Demigod



""You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian.""

- Zoë Nightshade on demigods, talking to Nico di Angelo

Demigods or half-bloods, are a race of beings who are half human, half god. They possess human souls and are vulnerable to old age and death; however, their godly blood endows them with special abilities that allow them to achieve feats not usually possible by humans.

Description
Demigods are the end result of a god and a human having a child together. Because these children are part god, they have above average reflexes, an affinity for the Greek or Latin language, and may have some level of control or skill over the realm of their godly parent. Many of them also have ADHD and dyslexia.

While most demigods are created much like regular humans, children of Athena are born from their mother's thoughts merging with their father's. In this way, Athena remains a virgin goddess and it reflects how she herself was born, sprouting from the head of Zeus. It is unknown if other virgin goddesses or gods in general have a special way to have children like Athena or Hecate.

When a demigod reaches a certain age, normally early teens, their powers start to manifest. At this time, demigods will release a scent that monsters are able to detect. This scent will become stronger if the child learns they are a demigod. Also, if the demigod is a child of a powerful god, the scent can become even stronger. If the child never learns that they are a demigod or they are a child of a minor god, monsters may overlook them. It is around this time that they are escorted to Camp Half-Blood usually by satyrs, where they are placed in one of the cabins, each honoring a different god or goddess.

Most demigods wait to be claimed. Children of Athena are claimed at birth, while others have to demonstrate some form of their parents' trait to be noticed, either through cunning, powers, skills like archery, or even beauty. Otherwise, they are placed in Hermes' cabin, as he is the patron to travelers, anyone is welcomed there, including children of minor gods who aren't important enough to have a cabin. After the Second Olympian War, Percy Jackson made all of the gods swear on the River Styx to recognize all of their children at the age of thirteen, and that each god and goddess (including the minor gods and goddesses) would get a cabin at Camp Half-Blood.

Few demigods have full-blooded siblings (with the exception of twins), as their godly parent will usually leave their mortal consorts not long after a child is born, or sometimes even before that. However, some examples of demigod siblings in the series include Nico and Bianca di Angelo, Connor and Travis Stoll, Jason and Thalia Grace (who have the same father, but in different aspects), and Castor and Pollux.

Greek demigods often go on quests given to them by the Oracle of Delphi, whom is currently in the body of Rachel Elizabeth Dare. If the demigod is Roman, they are usually issued a quest by Octavian or, in at least one instance, a Roman god.

Appearance
Demigods are completely indistinguishable from humans. They do not have a divine form, however they do inherit some traits from their god parent's divine form. For example, Percy inherited Poseidon's black hair, sea-green eyes and brooding look, while Annabeth Chase inherited Athena's grey eyes. Thalia and Jason Grace inherited Zeus' electric blue eyes, and Nico and Bianca di Angelo inherited Hades' black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. The children of Aphrodite inherit her beauty and appeal. The children of Hermes inherit his elfish facial features and Luke inherited his blue eyes. Children of Ares inherit his sneer and tall, bulky appearance. Children of Hephaestus, such as Leo Valdez, Jake Mason, Harley, Nyssa, and Beckendorf inherit his skills with mechanics, resulting in them normally having large muscles and calloused hands (from working in the forges all day long). According to The Crown of Ptolemy, when an Egyptian god looks at a Greek demigod, they see them as a human surrounded by "a powerful ultraviolet aura."

It's unknown if a demigods eye and hair color depends on what form their parent took while consorting with their mortal parents. Some demigods with the same divine parent have a different color.

Traits
There are ways to hide or mask the scent, but if a demigod realizes who they truly are, their scent will reach its peak. The scent of children of the Big Three is much more potent than that of the children of lesser gods. Demigods' personalities tend to vary based on their divine parenthood; for example Percy is reckless and rebellious resembling Poseidon and the untamed seas, Annabeth inherits her mother's wits and intelligence and Clarisse is very violent and warlike, much like her father. There are currently five known children of the Big Three since the death of Bianca di Angelo, a daughter of Hades: Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon), Thalia Grace (daughter of Zeus), Nico di Angelo (son of Hades), Jason Grace (son of Jupiter), and Hazel Levesque (daughter of Pluto). Most demigods also have ADHD and/or dyslexia (though it varies from demigod to demigod). Demigods are relatively stronger, more agile, and more durable than regular mortals, and have more resistance to diseases.

Demigods have a distinct scent due to a spell cast by Lamia, a monstrous daughter of Hecate, which allows monsters to find them. Many demigods indirectly change the course of history, and demigod conflicts usually mirror conflicts in the real world; such as how when the Roman and Greek camps fought each other during the events of the American Civil War. Some powerful demigods can directly change some of the courses of history and can manipulate the minds of mortals in some events, using the the Mist to change what mortals see. Currently, Hazel Levesque and Thalia Grace have this ability.

According to The Crown of Ptolemy, when an Egyptian god looks at a Greek demigod, they see them as a human surrounded by "a powerful ultraviolet aura."

Roman Demigods
Roman Demigods, such as Jason Grace, are a subset of demigods who train at Camp Jupiter, which is located near San Francisco. They are born when a god conceives a child with a mortal while in their Roman aspect/form. They naturally speak and read Latin, as opposed to Ancient Greek to Greek demigods, and are trained in the style of the Roman legions instead of Greek warfare.



Roman demigods start their lives at the Wolf House. It is there that Lupa decides if the child is strong or not. If she believes they are, she will spend time training the demigod skills that they will need to survive. If you make it through the training alive, she will tell you to follow your instincts to find your way to Camp Jupiter, home of the Roman Legion. However, if Lupa doesn't believe you are strong enough or you show fear, it is said you will be eaten by her and her wolves. If you manage to make it to Camp Jupiter, a praetor will decide if you can join the Legion before sending you to have your augury read. If it is favorable, then you can officially join the Legion. Like the Greek demigods, they are unaware of the existence of their counterparts at Camp Half-Blood in Long Island, but some have their suspicions.

This is due to a conflict between the two groups back during the American Civil War (and likely many other wars before), after which the gods manipulated the Mist as tightly as possible to stop the two groups from ever meeting each other again, although there have been some close calls. The head of their camp are the camp's two Praetors, who are elected demigods from the camp.

Norse Demigods
They are the progeny of the Norse Gods with mortals. Magnus Chase, the cousin of Annabeth, is revealed to be one of these demigods.

Abilities
Some demigods have ADHD (although it varies between demigods), which hard-wires them for battle, and dyslexia, which they have because their brains are hardwired for reading Ancient Greek or Latin. Demigods inherit some control over their divine parent's domain, such as Percy's ability to manipulate water or Leo's ability to manipulate fire. Some demigods also show some control of magic or curses, such as when the Apollo cabin cursed the Ares cabin to speak in rhymes, or children of Hecate, who have an innate ability to use it. Demigods also have a wide variety of other abilities that they all share, but these abilities vary depending on their godly parent, including superhuman strength, speed, superhuman senses, agility, above-average healing-factor, intelligence, durability, and endurance.

The Lost Hero mentions that the gods have influence over certain special powers that their children can receive, such as Hephaestus with his children's fire power (such as Leo Valdez), Aphrodite with charmspeak (such as Drew Tanaka and Piper McLean), and Pluto with manipulation of metals and jewels (such as Hazel Levesque).

Roman Demigods

 * Jason Grace, son of Jupiter
 * Gwendolyn, unknown godly parent
 * Dakota, son of Bacchus
 * Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, favored by Hecate
 * Bobby, unknown godly parent (possibly a legacy)
 * Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona
 * Frank Zhang, son of Mars
 * Larry, unknown godly parent (possibly a legacy)
 * Hank, unknown godly parent (possibly a legacy)
 * Michael Varus, son of Janus (deceased)
 * Leila, daughter of Ceres
 * Michael Kahale, son of Venus
 * Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, Queen of the Amazons
 * Octavian, legacy of Apollo
 * Bryce Lawrence, legacy of Orcus (deceased)

Norse Demigods

 * Magnus Chase, son of Frey
 * Samirah Al Abbas, daughter of Loki
 * Gunilla, daughter of Thor

Historic Roman Demigods

 * Aeneas, son of Venus
 * Diocletian, son of Jupiter
 * Hercules, son of Jupiter
 * Jack London, son of Mercury
 * Phineas, son of Neptune
 * Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars
 * Tarquitus, son of Faunus

Etymology
Many demigods' names seem to relate to their Olympian parent (its possible that the godly parent either influence or give them their children's name):
 * Castor and Pollux, twin sons of Dionysus - They share the same names as the twins of the Gemini
 * Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares - In French, Rue is to regret, as Clarisse inflicts regret to all who face her in battle. Also a LaRue OBR is a type of rifle.
 * Connor and Travis Stoll, sons of Hermes - 'Travis' is a pun on the word 'travel', since Hermes is the patron of travelers, and 'Connor' is a pun on the word 'con', since Hermes is the god of thieves and con men, which was brought up in the Sea of Monsters. Also, their surname is a homonym for 'stole', again, since Hermes is the god of thieves.
 * Frank Zhang, son of Mars, legacy of Poseidon- Frank means bow and spear and his dad is the god of war. Zhang is Chinese for 'Master of Bows', as mentioned in The Son of Neptune.
 * Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus - Mason means "one who works with stone".
 * Jason Grace, son of Jupiter - He was named after the original Jason to appease Hera's wrath, because Jason was her favorite hero.
 * Katie Gardner and Miranda Gardiner, daughters of Demeter - Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and their last names refer to one who gardens or works with plants.
 * Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo - A fletcher is someone who makes archery arrows.
 * Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus - Leo is the zodiac sign for a lion, and the element for Leo is fire. It may also be a reference to Leonardo da Vinci, a famous inventor.
 * Michael Yew, son of Apollo - Yew is a favorable choice of wood to use for longbows.
 * Nico di Angelo, son of Hades - Nico is most likely derived from the Greek prefix Necro, to mean "dead". Di Angelo means "of angels" in Italian
 * Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon - Percy claims his mother named him Perseus, after the son of Zeus. Perseus is a Greek name which means "destroyer." The name is a reference to Poseidon, who is known to cause destruction like storms, earthquakes, shipwrecks, etc., when angered.
 * Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite - Piper was named "Piper" because of her charmspeak, bestowed by Aphrodite.
 * Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite - Beau Regard is French. It literally means "beautiful looks."
 * Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus - The name of one of the three Graces (and nine Muses) is Thalia. She too, was a daughter of Zeus. The Muse Thalia sired the Corybantes, with Apollo. This Thalia was also attracted to Apollo, saying that he was "hot."
 * Will Solace, son of Apollo - Though Solace really means "to comfort in distress", just as Will comforted and healed Annabeth when she was injured, Solace could also be a play on the word "Solar".

Trivia

 * According to Alabaster, in Son of Magic, most demigods don't live past twenty years of age. However, this may only be referring to modern demigods, as demigods back in ancient Greece were known to live to old age. Roman demigods have been shown with entire families while living in New Rome (Legacies are also found living there).
 * There have been a few demigods with two godly parents e.g Eumolpus (Poseidon and Khione). These mortal offspring are sometimes called Dem-god (a god but mortal)
 * Because demigods are commonly referred to as half-bloods, certain people who's parents aren't the same race tend to take offense to the same (such as Piper McLean)
 * In The Lost Hero, Piper wondered how Aphrodite could have so many children around the same age. But since gods can be in several places at once, Aphrodite can probably be pregnant in several different forms at the same time.
 * While the offspring of a god and a mortal is called a demigod or half-blood, the child, grandchild etc. of a demigod is called a legacy.
 * The word demigod literally means "half god".
 * Lyrus was the brother of Aeneas, but it is unknown if he was a son of Aphrodite or Venus.
 * According to The Crown of Ptolemy, when an Egyptian god looks at a Greek demigod, they see them as a human surrounded by "a powerful ultraviolet aura."
 * As shown in The Crown of Ptolemy, demigods can host Egyptian gods, with Percy being the first known one to ever do so.