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Demigod

Revision as of 16:11, 30 March 2020 by Long Island Spartan (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Historic Greek Demigods)
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Percy, Annabeth, Luke,
Jason, Leo, and Piper.

“ You are a half-blood. One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian. ”

–Zoë Nightshade on demigods, talking to Bianca and Nico di Angelo, in The Titan's Curse

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

Description

Demigods are the end result of a god and a mortal (mostly with 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. Most of them also have ADHD and dyslexia to help them learn Latin and ancient Greek and to help them concentrate in battle (though some possess one of these abilities only while others possess none).

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.

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 Hylla and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano , Nico and Bianca di Angelo, Connor and Travis Stoll, Jason and Thalia Grace (who have the same father, but in different aspects).

Greek demigods often go on quests given to them by the Oracle of Delphi, whom is currently in the body of Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Roman demigods are usually issued a quest by an augur 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 startling grey eyes. Thalia and Jason Grace inherited Zeus' electric blue eyes and regal features (Thalia in special inherited Zeus' black hair) and Nico and Bianca di Angelo inherited Hades' dark 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). They also inherit his ugliness, or in Leo Valdez's case, his curly dark hair. Children of Apollo inherit his healing powers and archery prowess. Some, like Will Solace, inherit his blond hair and blue eyes. Magnus inherited Frey's long blonde hair and Alex Fierro got his/her sly smile from Loki. 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 is unknown whether a demigod's 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, Clarisse is very violent and warlike, much like her father, Jason and Thalia are strict and mature like their father, Zeus/Jupiter, Leo is crafty and creative, and understands machines more than people, like his dad, Hephaestus. Nico is very dark and moody like his dad and enjoys spending time with the dead more than the living like his father Hades, and Connor and Travis Stoll are mischievous and cunning and like to play pranks and steal things, like their dad, Hermes. There are currently four known children of the Big Three since the death of Bianca di Angelo, a daughter of Hades and Jason Grace, a son of Jupiter: Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon), Thalia Grace (daughter of Zeus), Nico di Angelo (son of Hades),  and Hazel Levesque (daughter of Pluto). Most demigods also have ADHD and/or dyslexia (though it varies from demigod to demigod). Demigods are relatively (or extremely in some cases) stronger, more agile, and more durable than regular mortals, and have more resistance to diseases.

Demigods are often labeled as 'troublemakers' at school. This is due mostly to the result that most demigods have ADHD. A trait shared by demigods is their feeling of not being able to belong, since they don't quite belong in the mortal world, and don't quite belong in Mount Olympus.

Demigods have a distinct scent due to a spell cast by Lamia, a monstrous daughter of Hecate, which allows monsters to find them. It is also extremely dangerous for a demigod to use a cell phone, as Monsters are attracted to demigod voices traveling through the air. 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, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, and the children of Hecate 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." Demigods also have the ability to act as a host for an Egyptian god for at least a short period of time despite not being Blood of the Pharaohs, a requirement for Egyptian magicians to safely channel the power of a god and host one.

Greek Demigods

Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson

Greek Demigods Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.

Greek demigods, such as Percy Jackson, are a subset of demigods who train at Camp Half-Blood, located in Long Island. They are born when a god conceives a child with a mortal while in their Greek aspect. As such, Greek demigods have an innate predisposition towards ancient Greek, and possess instinctive battle skills that manifests as ADHD.

The children of humans and titans are considered demigods rather then demititans, such as the children of Hecate.

They are assigned to a cabin dedicated to their divine parent once they are claimed. Most Greek demigods die in their teens because they are prone to being attacked and killed by monsters either before making it safely to Camp Half-Blood or during quests and battles. Very few survive to make it past their twenties.

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. 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 can live in New Rome and start families.

Much like their Greek counterparts, children of humans and titans are considered demigods.

NewSliderHeroes

Demigods from Camp Jupiter; Frank Zhang, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, and Hazel Levesque

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. Should the demigod make it through the training alive, Lupa will instruct them to follow their instincts to Camp Jupiter, home of the Roman Legion. However, if Lupa doesn't believe the demigod is strong enough or shows fear, it is said that they will be eaten by her and her wolves. Upon making it to Camp Jupiter, a praetor, currently Reyna will decide if the demigod can join the Legion before sending them to have their augury read. If it is favorable, the demigod can then officially join the Legion. Like the Greek demigods, they were unaware of the existence of their counterparts at Camp Half-Blood in Long Island, but some demigods, like Octavian had 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

Magnus Chase

Norse Demigod Magnus Chase.

They are the progeny of the Norse gods with mortals. Unlike the Greek and Roman demigods, they do not have a formal training camp nor are dyslexic or have ADHD, and are not claimed by their parent in the same manner as the Olympian Gods, instead having their parentage revealed in Valhalla or by the parent themselves telling them.

It is not uncommon for Norse demigod to be told and believe they are hallucinating. They are given medication and sometimes end up on the streets.

Norse demigods also include the children Gods have with Dwarves and Elves, such as Blitzen, the son of Freya and a Dwarf. As well as any child a Jotunn has with a mortal, such as Samirah al-Abbas and Alex Fierro.

Unlike other pantheons, they view the siblings of their divine parent and their children as family, such as Magnus seeing Freya as his aunt and her svartalf son Blitzen as his cousin.

Hindu Demigods

AruShah Not part of Riordanverse

The following article/section is from the Pandava Quintet continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

AruShah

Hindu Pandava demigod Aru Shah.

The demigods of the Rick Riordan Presents series the Pandava Quartet, which is non-canonical with the Rick Riordan penned books. While Indra was mentioned by Apollo and Dionysus was mentioned to have battled Brahmas in the past, it is unknown if the following applies to them outside of the Pandava Quartet.

They are not the same as other demigods. Certain ones of them have a god/goddess as a father/mother and mortal as the other parent. But the Pandavas specifically are reincarnated version of the Pandava brothers. They don't have a god as their literal parent, but the god has helped create their soul. These are only Pandavas however, and other demigods in Hinduism are the regular kind.

They also don't have dyslexia or ADHD like the Greek/Roman demigods. It is unknown how non-Pandavas are claimed, but Pandavas are claimed by arrows shot at them and eventually the parental god will stop it in whatever means the specific god does. An example is how Aru Shah was saved by Indra's lightning net.

This does not apply to other Hindu demigods, or the original Pandava brothers, as they were actual children of the gods.

Mayan Demigods

Zane Obispo Not part of Riordanverse

The following article/section is from the Storm Runner/Shadow Bruja continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.


File:VISDEV-2872 readriordan zane.1200.jpg

Mayan godborn Zane Obispo.

Mayan demigods are the children of humans and the Mayan Gods. They are referred to as Godborns. The children of these unions have some sort of physical handicap, medical issues, or mental issues, this is because humans and the supernatural are not meant to be mixed.

Unlike other demigods, who can inherit multiple abilities based on their divine parent’s attributes, godborns only inherit one of their parent’s attributes, as too many powers are dangerous for a godborn. For example, Zane can only control fire and not storms in addition to his flames.

Due to the prophecy of fire, the gods made a pact to not have godborn children, if they broke the oath, then both the god and their children would be tortured to death. However, as revealed by Ixtab, the oath has been broken before Zane was born, but these godborns were hidden away and have long since died by the time Zane was born. After the events of The Fire Keeper, the Mayan gods due away with the pact and agree to claim and train the godborns.

Other Demigods

As of The Dark Prophecy, demigods of the Yoruba mythology, an African mythology tied to that of Voodoo practices, are known to exist. Olujime is the only known Yoruba demigod, also called élomirian. Further details on the specifics of these demigods are as of yet unknown.

Abilities

Main article: Demigod Abilities

Most demigods born to Olympian gods have ADHD (although it varies between demigods and doesn't seem to be the case with Norse demigods at all), which hard-wires them for battle, and dyslexia, which they have because their brains are hardwired for reading either 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), Apollo with precognition (such as Halcyon Green, Idmon, and Octavian), and Pluto with manipulation of metals and jewels (such as Hazel Levesque). In additionLoki reveals in The Hammer of Thor that he is able to control his children through their shared powers if he so chooses, though this can be resisted with the correct training. 

Their blood (one female demigod's and one male's, respectively) can revive ancient deities in their sleep, like Gaea. The "sacrifaces" can be choosen by the god in question or other chosen. According to Khione, these actions taint the place of the ritual for generations.

List of Demigods

Greek Demigods


Historic Greek Demigods


Roman Demigods

Historic Roman Demigods

Norse Demigods

Historic Norse Demigods

Yoruba Demigods

Hindu Demigods

Mayan Demigods

Historic Mayan Demigods

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 - 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.
  • Leonidas "Leo" Valdez, son of Hephaestus - Leo is the zodiac sign for a lion, and the element for Leo is fire, Leonidas also means "lion". 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, so then "Angel of Death".
  • Perseus "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."
  • Valentina Diaz, daughter of Aphrodite - Her name could likely be a play on Valentine's Day, which is fitting for a daughter of Aphrodite.
  • 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 and die peacefully like Perseus. Roman demigods have been shown with entire families while living in New Rome (Legacies, the children of a demigod and a mortal or the children of two demigods are also found living there).
    • Historical Demigods alluded to in the series such as George Washington, Frederic Bartholdi and Alfred Hitchcock, among others lived past their 60s and 70s.
  • 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 name, such as Piper McLean (who is half Cherokee and half European) and Carter Kane (who is half African and half European).
  • 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. Percy's gestation would seem to be accelerated, as his mother conceived him and gave birth within a single summer. Goddesses can also control the length of their pregnancy e.g.,  Aphrodite with Piper, as an accelerated pregnancy would have tipped off Piper's father Tristan to the divine nature of his daughter's mother.
  • 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.
  • Titans and nymphs can sire demigod children, as Potamoi are known for have many naiad daughters who occasionaly mate with humans and Oceanus had a mortal grandson by the name of Hypseus [1] Helios had a demigod son named Phaethon.
  • A few of the Greek demigods have names that are anagrams with extra letters to the names of their godly parents, such as Annabeth and Clarisse.

Gallery

Main Universe

Greek

Modern Day Demigods
Historic Demigods

Roman

Modern Day Demigods
Historic Demigods

Norse

Modern Day Demigods
Historic Demigods

Rick Riordan Presents

Hindu

Mayan

References

  1. ↑ Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Cyrene Punches a Lion
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