Anakulosmos- A brief study

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Written by joint PerseusJSonOfSea and TheBoyWhoLived_FanBoy


Anakulosmos. The legendary sword of Percy Jackson. It was made of Celestial Bronze, a material that is only deadly to gods, demigods, magicians, Titans, Giants, and monsters. It does not affect mortals, as it just passes through them harmlessly. 

It was formerly owned and used by Pleione and Hercules/Heracles. It's first form was Zoe's hair clip, which she gave to Hercules to help him fight Ladon- The guard of the golden apples. Riptide draws its power from the ocean, which is why it works well for ocean spirits and children of Poseidon like Percy. This betrayal was the basis for her later hatred of male demigods, and the reason why she joined the Hunters of Artemis. (Quoted from Riordan Wiki)


The memorable owners of Anakulosmos are - 

1. Zoe Nightshade(Former Lieutenant of Lady Artemis)

2. Heracles (Greek Hero(not really) who performed 12 labors )

3. Pleione (An Oceanid, wife of Atlas and mother of Zoe Nightshade)

4. Poseidon (father of our Percy. Lord of the Sea)

5. Chiron (Teacher of Greek Heroes) 

6. Percy Jackson (One and Only)


Lightning Thief

When Percy first used Riptide, he defeats the fury Alecto aka Mrs. Dodds as she attacks him for owning the master bolt.

Mr. Brunner throws the pen at Percy, who later returned it in confusion. Chiron gives it back to Percy before he starts his journey to the Hades' Realm. Since than, Percy always used it to defeat Monsters and other Enemies.


Titan's Curse

Percy has a dream that shows Zoe Nightshade giving her hair clip, which turns into Riptide, to Hercules. Chiron tells Percy the sword has a tragic history, which includes Hercules leaving Zoë to the wrath of her family, who are daughters and Zoë's sisters, the Hesperides. This action of Hercules led to her dislike of all male heroes. During the fight with Atlas, Riptide becomes incredibly heavy and Percy is unable to use it. He then remembers Ares' curse, that his weapon would fail him when he needed it most. Percy couldn't defend himself and instead holds up the sky to allow Artemis to fight Atlas.


Last Olympian

Due to the line "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap" in the Great Prophecy, Percy thought that the mentioned blade was his own sword, due to Ares placing a curse on Riptide - to fail Percy in his time of need, which it did during his battle with Atlas. The cursed blade turned out to be Annabeth's knife , which had been given to her by Luke. It was cursed because Luke had broken his promise and betrayed his friends.


Son Of Neptune

For a short time upon entering in Camp Jupiter, Riptide was taken care of by Terminus, who was able to keep it from returning to Percy's pocket, but how he did so is unknown. Riptide is used as a light, both in the war games and when they first see the army heading toward Camp Jupiter. Riptide almost got frozen on Thanatos's chains until Frank helped Percy pull it free.


The House of Hades

It is revealed that, when touching the handle of the sword with a cap, Riptide can transform into working ballpoint pen with ink glowing like Celestial Bronze. Annabeth uses this to write a letter and send it to Camp Half-Blood.


Magnus Chase: The ship of the Dead 

Magnus's talking sword, who prefers to be called Jack, sniffs around Percy Jackson and finds Riptide disguised as a pen. Jack reveals that Riptide is a female and flirts with "her". If Riptide is impressed with the flirting, she doesn't show it. Magnus notes that compared to Jack, Riptide looks delicate and almost petite but from the way that Percy wields the sword, Magnus has no doubt that he'd be able to hold his own on the battlefields of Valhalla with it.


The Son Of Sobek

Percy uses Riptide to stab petsuchos the in the rump, failing to destroy the monster to his surprise but inadvertently causing it to disgorge Carter Kane.

Unsure what to make of Percy, one of Carter's thoughts is that Percy is just a delusional mortal who found a magic sword and that as a result, he thinks that he's a superhero, noting that ancient relics can really mess with a person's mind. After Carter accidentally blasts Percy with the Fist of Horus, the two engage in a sword fight with Percy proving to be a better swordsman while Riptide is lighter and quicker than Carter's khopesh. Finally, at the same moment that Percy injures his wrist, Carter manages to bind Percy's sword arm to his head. Unable to let go of Riptide, Percy is left looking like he has a single reindeer antler sprouting next to his ear. As they argue, Percy points out that Carter can't be mortal as Riptide would've just passed right through him. After they both calm down, Carter sets Percy free.

Facing the petsuchos, Percy attempts to use Riptide to cut the necklace off without any success. By the time that Percy drops to the ground, Carter notes that he appears to have lost his sword, presumably having dropped it during the struggle.


The crown of Ptolemy

While battling the Kanes, Percy and Annabeth, Setne absorbs Riptide and all of the sword's power. After managing to defeat the ghostly magician, Percy yanks Riptide out of the back of Setne's throat, releasing all of the power that Setne had absorbed.



USE OF RIPTIDE-

Riptide is used in close combat and is perfectly balanced in its wielder's hands. Riptide can destroy and hurt monsters. But, since it is made out of Celestial Bronze, it cannot hurt or kill humans, as "they aren't important enough." As a result, when accidentally or even intentionally swung at humans, the blade simply passes through them. For example, in The Lightning Thief , Percy defends himself against a gang of youths with Riptide, simply acting on instinct, but the blade simply passes through them, which infuriates the gang leader and causes him to chase Percy, Annabeth Chase and Grover, and into Crusty's Water Bed Palace. In The Titan's Curse, Percy swings Riptide at a clear-sighted mortal named Rachel Elizabeth Dare by mistake and nothing happened to her.

It is almost impossible to lose as it is enchanted to appear in Percy's pocket if it is somehow lost. However, if Percy doesn't have pockets, it doesn't return, and this has led to a disadvantage, such as when Laistrygonian giant attacked Percy in The Sea of Monsters.

Riptide is used at least twice as a throwing knife, though that was for distracting the enemy instead of being an actual attack. In the books Riptide is summoned when uncapped, and stored away by recapping it on the tip, but in the movie it is summoned when clicked open. It is unknown how Percy stows back the sword in the film, although when Persephone hands him the bolt in the Underworld, it shows a zoom-up of his sword in his hand as it retracts into pen form. This is the only time that it is shown while being transformed. Riptide also reappears back into the pocket of whoever had it last whenever lost, misplaced, or even thrown.





That ends our brief discussion about Percy's legendary sword- Anakulosmos. We hope this knowledge will be useful to you.


By PerseusJSonOfSea and TheBoyWhoLived_FanBoy



PJO Monthly Magazine: Edition 1 (January 2022)Where stories live. Discover now