#i have more stuff on the reasoning for lesters name maybe i'll make another post later

[hyacynta]

Lester Papadopoulos is a ridiculous name, yes. But do you think Zeus chose it for another reason outside of just humiliating his son? Think about it, in the Riordanverse it's repeatedly stated that "names have power"

Early on in Percy Jackson, characters didn't like to use the gods or monsters' names without reason because it gave them power to find them. Names having power is an even bigger theme in The Kane Chronicles where you could see someone's soul if you knew their true name. Names are how the gods are remembered and thereby how they stay alive -- they give them power. Apollo is very a powerful name, it's a name that radiates divinity. Leaving his name as Apollo while punished could've left him with more godly power. But Lester Papadopoulos is a pathetic sounding name, you don't think highly of someone with a name as stupid as that. And that was exactly Zeus' point. By giving Apollo the name Lester, Zeus was reducing Apollo's power further. Attempting to make him as pathetic as his name and render him literally powerless