Death or departure of the gods

Odin's last words to Baldr (1908) by W.G. Collingwood (1854–1932)

A dying god, or departure of the gods, is a motif in mythology in which one or more gods (of a pantheon) die, are destroyed, or depart permanently from their place on Earth to elsewhere.

Frequently cited examples of dying gods are Balder in Norse mythology, or Quetzalcoatl in Aztec mythology. A special subcategory is the death of an entire pantheon, the most notable example being Ragnarök in Norse mythology, with other examples from Ireland, India, Hawaii and Tahiti.[1]

"Death or departure of the gods" is motif A192 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, with the following subcategories:[1]

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 (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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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.
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