It Began with Balder It is unusual for gods to die. Even the Titans, the original Greek gods, who were vanquished by their Olympian offspring, remain alive in Tartarus, a cavernous hell that serves as their prison. Gods that do perish are resurrected. Isis traveled the world to collect the pieces of her husband, Osiris, so she might put him back together, and he might be reborn. The Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl, after waking up to discover that, while intoxicated the night before, he had cavorted with his sister, felt such remorse that he set himself on fire, burning to ash. Out of this death, his heart rose to the heavens,…