A
demigod or
demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a
deity and a
human,
[1] or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "
divine spark" (
spiritual enlightenment). An
immortal demigod (-dess) often has
tutelary status and a
religious cult following, while a
mortal demigod (-dess) is one who has fallen or died, but is popular as a
legendary hero in various
polytheistic religions. Figuratively, it is used to describe a person whose talents or abilities are so superlative that they appear to approach being divine.
Classical
In the ancient Greek and Roman world, the concept of a demigod did not have a consistent definition and associated terminology rarely appeared.
[6][
need quotation to verify]
The earliest recorded use of the term occurs in texts attributed to the
archaic Greek poets
Homer and
Hesiod. Both describe dead heroes as
hemitheoi, or "half gods". In these cases, the word did not literally mean that these figures had one parent who was divine and one who was mortal.
[7] Instead, those who demonstrated "strength, power, good family, and good behavior" were termed
heroes, and after death they could be called
hemitheoi,
[8] a process that has been referred to as "heroization".
[9] Pindar also used the term frequently as a synonym for "hero".
[10]
According to the Roman author
Cassius Dio, the
Roman Senate declared
Julius Caesar a demigod after his 46 BCE victory at
Thapsus.
[11] However, Dio was writing in the third century CE — centuries after the death of Caesar — and modern critics have cast doubt on whether the Senate really did this.
[12]
The first Roman to employ the term "demigod" may have been the poet
Ovid (17 or 18 CE), who used the Latin
semideus several times in reference to minor deities.
[13] The poet
Lucan (39-65) also uses the term to speak of
Pompey attaining divinity upon his death in 48 BCE.
[14] In later antiquity, the Roman writer
Martianus Capella (fl. 410-420) proposed a hierarchy of gods as follows:
[15]
- the gods proper, or major gods
- the genii or daemones
- the demigods or semones (who dwell in the upper atmosphere)
- the manes and ghosts of heroes (who dwell in the lower atmosphere)
- the earth-dwelling gods like fauns and satyrs
