A description of my current project on expressions of immortality among minor Greek deities.

1. Gendering (im)mortals: characters of Aeëtes and Circe
and exploration of alternative paradigms of divine
immortality in Theogony, Odyssey and Argonautics
Maciej Paprocki, MA
University of Wroclaw / University of Liverpool
The Project „The Eastern Mediterranean from the 4th century BC until Late Antiquity” is realized within
International Ph.D. Projects Programme of Foundation for Polish Science cofinanced from European Union,
Regional Development Fund within the frameworks of Measure 1.2 “Strengthening the Human Potential
within the Science Sector” of the Operational Program Innovative Economy.

2. The main problem
• We know little about what makes an Ancient Greek deity
mortal or immortal: not all were immortal!
• Curiously, Greek myths mention divine beings who are
classified as immortals in some texts and as mortals in
other ones – fuzzy classification
• Exact classification of a being depends on in-text
narrative constraints (being’s gender, descent etc.)
• This project studies representations of Kirke and Aeëtes,
two such ambiguously (im)mortal Greek deities

3. Objectives
• To study mechanisms governing the expression of
immortality or lack thereof among Greek deities
• To gain understanding of how gender paradigms
influenced Ancient Greek religious / political thought
• To make findings relevant to creators working with
Ancient Greek myths (especially in video game design
and screenwriting) and thus, to bridge the gap between
Classical scholars and modern creators

4. QR code for this presentation

5. Practical application – Apotheon (2014,
upcoming), a god-slaying video game
This research project has been financed by the Project „The Eastern Mediterranean from the 4th century BC
until Late Antiquity”, which is realized within International Ph.D. Projects Programme of Foundation for Polish
Science cofinanced from European Union, Regional Development Fund ,within the frameworks of Measure
1.2 “Strengthening the Human Potential within the Science Sector” of the Operational Program Innovative
Economy.