Demigod: the mortal children of the gods

Demigods were the offspring of the union of one god and one mortal, beings who were half-human and half-divine. Though mortal, they carried the blood of the gods, and with it came superhuman strength, uncommon resilience in battle, and martial skill far beyond any ordinary man. Many of the greatest heroes of Greece were demigods, and the worthiest among them could rise to become true gods. Kratos himself was born one such demigod, long before he claimed the throne of war.

Nature and gifts#

A demigod was the result of the joining of a god with a human, inheriting a portion of the divine through their blood. Such beings remained mortal, and their immortality and invulnerability were never the equal of a true god's, yet they stood far above ordinary men. They were known above all for their supernatural strength and resilience and for fighting skill that matched the gods themselves. In the age of Greek heroes many of the famed champions were demigods, and the line could run in unexpected directions: Orkos, the son of Ares and a Fury, was a half-god of a rarer sort, born not of a mortal mother but of a creature of vengeance.

Ascension to godhood#

A demigod was not bound forever to mortal rank. Those deemed worthy enough could become true and powerful gods. Kratos, the second God of War and son of Zeus and the mortal Callisto, was a demigod who rose to full godhood when he took the mantle of war, and in the slaughter of his later campaign against Olympus he struck down many of his own kind. His brother Deimos shared the same parentage and the same divine power. The hero Hercules, another son of Zeus, likewise ascended to Olympus, and the legends of Greece were filled with demigods such as Perseus and Theseus, each carrying the strength of a divine parent. The kind was not unique to the Greek world: far away in the Norse realms, Magni, the son of Thor and the giantess Jarnsaxa, was counted a demigod in his own right.