Naslov
How to Kill a God: Immortals & Mortality in Xena & Greek Myth

Autori
Glavan, Maria Mariola

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Skup
Xena: Warrior Princess 20 Years On: An International Conference of Classical Reception & Popular Culture Revisiting the Warrior Princess & Her Legacy

Mjesto i datum
Sjedinjene Američke Države, 18.07.2021. - 19.07.2021

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Xena, immortals, mortality, Greek myth

Sažetak
In season 5 of Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena gains the power to kill the Olympian gods in a now famous arc often referred to as the Twilight of the Gods, a power which she uses to fatal effect. This isn’t the only instance within the Xenaverse indicating the mortality of so-called immortals, however ; Velasca and Callisto, originally mortals, are killed, and gods such as Celesta and Ares are shown to be mortal under certain circumstances. These cases, and others in which gods or so-called immortals are killed or stripped of their godhood in the Xenaverse, shall be discussed in this paper ; while the focus will be on examples from Xena: Warrior Princess, due to the interrelated nature of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, some examples will also be given from within the wider Xenaverse. Three types of divine death will be discussed: ultimate death, death through a loss of power, and death as rebirth. This discussion of the mortality of the gods will lead a broader discussion of the nature of the gods in the Xenaverse. Examples from the Xenaverse will be interspaced with comparisons from classical literature, elucidating the meaning of divine death, divinity, and mortality, both in Xena: Warrior Princess and in classical literature. A discussion will follow on the importance of the death of the gods to the world in general, and to the character of Xena, the killer of the gods, in particular. Special attention will be given to Xena herself as a killer of the gods, and the ways in which she is uniquely suited to that role, as well as the central role of divine death to stages in Xena’s personal journey toward redemption and in her relationship with Gabrielle, ending with the events of the series finale, A Friend in Need.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

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