Why the Greeks would have won during the Roman Invasion at Camp Half-Blood
From time to time I think about the worst case scenario in which the Greeks and Romans actually fight on Half-Blood Hill.
Throughout the series, the way they describe the legion is as an unstoppable force that would make the Greek demigods falter and be crushed in that they were out matched in every sense - sheer numbers, skills, and tactics, but I actually think that the Greeks would win, hear me out.
1. The Greeks live in a camp with a forest that comes stocked with monsters to fight and train against. They live in near constant danger.
2. Because all the Greeks are 1st generation demigods they are likely more in touch with their godly parentage. (There’s not a whole lot of evidence of this, but if Octavian is the Augur for the romans and he’s a distant descendent I’m inclined to believe that not many of them have much control over their parents domain/sphere of influence)
3. The Greeks - 30-40 strong defended Olympus: against hordes of monsters, titans, and turned gods and goddesses - ALONE. And since then the survivors have been training along side the newer campers, teaching them how to stay alive.
4. When Percy first arrived at Camp Jupiter and played in the legion’s war games, none of the Roman defenders knew how to defend or stop Percy’s fighting style - which is VERY much Greek. (Yes I know he had the help of a miniature hurricane, but mainly kept projectiles away from him. The romans utilize numbers while the Greeks utilize surroundings.
5. Half-Blood Hill is where the Greeks are strongest. Literally a home field advantage. Almost every Greek demigod reaches Thalia’s Tree against the odds of a pursuing monster.
6. The Greeks have always been more attuned to other creatures in their world. They have more friends - both beast and human. Percy can call upon the Cyclopes in Poseidon’s Forge (because let’s be honest- you hurt Percy’s home Tyson will kill you dead), Grover can rally all the nature spirits in a 5 mile radius as a Lord of the Wild, Chiron could theoretically ask for the aid of the Party Ponies - which would really terrify the Romans as centaurs are seen as evil beings to them (also noted by Percy that evil centaurs felt wrong to him), worse comes to worse, Thalia and the Hunters of Artemis would likely lend a hand too, despite their grudge with the campers -which was eased during the battle of manhattan to a friendly rivalry (also, the hunters were very much a Greek tribe of warrior women) because CHB is their second home — basically what I’m saying is that the Greeks could easily rally enough supporters to triple or quadruple their numbers, enough to match those of the Roman camp
7. But Matt… what about the roman’s Eagles, their elephant, and the Amazons? Listen. The eagles are very good at scouting and recovering but they make easy targets for the Apollo cabin to shoot out of the sky. The Amazon’s have no stake in the squabble- it’s unlikely that they would come to the aid of a conquering force: the amazons have always been known as defenders - their own homelands, Coming to aid Troy - they always get something out of it. And I’m sorry but Hannibal would barely make it up Half-Blood Hill before Peleus ripped him apart.
8. This is definitely not the first time the Greeks have been ambushed at CHB. The will have tons of defenses laying in wait. Many, even they forgot we’re there. After Thalia’s Tree was posioned Monsters could break through the magical barrier protecting camp - showing how quickly the Greeks could respond to an attack, and how deadly they could be be even in pajamas and half armored up. Not to mention how rapidly they were able to establish a countermeasure for the Battle of the Labyrinth at Zeus’ Fist.
9. The way CHB is set up, gives each cabin a voice, a way to promote their strengths in times of need - the Athena and Ares cabin would easily dominate the warfront and strategy talks while the other campers race around thickening the brush in the forest, added more gadgets and automaton defenses, prepping weapons, laying distractions, setting up hunters perches in strategic places, fortifying camp and adding bunkers and hideouts to sneak around (we all know the Greeks are cunning- it how they survive when numbers are low - think Trojan War, Battle of Manhattan, All of Percabeths time in Tartarus is just showcasing the inherent trait they all share.)
10. The Roman legion is literally without proper leadership. Both acting Praetors are off field - yes Reyna is returning, but even she would likely not support the attack on CHB after learning everything she has and traveling with the the Statue of Athena and fighting alongside Greeks.
11. And let me say- I know we had more time with the Greeks but even the powers that some of the halfbloods at camp Jupiter have seen relatively unimpressive: the most spectacular being Jason who can control the winds - but the Greeks can bless and curse weaponry (Ares/Athena), necromancy and mist manipulation (via Hecate cabin), and the ability to put others to sleep and plague their dreams (Hypnos) to name a few. The connection to the gods was always stronger in Greece than in Rome.
12. The Greeks fight with no rules. Everything is about survival. And they (as a whole) always survive. The romans fight was a kind of respect, for a lack of a better word.
13. You better believe there would be some monstrous tag teams from the Hephaestus-Hermès co-op that would do some SERIOUS damage… and no one wants to be on the receiving end of a Hephaestus machine or a Hermès prank.
14. Culturally speaking, if the romans could even destroy the Greeks it would entirely decimate their own culture. Their gods only exist because they were adopted from their Greek forms - some were literally just pull straight over - ie Apollo (didn’t even get a name change smh). The Greeks could theoretically decimate the Roman camp and remain unaffected by the blow back as their pantheon would remain intact. (But that’s hypothetical)
jacobvanloon
stormborns
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
gummygunk
blakekathryn
titsay
