Demigod
A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a
Etymology
The
Compare the Greek hemitheos.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
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 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
Celtic
The Celtic warrior
In the immediate pre-Roman period, the celtic Gallaceian tribe in Portugal made powerful, large stone statues of deified local heroes, which stood on hill forts in the mountainous regions of - what is today - Northern Portugal and Galicia.
Hinduism
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2021) |
In Hinduism, the term demigod is used to refer to deities who were once human and later became devas (gods). There are two notable demigods in Vedic Scriptures:
The heroes of the Hindu epic
The Vaishnavites (who often translate deva as "demigod") cite various verses that speak of the devas' subordinate status. For example, the Rig Veda (1.22.20) reads, "oṃ tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padam sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ", which translates to, "All the suras [i.e., the devas] look always toward the feet of Lord Vishnu". Similarly, in the Vishnu Sahasranama, the concluding verses, read, "The Rishis [great sages], the ancestors, the devas, the great elements, in fact, all things moving and unmoving constituting this universe, have originated from Narayana," (i.e., Vishnu). Thus the Devas are stated to be subordinate to Vishnu, or God.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) translates the Sanskrit word "deva" as "demigod" in his literature when the term referred to a God other than the Supreme Lord. This is because the ISKCON tradition teaches that there is only one Supreme Lord and that all others are but His servants. In an effort to emphasize their subservience, Prabhupada uses the word "demigod" as a translation of deva. However, there are at least three occurrences in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad-Gita where the word deva, used in reference to Lord Krishna, is translated as "Lord". The word deva can be used to refer to the Supreme Lord, celestial beings, and saintly souls depending on the context. This is similar to the word Bhagavan, which is translated according to different contexts.
China
Among the demigods in
Chen Xiang is nephew of Erlang Shen, birth by his younger sister Huayue Sanniang who married with a mortal scholar.[19]
Japan
Abe no Seimei, a famous onmyōji from the Heian period was supposed to be one. His father, Abe no Yasuna (安倍 保名), was human. Still, his mother Kuzunoha, was a Kitsune, a divine fox, being this the origin of Abe no Seimei's magical prowress.
Anitism
In the indigenous religions originating from the Philippines, collectively called Anitism, demigods abound in various ethnic stories. Many of these demigods equal major gods and goddesses in power and influence. Notable examples include Mayari, the Tagalog moon goddess who governs the world every night,[20][21] Tala, the Tagalog star goddess,[20] Hanan, the Tagalog morning goddess,[20] Apo Anno, a Kankanaey demigod hero,[22] Oryol, a Bicolano half-snake demi-goddess who brought peace to the land after defeating all beasts in Ibalon,[23] Laon, a Hiligaynon demigod who can talk to animals and defeated the mad dragon at Mount Kanlaon,[24] Ovug, an Ifugao thunder and lightning demigod who has separate animations in both the upper and earth worlds,[25] Takyayen, a Tinguian demigod and son of the star goddess Gagayoma,[26] and the three Suludnon demigod sons of Alunsina, namely Labaw Dongon, Humadapnon, and Dumalapdap.[27]
Polynesian
Samoan
Tongan
Māori
Hawaii
Modern use
The term demigod first appeared in English in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, when it was used to render the Greek and Roman concepts of semideus and daemon.[4] Since then, it has frequently been applied figuratively to people of extraordinary ability.[28] John Milton states in Paradise Lost that angels are demigods.[29]
In Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series, based on the 1997 film, while the title character was only referred to as a mortal in the film, he was referred to as a demigod in the series. He also had cousins appear in the series, like Triton, the son of Poseidon.
In the
In The Mummy Returns, a man named Mathayus the Scorpion King had been nearly dead in the Sahara Desert, and he was forced to make a deal with Anubis, where he would give Anubis his soul if Anubis helped him defeat his enemies. Anubis fulfilled his part of the deal and helped Mathayus destroy Thebes, providing him with command of his army of Anubis Warriors, jackal-headed warriors that can only be killed by beheading. Afterwards Anubis transformed Mathayus into a centaurid scorpion-monster possessing a humanoid head and torso with scorpion claws and main body in place of his hands and legs; Mathayus was condemned to serve Anubis for all time as a demigod.
Demigods are important figures in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians books, in which many of the characters, including the titular character himself, are demigods. In Riordan's work, a demigod is defined as an individual born of one human and one divine parent.[30]
In the
In Moana the 2016 film, Maui had been abandoned by his human parents as a baby. The gods took pity on him and made him a demigod and gave him a magic fish hook that gives him the ability to shape-shift. In the song "Shiny" composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina, Tamatoa called Maui "Ya little semi-demi-mini-god".
See also
- Chinese demigods
- Christ myth theory
- Greek hero cult
- Greek mythology
- List of demigods
References
- ISBN 9780595261659.
- ISBN 978-952-222-393-7.
- ^ Siikala, Anna-Leena (30 July 2007). "Väinämöinen". Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 3. UK: Oxford University Press. 1961. p. 180.
- ^
Weinstock, Stefan (1971). Divus Julius (Reprinted ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 53. ISBN 0198142870.
[...] 'semideus' [...] seems to have been coined by Ovid.
- JSTOR 3265162.
- ISBN 0195300351.
- ISBN 978-150-173-202-7.
- JSTOR 4435325.
- ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1894). A Greek–English Lexicon (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 596.
- ^ Dio, Cassius. Roman History. 43.21.2.
- JSTOR 4435475.
- ISBN 9780198642015.
- ^ Lucan. The Civil War. Vol. Book 9.
- ^ Capella, Martianus. De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. 2.156.
- ^
Macbain, Alexander, ed. (1888). "The Celtic Magazin". 13. Inverness: A. and W. Mackenzie: 282.
The Irish Fraoch is a demigod, and his story presents that curious blending of the rationalised supernatural - that is , the euhemerised or minimised supernatural - with the usual incidents of a hero's life, a blending which is characteristic of Irish tales about Cuchulain and the early heroes, who, in reality, are only demigods, but who have been fondly deemed by ancient tale-tellers and modern students to have been real historical characters exaggerated into mythic proportions.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Ward, Alan (2011). The Myths of the Gods: Structures in Irish Mythology. p.13
- ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2., Quote: "His vehicle was Garuda, the sun bird" (p. 21); "(...) Garuda, the great sun eagle, (...)" (p. 74)
- ^ ISBN 1-59158-294-6.
- ^ a b c Notes on Philippine Divinities, F. Landa Jocano
- ^ Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales | Maximo Ramos | 1990
- ^ "Benguet community races against time to save Apo Anno". 5 February 2019.
- ^ Three Tales From Bicol, Perla S. Intia, New Day Publishers, 1982
- ^ Philippine Folk Literature: The Myths, Damiana L. Eugenio, UP Press 1993
- ^ Beyer, 1913
- ^ Cole M. C., 1916
- ISBN 9716220103
- ^ "demigod". Collins English Dictionary. Collins. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ^ Milton, John (1667). Paradise Lost. 9.937.
- ISBN 978-0141329505.
- ^ "God of War: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kratos". The Gamer.
External links
- Media related to Demigods at Wikimedia Commons