Rick Riordan: The Son of Neptune

cognomen third name

cohorta Roman military unit

Cyclops( Cyclopes, pl.) a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead

denarius( denarii, pl.) the most common coin in the Roman currency system

drachmathe silver coin of Ancient Greece

Elysiumthe final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous in the Underworld

Erebosa place of darkness between Earth and Hades

fauna Roman forest god, part goat and part man. Greek form: satyr

Fields of Asphodelthe section of the Underworld where the souls of people who lived lives of equal good and evil rest

Fields of Punishmentthe section of the Underworld where evil souls are eternally tortured

Fortunathe Roman goddess of fortune and good luck

Fulminata armed with lightning; a Roman legion under Julius Caesar whose emblem was a lightning bolt ( fulmen )

Gaiathe earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes and other monsters. Known to the Romans as Terra

Gegenesearthborn monsters

gladius a short sword

gorgonsthree monstrous sisters (Stheno, Euryale and Medusa) who have hair of living, venomous snakes; Medusa’s eyes can turn the beholder to stone

graecus Greek; enemy; outsider

greavesshin armour

gris-gris a voodoo amulet that protects from evil or brings luck

harpya winged female creature that snatches things

Herculesthe Roman equivalent of Heracles; the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, who was born with great strength

Hyperboreanspeaceful northern giants

ichor the golden blood of immortals

Imperial golda rare metal deadly to monsters, consecrated at the Pantheon; its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors

Iristhe rainbow goddess

JunoRoman goddess of women, marriage and fertility; sister and wife of Jupiter; mother of Mars. Greek form: Hera

JupiterRoman king of the gods; also called Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the best and the greatest). Greek form: Zeus

karpoi grain spirits

Laistrygonianstall cannibals from the north, possibly the source of the Sasquatch legend

Lar( Lares, pl.) house god, ancestral spirit

legionthe major unit of the Roman army, consisting of infantry and cavalry troops

legionnairea member of a legion

Liberaliaa Roman festival that celebrated a boy’s rite of passage into manhood

Lupathe sacred Roman she-wolf that nursed the foundling twins Romulus and Remus

Marsthe Roman god of war; also called Mars Ultor. Patron of the empire; divine father of Romulus and Remus. Greek form: Ares

MinervaRoman goddess of wisdom. Greek form: Athena

Mistmagic force that disguises things from mortals

Mount Othrysthe base of the Titans during the ten-year war with the Olympian gods; Saturn’s headquarters

musterformal military inspection

nebulae cloud nymphs

Neptunethe Roman god of the sea. Greek form: Poseidon

Otrerafirst Amazon queen, daughter of Ares

pallium a cloak or mantle worn by the Romans

Pantheona temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome

Penthesileaa queen of the Amazons; daughter of Ares and Otrera, another Amazon queen

Periclymenusa Greek prince of Pylos and a son of Poseidon, who granted him the ability to shape-shift. He was renowned for his strength and participated in the voyage of the Argonauts.

Phineasa son of Poseidon, who had the gift of prophecy. When he revealed too much of the plans of the gods, Zeus punished him by blinding him.

pilum a Roman spear

Plutothe Roman god of death and riches. Greek equivalent: Hades

Polybotesthe giant son of Gaia, the Earth Mother

praetoran elected Roman magistrate and commander of the army

Priamthe king of Troy during the Trojan War

principia the headquarters of a Roman camp

probatio testing period for a new recruit in a legion

pugio a Roman dagger

Queen Hippolyta’s beltHippolyta wore a golden waist belt, a gift from her father, Ares, that signified her Amazonian queenship and also gave her strength.

retiarius Roman gladiator who fought with a net and trident

River Styxthe river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld

Romulus and Remusthe twin sons of Mars and the priestess Rhea Silvia who were thrown into the River Tiber by their human father, Amulius. They were rescued and raised by a she-wolf and, upon reaching adulthood, founded Rome.

Saturnthe Roman god of agriculture, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and the father of Jupiter. Greek equivalent: Kronos

scorpion ballistaa Roman missile siege weapon that launched a large projectile at a distant target

Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR)‘The Senate and People of Rome’; refers to the government of the Roman Republic and is used as an official emblem of Rome

shadesspirits

Sibylline Booksa collection of prophecies in rhyme written in Greek. Tarquinius Superbus, a king of Rome, bought them from a prophetess named Sibyl and consulted them in times of great danger.

spartus a skeleton warrior

spatha a cavalry sword

Stygian ironlike Celestial bronze and Imperial gold, a magical metal capable of killing monsters

Tartarushusband of Gaia; spirit of the abyss; father of the giants; also the lowest region of the world

Terminusthe Roman god of boundaries and landmarks

Thanatosthe Greek god of death. Roman equivalent: Letus

Tiber Riverthe third-longest river in Italy. Rome was founded on its banks. In Ancient Rome, executed criminals were thrown into the river.

triremea type of warship

triumph a ceremonial procession for Roman generals and their troops in celebration of a great military victory

Trojan Warthe war that was waged against the city of Troy by the Greeks after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband, Menelaus, the king of Sparta. It started with a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite.