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Father, you wished for a more worthy opponent? I am one of the Giants you are so proud of. You wished me to be more warlike? Perhaps I will start by destroying you!

–Damasen to Tartarus, in The House of Hades

Damasen is a giant, son of Gaea and Tartarus, created to be the Bane of Ares/Mars, the God of War.

History[]

The First Gigantomachy and Banishment[]

Gaea-RR

Gaea, his mother.

Damasen was born to oppose Ares/Mars, the God of War. Being Ares' nemesis, Damasen was peaceful and helpful, and spent his life in the mortal world living as a farmer.

One day, a drakon appeared in the mortal world and killed one of Damasen's farmer friends. In a rage, Damasen tracked down the drakon and killed it. He was condemned to Tartarus for slaying the drakon, which was ravaging the mortal world. In Tartarus, Damasen was constantly attacked by the drakon he destroyed in the mortal world. Every "day", the drakon regenerated and attacked again. Eventually, he built himself a hut out of the drakon's bones and skin.

The Heroes of Olympus[]

The House of Hades[]

Damasen was introduced to Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase by Bob after the Titan led them to his home in a swamp in Tartarus. He healed their wounds and provided them with food and other various supplies to continue their quest. Annabeth, realizing that they need Damasen's help in order to finish their quest, asked Damasen to join them, but he refused since he believes he cannot escape his curse.

Later, when the trio reached the Doors of Death, Tartarus himself appeared, and nearly destroyed them when Damasen arrived, riding his archenemy, the drakon. Damasen battled his father along with the drakon, Bob, and Small Bob, giving Annabeth and Percy their chance to escape.

The Blood of Olympus[]

Damasen is mentioned during the battle of Piper McLean and Annabeth against Mimas, bane of Hephaestus/Vulcan. Because Damasen refused to participate in the giant wars, Mimas had to destroy Ares along with Hephaestus. When he calls Damasen an idiot, Annabeth gets infuriated.

The Trials of Apollo[]

The Tower of Nero[]

Nico di Angelo reveals that despite apparently being destroyed helping Percy and Annabeth to escape from Tartarus, he believes that Iapetus is calling to him for help from within the pit. This suggests that if Iapetus survived, Damasen may have as well.

The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure[]

During their quest to rescue Bob, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, learn from Menoetes that Damasen had perished fighting Tartarus, although Menoetes expresses hope that Damasen has reformed by the time that Nico and Will get into Tartarus so that Damasen can help them.

The demigods later visit Damasen's swamp, only to find no sign of the Gigantes at his hut. Given how dusty the hut is, Nico concludes that no one has been there in a long time and that Damasen must still be regenerating, complaining that with all of the monsters they've seen, Damasen is somehow taking over a year to regenerate. The two demigods spend the night in Damasen's hut before moving on towards the Mansion of Night to find Bob.

Appearance[]

Damasen is twenty feet tall, somewhat short for a giant, albeit slightly taller than the Titan Bob. From the waist up, he is humanoid, with cherry-red skin, a beard and hair the color of rusted iron, bushy eyebrows, and multiple scars on his face (from battling the Maeonian Drakon endless times). His dreadlocks are decorated with tufts of grass, leaves, and swamp flowers. From the waist down, his dragon legs are red and he has claws on his feet. Being a peaceful giant, Damasen does not wear bronze armor, but rather, a shirt stitched together from sheep hides and green-spotted leather. He initially unsettled Annabeth, as he radiated "sorrow and bitterness".

Personality[]

Gaea had wanted Damasen to oppose Ares, meaning he was the anti-Ares, but this backfired because, unlike his brethren, Damasen was born with a very peaceful and gentle personality, as opposed to Ares's warlike, bloodthirsty nature. Shunning Gaea's orders, Damasen chose to live a quiet life in Asia Minor, tending sheep and befriending mortals. Damasen can, however, be very violent, though not without a valid reason. He avenged the death of one of his friends by slaying the Maeonian Drakon, forcing a tree down its neck.

After being imprisoned in Tartarus for several centuries, Damasen was overcome with hopelessness, believing that his curse had overtaken him. This did not affect his original personality and hospitality, as shown when he welcomes Percy, Annabeth, and Bob to his hut. Towards the end of The House of Hades, Damasen arrives at the Doors of Death, and is willing to sacrifice his life to help Percy and Annabeth escape from Tartarus.

Annabeth Chase-Viria

Annabeth Chase, whom Damasen made a drakon bone sword for.

Abilities[]

Not much is known about the true extent of Damasen's power, but as the opposite of Ares/Mars, he is very powerful: 

  • Prowess in Battle: Even though he was peaceful and did not participate in the first Gigantomachy, Damasen has enhanced strength, as he battled and defeated a drakon numerous times without much effort, and later rips huge chunks of drakon meat off the carcass with his bare hands. In The House of Hades, he even fended off Tartarus himself, together with Iapetus, Small Bob, and the Maeonian Drakon, though only for a while. His weapon of choice is a drakonbone lance.
  • Vitakinesis: Damasen's ability as a healer was legendary, and he even cured Percy from drinking Gorgon Blood (along with many other dangerous curses) in a matter of minutes.   
  • Geokinesis: Being a son of Gaea, Damasen has control over the earth. During his first fight with the Maeconian Drakon, Damasen used the power of the Earth to force the Tree he shoved down its throat to dig its roots into the ground.
    • Power within his swamp: As long as one was in his swamp, Damasen could obscure their path and presence from the Giants, Titans, Monsters, and even Tartarus himself.
  • Giant Invincibility: As a giant, Damasen can only be killed by a god and demigod working together and when he is harmed by anybody else, he heals at an accelerated rate, though he could also be defeated by having his essence sucked into the dark whirlpool beneath Tartarus' helm.

Trivia[]

  • Because Ares was a war god, when Damasen was born during the First Giant War, he became the only peaceful giant.
    • Unlike his brothers and niece, he chose not to fight the gods and is very peaceful.
    • While it is true that he is the only giant in the series to not be an antagonist, it is known that Orion also refused to fight in the first Giant war
  • Interestingly, Damasen was not actually one of the giants who participated in the Gigantomachy in historical Greek mythology. In the mythology, he was still a giant son of Gaea who fought a drakon, but he was not one of the giants who fought the Olympians.
  • In The Tower of Nero, its suggested that Iapetus might've survived the fight with Tartarus at the Doors of Death and has begun calling Nico di Angelo for help. As a result, Damasen may have survived as well.
    • In The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure, it's revealed that both Bob and Damasen had perished, but they were allowed to go to reform rather than being totally destroyed by Tartarus. However, while Bob has finished reforming, Damasen still is over a year later.
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
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