, right up to old age, is what helps Percy finally understand how to end his fight with Geras without dying.
Sometimes, The Challenges of Being a Demigod are virtually identical to the challenges of being a regular teenager. Like many 17-year-olds, Percy has to deal with the pain of leaving his family and friends behind when he attends college. He has to consider all the ways his life will change when he becomes an older sibling. Other challenges facing Percy are quite different from what most teenagers face. He has to choose whether to let Geras keep Ganymede’s chalice or not. He does understand Geras’s perspective, having turned down Zeus’s offer of immortality, but as a demigod, he is often bound to complete quests regardless of his personal feelings. The gods are often unreasonable, selfish, and unkind; it is up to demigods like Percy to be better than them. Percy could force Ganymede to lose his immortality for his own good, but he decides that making choices about Ganymede’s life without his consent would make him no better than Zeus. His decision demonstrates his maturity and character growth.
These chapters focus on the importance of Embracing the Passage of Time. Grover is worried about what the future holds as he believes he might lose his friends when they leave New York City. His conversation with Percy helps him accept the changes that are coming. Immortal characters in the story seem to be particularly frightened by Geras, even though they will never grow old. A god who emphasizes that everything changes and dies is antithetical to how most immortals in the Percy Jackson universe understand themselves. The gods ignore the passage of time, which is why Geras is such a confronting and frightening figure.
Percy is the perfect opponent for Geras because, unlike many teenagers, he has already reckoned with his mortality. He has already thought about what it means to get older and to change, and he has decided it is better than the alternative. Getting old might be frightening, but it is also a gift that is worth embracing. By hugging Geras, Percy is doing what the adults at Hebe Jeebies could not do. Knowing about his mother’s pregnancy and reflecting on his love for his friends and his conversation with Paul all help Percy make the right decision. Fighting old age is always a losing battle, but Percy’s decision suggests that embracing aging with joy is a much healthier approach to the passage of time.
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