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Demigoddesses

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 00:46
by eldin raigmore
Does anyone know of any demigoddesses (female demigods) in mythology?
Does anyone know of any demigod with a mortal father and a divine mother?

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 01:20
by Dormouse559
eldin raigmore wrote: 20 Aug 2021 00:46 Does anyone know of any demigoddesses (female demigods) in mythology?
Looking at Greek mythology: Hippolyta, who was the daughter of Ares. Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios (and mother of the Minotaur). Helen, daughter of Zeus.
Does anyone know of any demigod with a mortal father and a divine mother?
Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and the mortal Anchises. The sons of Circe and Odysseus.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 01:42
by LinguistCat
I don't know if tenshi from Japan would be considered goddesses (the natures of kami and divinity in Japan are a little fuzzy and don't always line up with Western conceptions), they are usually considered more analogous to angels. But if they count as minor deities, there is the folk story of the tenshi who lost her heavenly vestments and lived on Earth and marrying a mortal. She had children with him but left once she found her vestments, which he had stolen. This is obviously a tale closer in form to selkie or swan maiden stories.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 14:40
by eldin raigmore
Dormouse, Linguistcat,

I was actually thinking of people whose parentage included a deity and a mortal.
So that would include a lot of who you mentioned, but not some others; though they are nevertheless interesting!

I think Gilgamesh, who was one-third mortal man and two-thirds god, would count as a demigod, even if the ratio is a bit off.

….

Thank you for the information! I didn’t know most of it and couldn’t call the rest of it to mind.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 20 Aug 2021 19:45
by Salmoneus
Dormouse559 wrote: 20 Aug 2021 01:20
eldin raigmore wrote: 20 Aug 2021 00:46 Does anyone know of any demigoddesses (female demigods) in mythology?
Looking at Greek mythology: Hippolyta, who was the daughter of Ares. Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios (and mother of the Minotaur). Helen, daughter of Zeus.
Also Hippolyta's sister, Penthesilea.
Does anyone know of any demigod with a mortal father and a divine mother?
Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and the mortal Anchises. The sons of Circe and Odysseus.
Also Memnon, son of Eos.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 21 Aug 2021 00:00
by Clio
Salmoneus wrote: 20 Aug 2021 19:45
Does anyone know of any demigod with a mortal father and a divine mother?
Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and the mortal Anchises. The sons of Circe and Odysseus.
Also Memnon, son of Eos.
Achilles, too.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 21 Aug 2021 00:32
by elemtilas
eldin raigmore wrote: 20 Aug 2021 00:46 Does anyone know of any demigoddesses (female demigods) in mythology?
Does anyone know of any demigod with a mortal father and a divine mother?
The Font of All Knowledge has a nice list, too! Right off hand, I can see Achilles, Turnus, Kabundungulu, the sons of Laun Sina, Bhishma, Apo Anno, Gwydion, Inter Alia.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 21 Aug 2021 14:40
by eldin raigmore
I just found Clymene, Harmonia, and Helen, as demigoddesses in Greek mythology.

Polydorus son of Cadmus (not to be confused with any of the many other Polydorusses) got his divine half from his mother Harmonia.

The vast majority of Greek demigods and demigoddesses appear to have been children (usually sons) of Zeus.
The majority of the reminder appear to have been sired by Apollo or Ares or Poseidon.

So that was why I asked.
Other-than-Graeco-Roman demigoddesses, and mortal-sired offspring of other-than-Graeco-Roman goddesses, still interest me!
(And so do Graeco-Roman ones I’ve missed.)

Thanks, @elemtilas, for the link to that Wikipedia list!

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 22 Aug 2021 23:52
by Shemtov
Depending on how distant you are inclusive of the demigoddess to the god/goddess, the Tamil heroine Maṇimēkalai, the title character of her own epic, is said to have the Apsara (nymph) Urvashi as a distant ancestress, and Urvashi is said to be the daughter of Vishnu-Narayana.
EDIT: If an Avatara of a Hindu Goddess counts, Sita, wife of Rama, is believed by most Hindus to be an Avatara of Lakshmi.

Re: Demigoddesses

Posted: 23 Aug 2021 02:31
by Salmoneus
If modern mythologies are counted, then Luthien fulfill both criteria: female, and daughter of a female goddess (Melian).