| “ | Die in pain, mortal! | ” |
–Keres, in The Demigod Files. | ||
The Keres (also known as Daemones) are battlefield spirits of famine and disease that feed on violent deaths and are polluting spirits. The Keres are daughters of the protogenos Nyx. In mythology, they were often found wandering battlefields. In later times, they were also regarded as the vengeful spirits of the dead. They live in the Underworld and had supported the Titans in the Battle of Manhattan, but didn't directly attack Olympus in the Second Olympian War.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Demigod Files[]
The Sword of Hades[]
Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Nico di Angelo are ambushed by a group of Keres in the Underworld. During the battle, Percy is poisoned by one of them, when they scratch him on his exposed shoulder. Thalia and Nico treat the wound with nectar, but Nico warns Percy that the Keres are spirits of disease and pestilence as well as violence and as a result, the wound will get infected to the point that they'll need serious healing from a god or Percy will die. Throughout their quest, Percy gets progressively ill and weaker despite the repeated use of nectar on the wound. After Percy wipes Iapetus' memories using the River Lethe, the Titan heals his wound with just a touch, saving Percy's life.
Appearance[]
During the battle Percy describes them as part humanoid females, part bats; they are pug-nosed and have furry faces, fangs, bulging eyes, shriveled arms, claws, leathery wings, and stubby bowed legs.
Abilities[]
- Keres feed on death, which means their power increases when people die.
- Their slashes cause an infection that requires godly power to heal, only slowed down by nectar and ambrosia.
Trivia[]
- Some myths list Akhlys as possibly being one of the Keres.
- The Romans called them Tenebrae.
- They are the opposite of their brother Thanatos, who is the god of peaceful death.
- In The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure Keres is referred to as an individual child of Nyx, suggesting the spirits can become a single entity. Hesiod mentioned this individual deity as "black Ker" in his Theogony.