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You are our saving grace, as always. Do not fail us, son of Jupiter.

–Lupa to Jason in a dream shortly after he arrives at Camp Half-Blood in The Lost Hero.

Lupa is the immortal Roman wolf goddess who trains Roman demigods in the ways of Rome. She trains the demigods at the Wolf House, then sends them to Camp Jupiter where they can join the Twelfth Legion Fulminata.

History[]

Caretaker of Remus and Romulus[]

Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Mars and Rhea Silvia, who were thrown into the Tiber River at the command of their great-uncle Amulius. They were saved by a great she-wolf who nurtured and raised them as her own. Having grown strong under her guidance, the twins would go on to destroy Amulius and establish the city of Rome.

The Heroes of Olympus[]

The Lost Hero[]

Jason Grace-Redraw

Jason Grace, one of her pups

Lupa contacts Jason Grace in his dreams to warn him about Gaea inadvertently. She also calls Jason their "Saving Grace," and curls her lips in a smile as if she just made a joke. Jason, not knowing his last name at the time doesn't see the humor but later realizes it. It isn't until he learns who he is that he understands what Lupa had meant by it. Later, when Lycaon attacks Jason and his friends, he makes a reference to Lupa, saying that soon Lupa would have to think twice before attacking his pack.

The Son of Neptune[]

According to Percy Jackson, Lupa promised him that he would see Annabeth Chase again if he succeeded in his quest. Lupa began Percy's "journey" by teaching him different skills. She taught Percy to sharpen his "homing senses" which evidently led him south and she might have helped him to perfect his "wolf stare". She also told Percy his name after Hera took his memory. It's said that her pack slowed down the army of Polybotes on their way to Camp Jupiter however she did not interfere directly with the final battle at the camp as it is not her way. "Conquer or die," was one of her mottos.

The Blood of Olympus[]

Reyna Ramírez-Arellano mentions that in the legion's absence, she and her wolves are guarding Camp Jupiter.

Between Series[]

Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio's Journal[]

Claudia mentioned Lupa when remembering her training.

The Trials of Apollo[]

The Tyrant's Tomb[]

Just as the legion is about to set fire to Jason’s funeral pyre, Lupa and her wolves arrive and requests to speak to Apollo alone. She tells him to be strong for the sake of the legion and, if he can find the tomb and defeat Tarquin, he can call on godly help and start to regain his godhood. She warns him to be careful in Tarquin's tomb and that the emperors were foolish to call him forth. As he thanks the wolf goddess, Lupa vanishes.

Appearance[]

She is described in wolf form as having beautiful chocolate red fur (dark gray in The Tyrant's Tomb) and eyes as silver as mist. She is also described as being very tall, taller than any human. In Jason's dream, she was seven feet tall.

Personality[]

Being a Roman goddess, Lupa is harsh and judgmental towards others, mortals and gods alike. She only respects the strong, as any demigod who she judges to be weak is devoured by her and her wolves. She doesn't seem to care about the hierarchy among gods, as she confessed to be indifferent to Hera while she was imprisoned in The Lost Hero (though she acknowledged her importance and the consequences of what would happen if Jason's quest failed). According to Apollo, she is somewhat of a loner goddess, choosing to associate with her wolves rather than the other gods and being somewhat mysterious.

Despite her militaristic personality, Lupa has a soft side. For example, while strict, she is not above making the occasional joke, as seen when she called Jason their "saving Grace" (a play on words in reference to both his surname and that he would help free Hera). She can also be a loving mother, as Percy claimed that she frequently tells her role in Remus and Romulus' fates, implying that she still is proud of them.

Later during the events of the The Tyrant's Tomb, Lupa's care for New Rome is fully shown when she attempted to assist Apollo on his attempts to defeat Tarquin, as seen when she worriedly referred to the Legions of New Rome as her "pack" and took serious notice of how weakened their numbers had become due to the attacks and attempted to give Apollo as many needed hints to help him save the Romans. Lupa again exhibited her maternal side as it was noted by Apollo that she was furious at Jason's death. However despite this, Lupa retained her stance that New Rome needed to be self sufficient and figure out their own problems despite the grave situation they were in.

Abilities[]

Lupa made her first appearance in The Tyrant's Tomb . Before this, it was implied that she was quite powerful. For example, being the wolf goddess, she has control and divine authority over all the wolves in the world, except the lycanthropes, who are followers of Lycaon and not considered to fully be wolves. It is implied that she is very strong and skilled in combat, as Percy (having been trained by her) knows what she is capable of doing, to the point of becoming horrified when Reyna claims that she and her pack are not enough to defeat Polybotes and his army (though this might be due to the Doors of Death being open at the time, thus preventing the Giant army from being permanently killed). She also has limited hypnokinesis, enough to contact Jason in his dream.

Etymology[]

  • Her name, Lupa, is the female form of the Latin word for wolf (lupus) translating as She-wolf.
  • Her name Lupa is apparently a short-hand for Lupa Capitolina, "Capitoline Wolf" in Latin. Other names for the she-wolf that raised Romulus and Remus include Larentia and Luperca.
  • In Polish, the word Lupa means a magnifier.
  • In Indonesian, it means forget.
  • In Tagalog/Filipino, it means land.

Trivia[]

  • In most stories, Lupa is a regular she-wolf, not a goddess.
    • However she could have been given a similar form of immortality as Chiron, never dying as long as Rome survives.
  • How Lupa raised Romulus and Remus inspired how Mowgli of The Jungle Book was raised by wolves and how the titular Tarzan was raised by apes.
  • Her Egyptian equivalent is Nekhbet, both of whom are protector goddesses that are harsh on the eligibilities of their subject.
  • Lupa can be compared to Chiron as they both manage camps and the intake of demigods to said camps.
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
The Trials of Apollo
Core Series: The Hidden Oracle | The Dark Prophecy | The Burning Maze | The Tyrant's Tomb | The Tower of Nero
Main Characters: Apollo/Lester Papadopolous | Meg McCaffrey | Percy Jackson | Peaches | Leo Valdez | Calypso | Grover Underwood | Piper McLean | Jason Grace | Reyna Ramírez-Arellano | Frank Zhang | Hazel Levesque | Lavinia Asimov | Nico di Angelo | Will Solace | Rachel Elizabeth Dare
Secondary Characters: Chiron | Austin Lake | Kayla Knowles | Hemithea | Josephine | Georgina | Lityerses | Trophonius | Gleeson Hedge | Mellie | Chuck Hedge | Medea | Herophile | Crest | Don | Tyson | Ella | Tarquin | Luguselwa | Claudia | Janice | Blaise
Minor Characters: Sally Jackson | Thalia Grace | Mrs. O'Leary | Festus | Cade | Mikey | Harley | Connor Stoll | Miranda Gardiner | Cecil Markowitz | Ellis Wakefield | Sherman Yang | Damien White | Malcolm Pace | Paolo Montes | Valentina Diaz | Germani | Agamethus | Olujime | Phillip McCaffrey | Hunter Kowalski | Sssssarah | Prickly Pear | Aloe Vera | Joshua | Naevius Sutorius Macro | Incitatus | Tristan McLean | Bombilo | Aurum | Argentum | Julia | Jacob | Dakota | Poison Oak | Screech-Bling | Annabeth Chase | Elon | Mamurius Veturius | Mimi
Olympian Gods (Greek & Roman): Zeus/Jupiter | Hera/Juno | Poseidon/Neptune | Demeter/Ceres | Ares/Mars | Athena/Minerva | Apollo/Apollo (Roman) | Artemis/Diana | Hephaestus/Vulcan | Aphrodite/Venus | Hermes/Mercury | Dionysus/Bacchus | Hades/Pluto
Minor Gods: Nero | Commodus | Caligula | Iris | Britomartis | Styx | Terminus | Lupa | Terpsichore | Harpocrates | Cardea
Titans: Rhea | Leto | Mnemosyne | Helios
Monsters and Magical Creatures: Python | Nosoi | Karpos | Palikos | Myrmekes | Colossus Neronis | Blemmyae | Gryphon | Carthaginian Serpent | Scythian Dracaena | Cynocephali | Centaur | Cyclops | Yale | Satyr/Faun | Strix | Dryad | Dragon | Pandai | Eurynomos | Skeleton Warriors | Vrykolakai | Khromandae | Amphisbaena | Troglodyte | Tauri Sylvestres
Related Content: Rick Riordan | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | The Heroes of Olympus | Demigods & Magicians | Camp Half-Blood Confidential | Camp Jupiter Classified: A Probatio's Journal | Percy Jackson Demigod Collection | Un Natale Mezzosangue | The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
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