In Greek mythology, ichor () is the ethereal fluid making up the blood of the gods and/or immortals. The Ancient Greek word () is of uncertain etymology, and has been suggested to be a foreign word, possibly the pre-Greek substrate.
In classical myth
Ichor originates in Greek mythology, where it is the "ethereal fluid" that is the blood of the Greek gods, sometimes said to retain the qualities of the immortals' food and drink, ambrosia and nectar.
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[His spear.. struck Aphrodite at the base of her palm,] Blood , but immortal : ichor pure,
Such as the blessed inhabitants of heaven may bleed,
For the Gods eat not man's food,
Nor wine,
bloodless and death-exempt .
|attr2=Based on W. Cowper,
The Greek Christian writer Clement of Alexandria deliberately confounded ichor in its medical sense as a foul-smelling watery discharge from a wound or ulcer with its mythological sense as the blood of the gods, in a polemic against the Greek gods. As part of his evidence that they are merely mortal, he cites several cases in which the gods are wounded physically, and then asserts that
<blockquote>if there are wounds, there is blood. For the ichor of the poets is more repulsive than blood; for the putrefaction of blood is called ichor.</blockquote>
See also
- Blood of Christ
- Ectoplasm (paranormal)
- Petrichor