The Throne of Fire

The Twelve Houses appear in the latter third of the book, but their path is critically important to finding and waking Ra. In Egyptian myth, the Twelve Houses (also known as rooms or gates) represent the 12 hours of the night, and as Riordan portrays them in the book, they are the path Ra traveled through the Underworld each night so the sun could be reborn. The Twelve Houses were also the realms of the Underworld, each representing a different afterlife. The spirits and gods Carter and Sadie encounter along the route show the eternal circumstances of the Egyptian afterlife. Riordan updates some of these afterlives, such as making the Fourth House into an assisted living facility for gods.

Carter and Sadie meet their parents in the Seventh House. Their presence in the Egyptian afterlife shows the deep connection the Kanes have to ancient Egypt. Their reunion is also symbolic of grief and letting go; Carter and Sadie get the opportunity to bid farewell to their parents, something that is, of course, impossible in real life. The spirits of their parents tell the kids that they are proud of them, giving Carter and Sadie affirmations that, despite the support of Amos and their grandparents, they sorely need in order to continue on their journey.

The challenges Carter and Sadie face passing through the Twelve Houses are adapted directly from Egyptian myth. Souls of the deceased would face these challenges on their way to their eternal resting place, suggesting that those who settled in earlier houses faced fewer hardships. The houses in Riordan’s world are divided into sections, and some present fewer challenges than others. Riordan borrowed the lake of fire in the Fourth House and the demons and monsters from the Eighth House directly from myth. In the book, Apophis is imprisoned in either the Twelfth House or somewhere between the Twelfth House and the mortal world, but in myth, he is referred to as waiting for Ra either at sunset or in the Tenth House.