Hephaestus: I know your mother was displeased with you recently. We both know how she gets. But this was a lot. Even for her. You walk outta here with that shield… and you’re a hero. On your way to the greatest glory. She’ll be proud and you will be forgiven, and all will go back to being as it always has been, always will be… as it should be.
Annabeth Chase: It isn’t how it should be! It isn’t! Eat or be eaten. Power and glory and nothing else matters. Ares is that way, Zeus is that way, my mother is that way. (about Percy): He isn’t that way. He’s better than that. Maybe I was that way once. But I don’t wanna be that way anymore. I won’t be like all of you. I just won’t.
Hephaestus: Some of us don’t like being that way either.
Where does this quote come from? (Source)
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’. The scene where this moment comes from is in Season 1 Episode 5, with the title of ‘A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers’ (1×05). Percy Jackson is based on a book series of the same name written by Rick Riordan. The series Percy Jackson and the Olympians is produced by Disney Branded Television and 20th Television (Disney+)
- TV Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023)
- Season: 1
- Episode: 5
- Episode Name: A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers
- Production: Disney Branded Television, 20th Television (Disney+)
Why we collected this quote
We included this because it is a defining moment for Annabeth. She finally verbally rejects the toxic ways of her mother and the other gods.
What does this quote mean? (Meaning & Context)
Annabeth confronts Hephaestus about the unfairness of their world. She lists the gods’ values – power, glory, selfishness – and declares she is done with them. She points to Percy as the example of a better way to live, proving her loyalty has shifted to him.
Book vs TV Series
Annabeth’s fatal flaw of “hubris” is a major book concept’she wants to build the “greatest monument” to the gods. This quote acts as a powerful synthesis of her internal conflict. She openly voices the cruel, self-serving philosophy that governs Olympus (“Eat or be eaten”) before immediately rejecting it through her actions. It demonstrates that she is actively choosing a path of compassion over the ruthless pursuit of “power and glory.”
Image Quotes
