If some of the gods are killed where do their souls go?

**Mark_S** · 11-25-2012, 11:00 AM

After all mortals have an afterlife, that's part of the reason the gods exist. Many of them are in existence to manage the afterlife of mortals. But where do gods go when they die?

**Rob_Olivera** · 11-25-2012, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Mark_S

After all mortals have an afterlife, that's part of the reason the gods exist. Many of them are in existence to manage the afterlife of mortals. But where do gods go when they die?

While the source for my answer doesn't come from an official place, it was said in "Clash of the Titans" that they just whither away. There is no afterlife for them. This was discussed by Zeus in that film.

**Legato** · 11-25-2012, 11:15 AM

Would be interesting that if a God/Goddess do die then they end up being reborn later on

**slvn** · 11-25-2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by Rob_Olivera

While the source for my answer doesn't come from an official place, it was said in "Clash of the Titans" that they just whither away. There is no afterlife for them. This was discussed by Zeus in that film.

Persephone seemed to have killed herself and gotten stuck in Hades --but maybe that's just because she died there and her lord wouldn't let her go. Or maybe he didn't even let her die.

In Sandnan, dead gods would pass through the dreaming on their way back into the minds of mortals. The latest Batwoman seemed to say that dead gods could eventually be restored by the faith.of mortals (if mortals still had faith, or if we get it back).

**Mark_S** · 11-25-2012, 12:42 PM

It's sort of a 'who watches the watchers' question because gods aren't supposed to die. But in myth they did die. Zeus killed his own father after all and I wonder where does a soul go -if gods have souls- when it has that much knowledge and power. Is there some higher afterlife that mortals can't even guess at? If so who is in charge? If the boss fires you then you go look for a new job, but what happens when the boss gets fired? There always seems to be someone higher up, so who is above the gods?

**Don-Jack** · 11-25-2012, 02:17 PM

Deimos went to Tartarus. Hermes went to the Elysium Fields, IIRC.
on the NuUDC, I'm not sure, but it could be the same.
Unless you're not talking about only the UDC Greek Gods, but in general culture.

**slvn** · 11-25-2012, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by Mark_S

Zeus killed his own father after all

In the myths, I believe Kronus, Zeus' father, went to Tartarus. In the comic, Kronus is in Hell as Hades' throne, but I don't know if he's "dead" and just a shade, or a fully living prisoner. From Hermes dialogue in #8, I got the impression that gods don't have souls, but maybe he just meant that they never die so their souls are never released. I kind of like the idea in Batwoman 14 that they can be "killed," or disincarnated, but can potentially be restored by faith, if people have faith in them.

**hunter_peterson** · 11-25-2012, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by slvn

In the myths, I believe Kronus, Zeus' father, went to Tartarus. In the comic, Kronus is in Hell as Hades' throne, but I don't know if he's "dead" and just a shade, or a fully living prisoner. From Hermes dialogue in #8, I got the impression that gods don't have souls, but maybe he just meant that they never die so their souls are never released. I kind of like the idea in Batwoman 14 that they can be "killed," or disincarnated, but can potentially be restored by faith, if people have faith in them.

Actually, Kronos never died in the myths. Zeus castrated him and made him vomit his children up, the Titans and the Olympians fought a war in the Titanomachy, the Titans lost and then were imprisoned in Tartarus (with the exception of Hecate). They were defeated, not killed.

But as to the deaths of gods in the new continuity, I don't know. The "being able to be brought back" thing connected to faith doesn't feel consistent with Azzarello's take, which is the main one at the moment. In the myths when gods die they tend to go to their version of the afterlife, be that Hades or Hel or whatever. Though they also resurrect sometimes and usually are too difficult to kill for it to be a practical option.

**Mark_S** · 11-26-2012, 05:07 AM

I've always thought of the afterlife as a place where you're living life was judged by yourself, death was just the ultimate mirror that you couldn't look away from. Marley in a Christmas Carol lamenting that he forged the chains of his own damnation by the way he lived and in death he had no choice but to put them on. Or the inferno where there were levels of torment designed for different sins. Looking at it that way I can't imagine the kind of hell that might be waiting for someone like Zeus or Hera, but if they are immune from that sort of judgement then I have to ask why?

**hunter_peterson** · 11-26-2012, 06:00 AM

Originally Posted by Mark_S

I've always thought of the afterlife as a place where you're living life was judged by yourself, death was just the ultimate mirror that you couldn't look away from. Marley in a Christmas Carol lamenting that he forged the chains of his own damnation by the way he lived and in death he had no choice but to put them on. Or the inferno where there were levels of torment designed for different sins. Looking at it that way I can't imagine the kind of hell that might be waiting for someone like Zeus or Hera, but if they are immune from that sort of judgement then I have to ask why?

I think the easy answer would be that, as living forces of nature, they have no souls. Which is complete speculation on my behalf, but logical given the premise.

**Mark_S** · 11-26-2012, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by hunter_peterson

I think the easy answer would be that, as living forces of nature, they have no souls. Which is complete speculation on my behalf, but logical given the premise.

I think that if you are sentient then you have a soul. Also I think that they moved beyond being forces of nature when they became sentient.

**slvn** · 11-26-2012, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by hunter_peterson

But as to the deaths of gods in the new continuity, I don't know. The "being able to be brought back" thing connected to faith doesn't feel consistent with Azzarello's take, which is the main one at the moment.

Doesn't it? I'm not sure. Ares' comment (in WW 4) that the gods' strings are pulled by mortals made me think that the gods are in some way creatures of mortals and dependent on mortal beliefs. And if we mortals dream the gods up, we might be able to dream them back up after they have been "killed." To me this seems consistent with Hermes' wistfulness in #8 about never being able to enjoy the afterlife as mortals do. He may know that even if he "dies," he can be brought back by belief and not allowed to rest forever, though to me, being one of Hades' building blocks doesn't seem very restful. Of course, it could also be that "dead" gods go to Hades but eternally retain their individuality (which Hermes may see as a burden) to a greater extent than mortals do. This seems to be the case with Persephone (and Kronus, if applicable in the comic).