Riordan Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Riordan Wiki

Achelous is a bull-man god of a river named after him. The river is situated on the island where the Pillars of Hercules are said to be where he is located.

History

Achelous was prepared to marry his soon-to-be wife Deianira, the Princess of Clydon, until Hercules saw her, and challenged Achelous for Deianira. During this fight, Hercules cut off Achelous' horn and used this as a way to humiliate him; the horn later turned into a cornucopia. Deianira picked Hercules over Achelous, leaving Achelous bitter and jealous of the strong hero.[1]

The Heroes of Olympus

The Mark of Athena

Hercules

Hercules, the hero who cut off Achelous' first horn.

Jason Grace and Piper McLean are sent on a quest by Hercules to retrieve Achelous' other horn to humiliate him even further (Hercules had cut off his first one). When Jason and Piper get to his river, Achelous is singing. Piper thinks that the singing has the same effects as charmspeaking. Achelous assumes that the demigods are there to kill him at the request of Hercules. He explains to them why Hercules did not deserve his horn and tells them the story of Deianira. Although both Piper and Jason feel bad for Achelous, who seems to be friendly, the god tries to stop them from leaving by attempting to drown them. Whilst Jason is pulled under, Piper tries to bargain with Achelous, but the god believes that she wants to be his bride, to compensate for Deianira. When Achelous picks her up, she threatens him with her with her knife to let Jason go. Piper then cuts off the god's horn and leaps for the shore, using Jason's power over the winds to carry her safely to the bank. Achelous wails as he sinks back into the river to mourn the loss of his horn.

Piper McLean

Piper, who cut off his other horn

Hercules never gets Achelous' horn because Piper forces him to give them permission for their ship to be able to leave. Piper uses the horn as a cornucopia on Hercules, and food comes pouring out of it, burying the god. The Argo II flees from Hercules' island, leaving behind a mourning Achelous and an angry Hercules.

The Blood of Olympus

Piper sees a vision in Katoptris of Achelous begging her for his missing horn back.

Appearance

Achelous is a bull with a human face, short curly black hair, and a ringlet beard in the style of Ancient Greece. His skin is blue like his river, eyes that seem deep and mournful behind bifocal glasses, and a pouting mouth. He has a single, curved, black-and-white bull's horn that sprouts from the left side of his head though that was later cut off by Piper.

Abilities

He has the standard powers of a god.

  • Hydrokinesis: As a river god, he has great control over water, mainly his river.
The Heroes of Olympus
Core Series: The Lost Hero | The Son of Neptune | The Mark of Athena | The House of Hades | The Blood of Olympus
Main Characters: Jason Grace | Piper McLean | Leo Valdez | Percy Jackson | Frank Zhang | Hazel Levesque | Annabeth Chase | Iapetus/Bob | Reyna Ramírez-Arellano | Nico di Angelo | Gleeson Hedge
Secondary Characters: Hylla Ramírez-Arellano | Dakota | Tyson | Ella | Octavian | Halcyon Green | Dr. Howard Claymore | Alabaster C. Torrington | Lamia
Minor Characters: Rachel Elizabeth Dare | Grover Underwood | Thalia Grace | Clarisse La Rue | Fleecy | Mrs. O'Leary | Kinzie | Arion | Calypso | Lou Ellen Blackstone | Chiron | Will Solace | Tristan McLean | Don | Julia | Jacob | Michael Varus | Burly Black | Medea | Midas | Lityerses | Phineas | Otrera | Echo | Narcissus | Sciron | Pasiphaë | Lycaon
Olympian Gods: Zeus | Hera | Poseidon | Hades | Ares | Demeter | Athena | Apollo | Artemis | Hephaestus | Aphrodite | Hermes | Dionysus
Minor Gods: Achelous | Aeolus | Asclepius | Boreas | Eurus | Hecate | Iris | Hypnos | Keto | Khione | Kymopoleia | Mithras | Nemesis | Nike | Notus | Phorcys | Serapis | Thanatos | Triptolemus | Zephyros
Roman Gods: Jupiter | Juno | Neptune | Pluto | Mars | Minerva | Ceres | Lupa | Bellona | Fortuna | Janus | Terminus | Vulcan | Mercury | Apollo (Roman) | Diana | Venus | Bacchus | Pomona | Aquilon | Hercules | Cupid | Auster | Favonius | Letus | Victoria
Giants: Enceladus | Porphyrion | Alcyoneus | Polybotes | Ephialtes | Otis | Damasen | Clytius | Mimas | Orion | Hippolytos | Thoon | Periboia
Undead: Gray | Zombie
Primordial Gods: Gaea | Tartarus | Ourae | Nyx | Chaos | Ouranos | Akhlys | Hemera | Elpis | Spes
Monsters and Magical Creatures: Cynocephali | Gorgon | Gryphon | Harpy | Basilisk | Lycanthrope | Gegeines | Cyclops | Katobleps | Unicorn | Giant Eagle | Ichthyocentaur | Satyr/Faun | Storm Spirit | Laistrygonian Giant | Lares
Related Content: Rick Riordan | Haley Riordan | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide | The Demigod Files | The Demigod Diaries | The Son of Sobek | The Singer of Apollo | The Staff of Serapis | Percy Jackson's Greek Gods | Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes | The Crown of Ptolemy | Demigods & Magicians | Demigods of Olympus | Percy Jackson Demigod Collection
Advertisement