Eternal being is something that springs to mind as a divine characteristic. In modern monotheism, "dead god" seems like an oxymoron. We have to turn to pagan myths, such as Greek and Roman Mythology, to find "dead gods".
There is no "definitive version" of Greco-Roman mythology to draw on; the best sources are sketchy on the details of the eventual fate of deposed gods Uranus and Kronos. I contend that they became "dead gods": their worship was so inappropriate as to need no forbidding. These were Big Loser gods; no one would want them for patrons. Regardess of whether they are supposed to be hanging around in exile in Tarterus, or completely dead, they have no impact on the lives of the people who believe they did, or do, exist.
This is what it means, to mortals, for a god to be "dead": removed eternally from intervention in mortal affairs, or even the affairs of other gods.
In Gloranthan mythology and metaphysics, pretty much anything can be permanently destroyed if it is lost in the Void that is Primal Chaos. This includes gods: when The Unholy Trio cracked the Universe and let Chaos in, Ragnaglar was overcome by Chaos, and became Glorantha's first Dead God. The illusion of death, such as Yelm's murder and subsequent rescue from Hell, does not compare. A Quest may restore what has succumbed to the mere sting of Death, but no power can recall what is consumed by Chaos. |
