Paolo Montes is a Greek demigod son of Hebe. He is Brazilian and claims to speak exclusively in Brazilian Portuguese but fluently understands English.
History[]
Paolo was born in Brazil to Hebe, the Greek goddess of youth, and Mr. Montes, a human. At one point he left Brazil and ventured to Camp Half-Blood in the United States of America.
The Trials of Apollo[]
The Hidden Oracle[]
Hebe, his mother.
Prior to the events of The Hidden Oracle, he lost both arms in a Three-Legged Death Race, but both were reattached soon after. He expresses his displeasure with this by rapidly speaking in Portuguese when Chiron and Harley announce the upcoming death race. In the second Three-legged Death Race, he is paired with Connor, neither of which seem very pleased with their partner. Soon after the start of the death race, they steal a golden apple from in front of Apollo and Meg. Sometime during the race, his leg is sawed off and is healed afterwards with the help of Apollo and Will. He retains the scars from his amputations.
Before Apollo and Meg enter the woods to search for the missing campers, Paolo gifts Apollo with a bandana version of the Brazilian flag. Nico states that it is his good-luck bandana, which Apollo is skeptical of, knowing Paolo's bad luck. While in the myrmeke nest, Apollo waves the bandana in desperation to cause a distraction for Meg. Immediately after doing so, the ceiling of the nest caves closes in on the opposing myrmekes and Apollo notes that the bandana must really have magical properties, but decides not to mention it, lest Paolo should become "insufferable".
Camp Half-Blood Confidential[]
Paolo, along with other campers, are talking about curses their cabins put on the camp when Nyssa Barrera tells of the time a Hephaestus camper, Heloise, put a curse on James Dean's car after he cheated on her and broke up with her.
The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure[]
Will mentions the son of Hebe to Nico when saying his coming out gave Paolo and others the courage to come out as well.
Appearance []
Paolo is described as a good looking teenager with tan skin and a fit build. He has scars on his biceps and thighs from where they were cut off and reattached after three-legged death races.
Abilities[]
General Abilities[]
- Dyslexia: Like all demigod Paolo's brain is "hard-wired" for Ancient Greek as opposed to modern English.
- ADHD: Like most demigods, Paolo's has inborn battle reflexes.
Demigod Abilities[]
- Hebekinesis: As a son of Hebe, Paolo has some powers from his mother.
- Vitakinesis: He can heal himself very quickly, something to be admired by Will Solace.
Etymology[]
- Paolo is the Italian form of "Paul".
- Montes is a surname of Spanish origin.
Trivia[]
- Rick Riordan has a large fanbase in Brazil, and Paolo could be a reference to this fact.
- Paolo's mother being Hebe might be a reference to the late Hebe Camargo, a very famous actress and host of a Brazilian talk show and historical to Brazilian television. Ironic to her name, her advanced age was joked around for many years.
- Paolo can recover quickly from injuries.
- He is the second Brazilian character in the main literary universe, the first being Cleo in The Kane Chronicles.
- In Camp Half-Blood Confidential, it is revealed he knows some words in English, however the full extent of his English vocabulary has yet to be revealed.
- He has a Brazilian-flag bandanna that he always wears around his neck. Paolo gives to Apollo in The Hidden Oracle. Apollo uses it in the cavern of the myrmekes which seemingly prompts the ceiling to collapse on the myrmekes. Apollo swears it is good luck after that.
- In Camp Half-Blood Confidential, Paolo has expressed an interest in males, hinting that he is LGBTQ+.
- In The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure, he is confirmed to be LGBTQ+ with Will listing Paolo as one of the people who were inspired to come out by Nico coming out.