The Battle of the Labyrinth

In the novel, several characters try to evade their deaths or reverse the death of a loved one. Though death is scary, interfering in the natural course of life creates many emotional problems for these characters that only cease when they accept death’s inevitability. Afraid of the punishment that awaits him in the Underworld, Daedalus creates five automatons to house his soul. The automatons allow Daedalus to mimic immortality for 2000 years, but he lives riddled with guilt and anxiety. For most of the book, Daedalus’s fear of the afterlife outweighs his desire to get forgiveness from Icarus and Perdix. Daedalus’s choice to cheat death doesn’t only affect his psyche, but it also affects the demigods at Camp Half-Blood: Daedalus’s life force sustains the Labyrinth, which means that anyone, like Luke, can use the maze. The Titan army’s successful navigation of the Labyrinth towards Camp Half-Blood results in several young demigod casualties. These events force Daedalus to reconsider “avoid[ing] death that long” (295). When he finally accepts his fate, he receives not only punishment in the Underworld, but also forgiveness. The destruction of the Labyrinth protects Camp Half-Blood from more invasions.

Nico also tries to intervene in the natural course of life for his sister Bianca.