The Battle of the Labyrinth

Settings describe where and when a story takes place. Settings can also influence how characters act within their environments. Specific places and time periods determine beliefs, era-specific ideals, and culture. The Battle of the Labyrinth takes place both in America and in modernized mythological settings. As a half-god and half-human, Percy has the special ability to travel within both settings. The mythological world is hidden from regular mortals—with exceptions like Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Percy’s mom—so they see the events of the book much differently than Percy and his friends.

Daedalus’s Labyrinth is the main setting for the book. Riordan transplants the Labyrinth from ancient Crete to the US and expands the maze to the size of the entire country. The enlarged scale of the Labyrinth allows the questers to travel far and wide, meeting many monsters and mythological beings along the way. The Labyrinth has a sinister quality—at times acting like a living monster itself—that imbues the book with a tone of mystery and darkness.

Camp Half-Blood is another important setting because it is one of the only places where demigods feel safe. The threat of change to this space catalyzes the plot and gives the characters motivation on their quest.