A demigod is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human[1] or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" (divine illumination). An immortal demigod often has tutelary status and a religious cult following, while a mortal demigod is one who has fallen or died, but is popular as a legendary hero in various polytheistic religions. Figuratively, it is used to describe a person whose talents or abilities are so superlative that they appear to approach being divine.
The English term "demi-god" is a calque of the Latin word semideus, "half-god".[4] The Roman poet Ovid probably coined semideus to refer to less important gods, such as dryads.[5] Compare the Greek hemitheos. 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.[6]
In later antiquity, the Roman writer Martianus Capella (fl. 410-420) proposed a hierarchy of gods as follows: