Demigod

Cúchulainn, son of the god Lugh and Dectera, sister of the king of the Ulster, kills the dog of Culann.

The term demigod is used to describe the mythological figure of a human who is the descendant of a god and a mortal.

Broadly speaking, he is a sort of minor deity, who may be mortal or immortal derived from his half-god and human origin, or may even be a figure who has achieved divine status after death.

Greek Demigods

Part of the dual nature of the Greek heroes that gave rise to the concept of the demigod is the double paternity that intervened in their procreation, a recurring theme, since a mortal and a deity acted. Indeed, the hero's mortal mother can lie with both parents in the same night (Aetra, mother of Theseus), or be secretly visited by a god (Danae, mother of Perseus). As was believed in ancient times, the seed of the deity, symbolizing heaven, was mixed in the womb, symbolizing mother earth, and the children possessed some of the divine qualities, such as extraordinary strength and energy, being able to cross the threshold of life and death and return unharmed, or act as intermediaries after death, between gods and men.

Zeus was the father of many heroes, as a result of his love affairs. These heroes were honored after death, especially among those Greeks who claimed to be his descendants, and who hoped to obtain protection and patronage from some god through his intercession. The veneration of heroes was part of the chthonic rites of the religion of Ancient Greece. The demigods were mortal, though they had precedence over men, and some unusual powers. The only exception was Heracles, who after his death was accepted among the Olympic gods, thus acquiring a privileged position.

Structurally, narrative hero myths fall within the genre of the novel.