How does a god become a god?
Given the chance, wouldn't you just want to have super powers and begin to change this effin' world the way you want it to be? Well, these are privileges (and other perks included) worthy of the divinities from our favorite Olympian pantheon!
Being a reader of Greek mythology since grade school, I found two obvious and easy ways to be considered a god; either you have it naturally, or you find your way through it.
Being a reader of Greek mythology since grade school, I found two obvious and easy ways to be considered a god; either you have it naturally, or you find your way through it.
It runs in the family... May I just remark that the oh-so famous Graeco-Roman pantheon is just another humongous, dysfunctional family in the world? Oh, yes it's true. Every god in classical mythology is someone else's father or grandfather or brother or son, and every goddess his aunt, sister, grandmother or niece. Thanks to the polygamous, adulterous, and oftentimes incestuous relationships that these gods take. Uhuh... ask Zeus about those matters.
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| The Family Tree of Greek Mythology Thanks Teacher Oz! |
So, if you happen to be a child of both divine parents, you are most likely a god or goddess, and less likely a monster (acknowledgements to Scylla, and Charybdis, and the Gorgons etc. whose parents are gods... it must have been hard growing up).
OR if you have at least one godly parent, you can be a demigod hero and eventually apotheosize (is it right?) into a god after death... say Hercules and Asclepius and Aristaeus, which see later.
OR you might just be one lucky individual whom the gods have chosen to be one of them.
Possibilities are endless, my dears!
Godhood benefits up for grabs... Apply now! Immortal life. Eternal youth. Super powers. Even romance all you like. These are some of the perks of Greek godhood. Interesting, right?
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| The Apotheosis of Hercules by François Lemoyne (1736) |
Ever heard of the word APOTHEOSIS?
(Okay. I know that's a mouthful. I also used to struggle with this word, but practice really makes perfect!)
Apotheosis, I must say, is one big word, even in the world of mythology. According to Mythography, the term comes from the Greek words apo "from" and theos "god." So basically, it means deification, or elevation to godhood. Put simply, apotheosis is a process by which mere humans like us turn into gods.
Mortals who have gone through apotheosis then become the what we call APOTHEOTHENAI (what the?! I don’t personally call them that). In the myths, only a handful of people underwent this divine-making process. Some of the most notable are:
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| Hercules-I'm a God Now... by *nippy13 This is a really poppin' representation of the deified Hercules, isn't it? |
- Asclepius, god of medicine;
- Dioscuri, the twins of the constellation Gemini;
- Ganymede, cupbearer of Olympus (I still find it hard to believe that the Top God was a bi);
- Hercules (everyone knows him! Thanks, Disney);
- Psyche, Eros' wife; and
- Dionysus, wine god (so... even Mr. D was once a hero!)
You may visit this page on Theoi.com in case you're interested to know everyone who had gone through deification. Who knows, you might even get some tips from them!
(Believe me, Theoi Project is such a hugely reliable site it's making my brain bleed.)
UNFORTUNATELY, there are no clear criteria on how individuals are allowed to undergo apotheosis. When the gods feel like it, they will just pluck you out of this earth and make you live with them! Records show that quite a few people received the privilege as a reward for their benefactions to mankind--e.g. Heracles, Asclepius and Aristaeus--, others through marriage to gods--e.g. Ariadne, Tithonus and Psyche--, and some by luck or pure chance--i.e. Glaucus.
Lucky guys.
Distinguishing gods from humans
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| Ichor by ~x0x-InFAM0uX-x0x The Ethereal and Golden Ichor looks like honey to me. |
Ooh. Ethereal. Golden. Such sweet words! What's more? I've read from one source (gosh, I lost it) that ichor is the fluid that never engenders the gods with disease, and when shed, it had the power of producing new life. Need some proof? Here are some of them:Ichor (/ˈaɪkər/ or /ˈɪkər/; Ancient Greek: ἰχώρ) is the ethereal golden fluid that is the blood of the gods and/or immortals.
- When Cronus castrated his father Uranus, few drops of blood fell into the earth, from which the Erinyes and the Gigantes emerged. Also, Uranus 'wang' which fell into the sea brought forth the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite. (Is it just me or those words really rhyme?)
- In the myth of Perseus and Medusa, two creatures sprang forth from the gorgon's blood (ichor) -- the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor (is he a giant or what?) -- when the hero severed her head.
In addition to the ichor which occurs to them naturally, the gods also believe that a proper diet of ambrosia and nectar is necessary for a perfectly healthy lifestyle.
Not birds, not planes... just SUPERHUMANS!? The gods of the classical world resemble humans to a certain extent. They also feel pain and passion, love and lust, anger, angst, jealousy and every other emotion you can ever think of. However, these supernatural beings far surpass mortals in beauty, strength, power, grandeur, intelligence, artistry... everything! After all, they are called gods for a reason.
As I was browsing the Internet, I stumbled upon a really interesting website aptly titled, The Official Guide to the Mythological Universe. The site outlines the:
Mythological Profiles on the gods and goddesses from the Marvel Universe, DC Universe, Legendary Journeys, Percy Jackson and other TV and Motion Picture AppearancesInteresting, right?
So, I turned to look and found these amazingly detailed references regarding the supernatural abilities of the gods as seen (or read... or heard) in fiction:
- Superhuman Strength: The Olympian gods are superhumanly strong with the average Olympian god able to lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions, and the average Olympian goddess able to lift (press) about 25 tons under optimal conditions.
- Superhuman Speed: The Olympian gods have the potential of being able to run and move at speeds much greater than the finest human athlete. Only Hermes, Iris and a few others can supersede the majority of the Olympian gods.
- Superhuman Stamina: The musculature of the Olympian gods produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the muscles of human beings. The average Olympian god can exert themselves at peak capacity for about 24 hours before fatigue impairs them. Hercules, Zeus and Poseidon are physically stronger than most of the Olympian gods.
- Superhumanly Dense Tissue: The skin, muscle, and bone tissues of the Olympian gods are about three times as dense as the same tissue of a human body, contributing to their superhuman strength and weight.
- Superhuman Durability: The bodies of the Olympian gods are considerably more resistant to physical injury than the bodies of humans. The Olympian gods are capable of withstanding great impact forces and exposure to temperature and pressure extremes without sustaining physical injury.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite their natural durability, it is possible for any of the Olympian gods to sustain injury. However, if injured, their highly advanced metabolism enables them to recover with superhuman levels of speed and efficiency. As with most of their other powers, the speed and extent of these powers varies from one Olympian god to another.
- Immortality: The Olympian gods are functionally immortal and immune to the effects of aging. They haven't aged since reaching adulthood. Their bodies are also immune to all known Earthly diseases and infection.
- Energy Manipulation: The Olympian gods have some potential to manipulate magical or cosmic energies for some purpose. These powers are mostly limited to changing their appearance or shape, and teleporting across great distances. However, a small minority of the Olympians are capable of manipulating vast amounts of energy for a variety of purposes including teleportation, shapeshifting, matter manipulation, augmentation of their physical capabilities, erecting powerful force fields, firing powerful blasts of energy for destructive purposes and granting augmented attributes to objects and beings.
- Known Abilities: The Olympian gods possess specific skills associated with their area of expertise. For example, as the Greek and Roman god of war, Ares is a formidable combatant with extensive knowledge of both armed and unarmed combat, whereas Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is highly skilled in all forms of physical and sexual pleasure. Most Olympians have had some degree of training in armed and unarmed combat, particularly with spears, swords, shields and the bow and arrow.
(source: http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mythguide/olympians.html)
Cool project you have here. Like your writing style.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally but there's more
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