The Dying God Archetype

Whom does this picture depict?

• Odin of Norse mythology

What is similar about this picture?

The Dying God Archetype

• Also known as a the “resurrection deity,” this god is either resurrected or reborn in a literal or symbolic sense

• All myths imitate ancient rituals that were intended to renew the fertility of the land and crops each year

Egyptian Mythology

•Osiris

Maya Mythology

• Quetzalcoatl

Greek Mythology

•Dionysus

Death and Resurrection

• When the god dies, he/she often experiences a descent into the Underworld

• The god either ultimately triumphs beyond or rules over the Underworld

The Tree of Life

• A tree connecting earth to a heaven and/or and underworld

• Some tree symbols:– The Judeo-Christian Garden of Eden features

the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil– The Buddha attains Nirvana under a bodhi tree– In the film Avatar, the Na’vi find their spiritual

home in a tree– Cigna health insurance uses a tree of life as its

insignia

The Odyssey

• Odysseus (Ulysses) and Penelope built their world of Ithaca around an olive tree

Norse Cosmology

• Yggdrasil is the “world tree” that reaches into every realm and rises through three different lands

Judeo-Christian Tradition

• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden

Buddhism

• Gautama Buddha receives enlightenment under the bodhi tree

Modern Cinema

• In the film Avatar, the Na’vi live in a sacred tree

Corporate Logo

• Cigna health insurance