One of gods' major characteristics, that makes them different from humans is being immortal. But are all of them really immortal? Traditionally, gods are perceived as being invincible, eternally young and perfect in a lot of ways. However, there is a category in mythology that is called "dying god". Most cultures have a mortal god in its pantheon. The presence of a mortal god appears to be a mythological pattern but unlike humans dying gods are typically in some sense revived if not actually brought back to the living world. All myths in this category though created in various parts of the world have common motifs in them but at the same time they differ in many ways. The peculiarities of the dying god myths are rooted in cultural differences, differences in mentality and values of the people who crated those myths. Like any mythological narrative they carry a message about its' creators.
Why did people create myths about dying and resurrecting gods? The idea of being immortal has always been fascinating to the humans and they have been on the death conquering quest since the early ages. Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth in Florida, Arthurian Knights were searching for the Holy Grail, Alexander the Great was looking for the Waters of Eternal Life and many-many others were trying to find a way of escaping death. Since people could not actually find any real solution they incorporated the ideas of immortality and rebirth in myths they created. In a lot of ways the world of gods is modeled after the world of humans. This is why some gods are mortal. Gods are actually in many ways humanlike: "For like men they were composed of body and soul, and like men were subject to all the passions and infirmities of the flesh. Their bodies, it is true, wer ...