Why would a demigod born to a goddess not be immortal?












4












$begingroup$


In this alternate world, demigods were human beings which gained divinity from a divine parent. A male deity would knock up a mortal woman, who would carry the child to term. This demigod would share the divine essence of the divine parent, but would be sustained by a mortal womb and fed mortal nutrients. While they would be powerful, they had limitations and were not unkillable. This makes sense in context because half of their makeup would be mortal.



The reverse should be true if the demigod's mother was a goddess. That child would be sustained by a divine essence in a much more direct way due to it literally growing inside a deity. Such resulting beings should be much more powerful and be as immortal as their mother. However, this is not the case. Demigods born to goddesses appear to be just as vulnerable as their mortal counterparts. For example, Achilles, a hero from Greek myth, was born to a goddess and a mortal man, but was bumped off in the most idiotic way by being shot in the foot with an arrow.



I need to justify this contradiction for this world? How could I explain this?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
    $endgroup$
    – Ed Grimm
    4 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
    $endgroup$
    – AlexP
    3 hours ago
















4












$begingroup$


In this alternate world, demigods were human beings which gained divinity from a divine parent. A male deity would knock up a mortal woman, who would carry the child to term. This demigod would share the divine essence of the divine parent, but would be sustained by a mortal womb and fed mortal nutrients. While they would be powerful, they had limitations and were not unkillable. This makes sense in context because half of their makeup would be mortal.



The reverse should be true if the demigod's mother was a goddess. That child would be sustained by a divine essence in a much more direct way due to it literally growing inside a deity. Such resulting beings should be much more powerful and be as immortal as their mother. However, this is not the case. Demigods born to goddesses appear to be just as vulnerable as their mortal counterparts. For example, Achilles, a hero from Greek myth, was born to a goddess and a mortal man, but was bumped off in the most idiotic way by being shot in the foot with an arrow.



I need to justify this contradiction for this world? How could I explain this?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
    $endgroup$
    – Ed Grimm
    4 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
    $endgroup$
    – AlexP
    3 hours ago














4












4








4





$begingroup$


In this alternate world, demigods were human beings which gained divinity from a divine parent. A male deity would knock up a mortal woman, who would carry the child to term. This demigod would share the divine essence of the divine parent, but would be sustained by a mortal womb and fed mortal nutrients. While they would be powerful, they had limitations and were not unkillable. This makes sense in context because half of their makeup would be mortal.



The reverse should be true if the demigod's mother was a goddess. That child would be sustained by a divine essence in a much more direct way due to it literally growing inside a deity. Such resulting beings should be much more powerful and be as immortal as their mother. However, this is not the case. Demigods born to goddesses appear to be just as vulnerable as their mortal counterparts. For example, Achilles, a hero from Greek myth, was born to a goddess and a mortal man, but was bumped off in the most idiotic way by being shot in the foot with an arrow.



I need to justify this contradiction for this world? How could I explain this?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




In this alternate world, demigods were human beings which gained divinity from a divine parent. A male deity would knock up a mortal woman, who would carry the child to term. This demigod would share the divine essence of the divine parent, but would be sustained by a mortal womb and fed mortal nutrients. While they would be powerful, they had limitations and were not unkillable. This makes sense in context because half of their makeup would be mortal.



The reverse should be true if the demigod's mother was a goddess. That child would be sustained by a divine essence in a much more direct way due to it literally growing inside a deity. Such resulting beings should be much more powerful and be as immortal as their mother. However, this is not the case. Demigods born to goddesses appear to be just as vulnerable as their mortal counterparts. For example, Achilles, a hero from Greek myth, was born to a goddess and a mortal man, but was bumped off in the most idiotic way by being shot in the foot with an arrow.



I need to justify this contradiction for this world? How could I explain this?







biology magic gods immortality






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 3 hours ago









elemtilas

13.8k22861




13.8k22861










asked 4 hours ago









IncognitoIncognito

6,84876198




6,84876198












  • $begingroup$
    This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
    $endgroup$
    – Ed Grimm
    4 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
    $endgroup$
    – AlexP
    3 hours ago


















  • $begingroup$
    This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
    $endgroup$
    – Ed Grimm
    4 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
    $endgroup$
    – AlexP
    3 hours ago
















$begingroup$
This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
$endgroup$
– Ed Grimm
4 hours ago




$begingroup$
This question mentions Greek myths, which were exactly like this. But if I recall correctly, in Norse myths, gods are also not truly immortal, in the sense they too can be killed - it's just a lot harder.
$endgroup$
– Ed Grimm
4 hours ago












$begingroup$
What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
$endgroup$
– AlexP
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
What contradiction? If you seek rules and reason in the luxuriant Greek mythology you shall be disappointed; rules and coherence were not very important for Greek mythographers. Fun factoids: (1)demigods could sometimes attain immortality; for example, Hercules. (2) We call them demigods; the Greeks called them heroes. (3) When ancient Greek sources speak of "demigods", hemitheoi, they don't mean a person born of the union of a mortal and an immortal, they mean some ancestor known for their strength and good behavior.
$endgroup$
– AlexP
3 hours ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















2












$begingroup$

In the animal world, babies born to parents who are very different from each other have some characteristics that may be different at birth (size usually starts off to match the mother, so a too-large baby doesn't kill its mother during or even before birth) but then even out (size generally does) and some characteristics that tend to be different depending on which parent came from which group.



For example:




Many foals are born with oddly bowed legs. This is called ‘windswept’
and is common to large foals born to smaller mares. Because their
ligaments and tendons are immature, they may also walk with their
fetlocks almost touching the ground. Within a few days, as the foal
becomes stronger, the legs should show signs of straightening up. (emphasis mine, ref)




In this case, the animal has an adaptive feature because of a mother not matching the baby. But it's temporary.



Then there are hinnies and mules. A mule is the product of a horse mother and donkey father. A hinny has a horse father and donkey mother. Mules are, as a general rule, more intelligent and vigorous than hinnies, and also a bit larger. There is a bit of controversy about the details though.



In no way does a child only follow the mother. Even if the child has the mother's culture/experiences and food.



In your case, your demigods are always going to be demi. Half. They will never be full gods and will never have all the characteristics and powers of a full god. Infancy is a very important time for all living creatures and there could certainly be differences in your demigods based on who raises them and where, the food they get, and so on. There can also be differences based on their gestation periods. But their genes will be half and half.



If you look at demigods like Achilles, he was born completely mortal and as vulnerable as any human (perhaps with some extra abilities). His protective powers came from being dipped as a baby into the River Styx. His one weakness (his Achilles heel) was the part of his body that didn't contact the water (because his mother had to hold on to him somehow).



If you choose for a demigod to be mortal (though perhaps longer-lived and harder to kill), then they are. If a child born to a human mother and divine father is mortal, then it follows that a child born to a divine mother and human father would be too. That to me makes more sense than giving a only one of those groups immortality.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$





















    0












    $begingroup$

    I don't see a contradiction, unless you believe Mother's milk has some special property that we need to get around. If the goddess is lactating ambrosia, we have a problem. But if she's just lactating milk, then the child would have the same limitations as one sired by a god. An identical argument could easily be made with gestation. Basically, if both chromosomes aren't divine, what you get is a mortal demigod — period.



    (where this really gets fun is if the demigod mates with a god. If we use the same rules for, say, eye and hair color, you now have a 25% chance of bearing a pure mortal... oh, yeah!)






    share|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 1




      $begingroup$
      Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
      $endgroup$
      – AlexP
      3 hours ago





















    0












    $begingroup$

    So the first thing you have to take into consideration is that the peoples who believed in these gods and demi-gods they followed it blindly. The odds that they even thought of this would be very slim. To them all they know is a god or goddess who has a child with a mortal becomes the parent of a non immortal demigod. The reason this worked back then, was because it WAS the way to believe. Anything contradictory was looked down on.



    Now as far as justifying it... You may have to think of the godliness coming from the creation of a soul. Regardless the nutrients that were fed, the soul was created at conception. This would make it so that regardless the combination of parents, if a god's and a mortal's soul creating juices were combined, it creates a non immortal soul with godlike powers. Since gods are pretty well considered magical, it would stand to reason that their powers come from their souls.






    share|improve this answer










    New contributor




    Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.






    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      please read this about excessive self promotion
      $endgroup$
      – L.Dutch
      2 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
      $endgroup$
      – Incognito
      2 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
      $endgroup$
      – L.Dutch
      2 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
      $endgroup$
      – Incognito
      2 hours ago











    Your Answer





    StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
    return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
    StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
    StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
    });
    });
    }, "mathjax-editing");

    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "579"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });














    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f139870%2fwhy-would-a-demigod-born-to-a-goddess-not-be-immortal%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    2












    $begingroup$

    In the animal world, babies born to parents who are very different from each other have some characteristics that may be different at birth (size usually starts off to match the mother, so a too-large baby doesn't kill its mother during or even before birth) but then even out (size generally does) and some characteristics that tend to be different depending on which parent came from which group.



    For example:




    Many foals are born with oddly bowed legs. This is called ‘windswept’
    and is common to large foals born to smaller mares. Because their
    ligaments and tendons are immature, they may also walk with their
    fetlocks almost touching the ground. Within a few days, as the foal
    becomes stronger, the legs should show signs of straightening up. (emphasis mine, ref)




    In this case, the animal has an adaptive feature because of a mother not matching the baby. But it's temporary.



    Then there are hinnies and mules. A mule is the product of a horse mother and donkey father. A hinny has a horse father and donkey mother. Mules are, as a general rule, more intelligent and vigorous than hinnies, and also a bit larger. There is a bit of controversy about the details though.



    In no way does a child only follow the mother. Even if the child has the mother's culture/experiences and food.



    In your case, your demigods are always going to be demi. Half. They will never be full gods and will never have all the characteristics and powers of a full god. Infancy is a very important time for all living creatures and there could certainly be differences in your demigods based on who raises them and where, the food they get, and so on. There can also be differences based on their gestation periods. But their genes will be half and half.



    If you look at demigods like Achilles, he was born completely mortal and as vulnerable as any human (perhaps with some extra abilities). His protective powers came from being dipped as a baby into the River Styx. His one weakness (his Achilles heel) was the part of his body that didn't contact the water (because his mother had to hold on to him somehow).



    If you choose for a demigod to be mortal (though perhaps longer-lived and harder to kill), then they are. If a child born to a human mother and divine father is mortal, then it follows that a child born to a divine mother and human father would be too. That to me makes more sense than giving a only one of those groups immortality.






    share|improve this answer









    $endgroup$


















      2












      $begingroup$

      In the animal world, babies born to parents who are very different from each other have some characteristics that may be different at birth (size usually starts off to match the mother, so a too-large baby doesn't kill its mother during or even before birth) but then even out (size generally does) and some characteristics that tend to be different depending on which parent came from which group.



      For example:




      Many foals are born with oddly bowed legs. This is called ‘windswept’
      and is common to large foals born to smaller mares. Because their
      ligaments and tendons are immature, they may also walk with their
      fetlocks almost touching the ground. Within a few days, as the foal
      becomes stronger, the legs should show signs of straightening up. (emphasis mine, ref)




      In this case, the animal has an adaptive feature because of a mother not matching the baby. But it's temporary.



      Then there are hinnies and mules. A mule is the product of a horse mother and donkey father. A hinny has a horse father and donkey mother. Mules are, as a general rule, more intelligent and vigorous than hinnies, and also a bit larger. There is a bit of controversy about the details though.



      In no way does a child only follow the mother. Even if the child has the mother's culture/experiences and food.



      In your case, your demigods are always going to be demi. Half. They will never be full gods and will never have all the characteristics and powers of a full god. Infancy is a very important time for all living creatures and there could certainly be differences in your demigods based on who raises them and where, the food they get, and so on. There can also be differences based on their gestation periods. But their genes will be half and half.



      If you look at demigods like Achilles, he was born completely mortal and as vulnerable as any human (perhaps with some extra abilities). His protective powers came from being dipped as a baby into the River Styx. His one weakness (his Achilles heel) was the part of his body that didn't contact the water (because his mother had to hold on to him somehow).



      If you choose for a demigod to be mortal (though perhaps longer-lived and harder to kill), then they are. If a child born to a human mother and divine father is mortal, then it follows that a child born to a divine mother and human father would be too. That to me makes more sense than giving a only one of those groups immortality.






      share|improve this answer









      $endgroup$
















        2












        2








        2





        $begingroup$

        In the animal world, babies born to parents who are very different from each other have some characteristics that may be different at birth (size usually starts off to match the mother, so a too-large baby doesn't kill its mother during or even before birth) but then even out (size generally does) and some characteristics that tend to be different depending on which parent came from which group.



        For example:




        Many foals are born with oddly bowed legs. This is called ‘windswept’
        and is common to large foals born to smaller mares. Because their
        ligaments and tendons are immature, they may also walk with their
        fetlocks almost touching the ground. Within a few days, as the foal
        becomes stronger, the legs should show signs of straightening up. (emphasis mine, ref)




        In this case, the animal has an adaptive feature because of a mother not matching the baby. But it's temporary.



        Then there are hinnies and mules. A mule is the product of a horse mother and donkey father. A hinny has a horse father and donkey mother. Mules are, as a general rule, more intelligent and vigorous than hinnies, and also a bit larger. There is a bit of controversy about the details though.



        In no way does a child only follow the mother. Even if the child has the mother's culture/experiences and food.



        In your case, your demigods are always going to be demi. Half. They will never be full gods and will never have all the characteristics and powers of a full god. Infancy is a very important time for all living creatures and there could certainly be differences in your demigods based on who raises them and where, the food they get, and so on. There can also be differences based on their gestation periods. But their genes will be half and half.



        If you look at demigods like Achilles, he was born completely mortal and as vulnerable as any human (perhaps with some extra abilities). His protective powers came from being dipped as a baby into the River Styx. His one weakness (his Achilles heel) was the part of his body that didn't contact the water (because his mother had to hold on to him somehow).



        If you choose for a demigod to be mortal (though perhaps longer-lived and harder to kill), then they are. If a child born to a human mother and divine father is mortal, then it follows that a child born to a divine mother and human father would be too. That to me makes more sense than giving a only one of those groups immortality.






        share|improve this answer









        $endgroup$



        In the animal world, babies born to parents who are very different from each other have some characteristics that may be different at birth (size usually starts off to match the mother, so a too-large baby doesn't kill its mother during or even before birth) but then even out (size generally does) and some characteristics that tend to be different depending on which parent came from which group.



        For example:




        Many foals are born with oddly bowed legs. This is called ‘windswept’
        and is common to large foals born to smaller mares. Because their
        ligaments and tendons are immature, they may also walk with their
        fetlocks almost touching the ground. Within a few days, as the foal
        becomes stronger, the legs should show signs of straightening up. (emphasis mine, ref)




        In this case, the animal has an adaptive feature because of a mother not matching the baby. But it's temporary.



        Then there are hinnies and mules. A mule is the product of a horse mother and donkey father. A hinny has a horse father and donkey mother. Mules are, as a general rule, more intelligent and vigorous than hinnies, and also a bit larger. There is a bit of controversy about the details though.



        In no way does a child only follow the mother. Even if the child has the mother's culture/experiences and food.



        In your case, your demigods are always going to be demi. Half. They will never be full gods and will never have all the characteristics and powers of a full god. Infancy is a very important time for all living creatures and there could certainly be differences in your demigods based on who raises them and where, the food they get, and so on. There can also be differences based on their gestation periods. But their genes will be half and half.



        If you look at demigods like Achilles, he was born completely mortal and as vulnerable as any human (perhaps with some extra abilities). His protective powers came from being dipped as a baby into the River Styx. His one weakness (his Achilles heel) was the part of his body that didn't contact the water (because his mother had to hold on to him somehow).



        If you choose for a demigod to be mortal (though perhaps longer-lived and harder to kill), then they are. If a child born to a human mother and divine father is mortal, then it follows that a child born to a divine mother and human father would be too. That to me makes more sense than giving a only one of those groups immortality.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 3 hours ago









        CynCyn

        9,37612246




        9,37612246























            0












            $begingroup$

            I don't see a contradiction, unless you believe Mother's milk has some special property that we need to get around. If the goddess is lactating ambrosia, we have a problem. But if she's just lactating milk, then the child would have the same limitations as one sired by a god. An identical argument could easily be made with gestation. Basically, if both chromosomes aren't divine, what you get is a mortal demigod — period.



            (where this really gets fun is if the demigod mates with a god. If we use the same rules for, say, eye and hair color, you now have a 25% chance of bearing a pure mortal... oh, yeah!)






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
              $endgroup$
              – AlexP
              3 hours ago


















            0












            $begingroup$

            I don't see a contradiction, unless you believe Mother's milk has some special property that we need to get around. If the goddess is lactating ambrosia, we have a problem. But if she's just lactating milk, then the child would have the same limitations as one sired by a god. An identical argument could easily be made with gestation. Basically, if both chromosomes aren't divine, what you get is a mortal demigod — period.



            (where this really gets fun is if the demigod mates with a god. If we use the same rules for, say, eye and hair color, you now have a 25% chance of bearing a pure mortal... oh, yeah!)






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
              $endgroup$
              – AlexP
              3 hours ago
















            0












            0








            0





            $begingroup$

            I don't see a contradiction, unless you believe Mother's milk has some special property that we need to get around. If the goddess is lactating ambrosia, we have a problem. But if she's just lactating milk, then the child would have the same limitations as one sired by a god. An identical argument could easily be made with gestation. Basically, if both chromosomes aren't divine, what you get is a mortal demigod — period.



            (where this really gets fun is if the demigod mates with a god. If we use the same rules for, say, eye and hair color, you now have a 25% chance of bearing a pure mortal... oh, yeah!)






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$



            I don't see a contradiction, unless you believe Mother's milk has some special property that we need to get around. If the goddess is lactating ambrosia, we have a problem. But if she's just lactating milk, then the child would have the same limitations as one sired by a god. An identical argument could easily be made with gestation. Basically, if both chromosomes aren't divine, what you get is a mortal demigod — period.



            (where this really gets fun is if the demigod mates with a god. If we use the same rules for, say, eye and hair color, you now have a 25% chance of bearing a pure mortal... oh, yeah!)







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 3 hours ago









            JBHJBH

            45.1k696215




            45.1k696215








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
              $endgroup$
              – AlexP
              3 hours ago
















            • 1




              $begingroup$
              Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
              $endgroup$
              – AlexP
              3 hours ago










            1




            1




            $begingroup$
            Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
            $endgroup$
            – AlexP
            3 hours ago






            $begingroup$
            Actually, goddess milk does indeed have special properties. Zeus was very fond of his son Hercules by the mortal woman Alcmene, and he arranged for the infant to be brought to Olympus and placed at the breast of his wife Hera when she was asleep, so that he could suckle immortal milk. All went according to plan, but Hera woke up, found a bastard infant at her breast, and threw him away. Hercules grew strong like a god, and the drops of milk which fell from Hera's breast on the firmament stained it. The Greeks called the stain Galaxias, from galactos, milk; we call it the Milky Way.
            $endgroup$
            – AlexP
            3 hours ago













            0












            $begingroup$

            So the first thing you have to take into consideration is that the peoples who believed in these gods and demi-gods they followed it blindly. The odds that they even thought of this would be very slim. To them all they know is a god or goddess who has a child with a mortal becomes the parent of a non immortal demigod. The reason this worked back then, was because it WAS the way to believe. Anything contradictory was looked down on.



            Now as far as justifying it... You may have to think of the godliness coming from the creation of a soul. Regardless the nutrients that were fed, the soul was created at conception. This would make it so that regardless the combination of parents, if a god's and a mortal's soul creating juices were combined, it creates a non immortal soul with godlike powers. Since gods are pretty well considered magical, it would stand to reason that their powers come from their souls.






            share|improve this answer










            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              please read this about excessive self promotion
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago
















            0












            $begingroup$

            So the first thing you have to take into consideration is that the peoples who believed in these gods and demi-gods they followed it blindly. The odds that they even thought of this would be very slim. To them all they know is a god or goddess who has a child with a mortal becomes the parent of a non immortal demigod. The reason this worked back then, was because it WAS the way to believe. Anything contradictory was looked down on.



            Now as far as justifying it... You may have to think of the godliness coming from the creation of a soul. Regardless the nutrients that were fed, the soul was created at conception. This would make it so that regardless the combination of parents, if a god's and a mortal's soul creating juices were combined, it creates a non immortal soul with godlike powers. Since gods are pretty well considered magical, it would stand to reason that their powers come from their souls.






            share|improve this answer










            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              please read this about excessive self promotion
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago














            0












            0








            0





            $begingroup$

            So the first thing you have to take into consideration is that the peoples who believed in these gods and demi-gods they followed it blindly. The odds that they even thought of this would be very slim. To them all they know is a god or goddess who has a child with a mortal becomes the parent of a non immortal demigod. The reason this worked back then, was because it WAS the way to believe. Anything contradictory was looked down on.



            Now as far as justifying it... You may have to think of the godliness coming from the creation of a soul. Regardless the nutrients that were fed, the soul was created at conception. This would make it so that regardless the combination of parents, if a god's and a mortal's soul creating juices were combined, it creates a non immortal soul with godlike powers. Since gods are pretty well considered magical, it would stand to reason that their powers come from their souls.






            share|improve this answer










            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            $endgroup$



            So the first thing you have to take into consideration is that the peoples who believed in these gods and demi-gods they followed it blindly. The odds that they even thought of this would be very slim. To them all they know is a god or goddess who has a child with a mortal becomes the parent of a non immortal demigod. The reason this worked back then, was because it WAS the way to believe. Anything contradictory was looked down on.



            Now as far as justifying it... You may have to think of the godliness coming from the creation of a soul. Regardless the nutrients that were fed, the soul was created at conception. This would make it so that regardless the combination of parents, if a god's and a mortal's soul creating juices were combined, it creates a non immortal soul with godlike powers. Since gods are pretty well considered magical, it would stand to reason that their powers come from their souls.







            share|improve this answer










            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 2 hours ago









            L.Dutch

            84.8k28201415




            84.8k28201415






            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            answered 4 hours ago









            BroseidonBroseidon

            1




            1




            New contributor




            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





            New contributor





            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            Broseidon is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.












            • $begingroup$
              please read this about excessive self promotion
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago


















            • $begingroup$
              please read this about excessive self promotion
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
              $endgroup$
              – L.Dutch
              2 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
              $endgroup$
              – Incognito
              2 hours ago
















            $begingroup$
            please read this about excessive self promotion
            $endgroup$
            – L.Dutch
            2 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            please read this about excessive self promotion
            $endgroup$
            – L.Dutch
            2 hours ago












            $begingroup$
            @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
            $endgroup$
            – Incognito
            2 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            @L.Dutch My comment was just a joke.
            $endgroup$
            – Incognito
            2 hours ago












            $begingroup$
            @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
            $endgroup$
            – L.Dutch
            2 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            @Incognito, which comment and how is it related to this?
            $endgroup$
            – L.Dutch
            2 hours ago












            $begingroup$
            @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
            $endgroup$
            – Incognito
            2 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            @L.Dutch I replied to his answer that I wanted a shout out in his video. I thought someone deleted it.
            $endgroup$
            – Incognito
            2 hours ago


















            draft saved

            draft discarded




















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to Worldbuilding Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f139870%2fwhy-would-a-demigod-born-to-a-goddess-not-be-immortal%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            Popular posts from this blog

            Accessing regular linux commands in Huawei's Dopra Linux

            Can't connect RFCOMM socket: Host is down

            Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal Exception in Interrupt