A dying god, or departure of the gods, is a motif in

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

in which one or more

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

s (of a

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

) die, are destroyed, or depart permanently from their place on Earth to elsewhere. Frequently cited examples of dying gods are

Baldr Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was kno ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, or

Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahu ...

Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accordi ...

. A special subcategory is the death of an entire pantheon, the most notable example being

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submers ...

in Norse mythology, or

Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...

and the Titans from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, with other examples from Ireland, India, Hawaii and Tahiti. Examples of the disappearing god in Hattian and Hittite mythology include

Telipinu Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, living in 16th century BC, reigned c. 1525-1500 BC in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all ...

and Hannahanna. "Death or departure of the gods" is motif A192 in

Stith Thompson Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...

's '' Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', with the following subcategories:S. Thompson, ''Motif-index of folk-literature : a classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, medieval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jest-books, and local legends'', Revised and enlarged. edition. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1955-1958, p. 106. :A192.1. Death of the gods (also F259.1. Mortality of fairies) ::A192.1.1. Old god slain by young god. (also A525.2.

Culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are imp ...

(god) slays his grandfather) ::A192.1.2. God killed and eaten (theophagy) :A192.2. Departure of gods (also A560. Culture hero's (demi-god's) departure) ::A192.2.1. Deity departs for heaven (skies). :::A192.2.1.1. Deity departs for moon. ::A192.2.2. Divinity departs in boat over sea. ::A192.2.3. Divinity departs to submarine home. ::A192.2.4. Divinity departs in column of flame. :A192.3. Expected return of deity. :A192.4. Divinity becomes mortal. A separate (although related and overlapping) category are gods who die and are also resurrected (Thompson's motif A193), see

Dying-and-rising god A dying-and-rising, death-rebirth, or resurrection deity is a religious motif in which a god or goddess dies and is resurrected.Leeming, "Dying god" (2004)Miles 2009, 193 Examples of gods who die and later return to life are most often cited f ...

References

{{reflist * Burkert, Walter 1979. ''Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual''. London: University of California Press. * Leeming, David. "Dying god". ''The Oxford Companion to World mythology''. Oxford University Press, 2004. ''Oxford Reference Online''. Oxford University Press. UC - Irvine. 5 June 2011 * Stookey, Lorena Laura. 2004. ''Thematic Guide to World Mythology''. Westport: Greenwood. Comparative mythology Mythological archetypes Recurring elements in folklore

See also

References