Dead God at beginning of game?

[Ironhawk]

He might have thought that "died" meant permanently dying, rather than being killed and respawning at the capital

[Fate]

Gods can also be recalled, even if they "really" die. It is quite common to see gods rack up deaths (and, because death is one of the factors in getting into the HoF, you will often see gods there). Gods don't get any bonuses from it, unlike normal units.

Non-gods can also get multiple deaths by casting Twiceborn (causing them to come back as a wight in their capitol if they die in friendly dominion), or the Ritual of Rebirth (allowing you to get a dead commander who is in the HoF, sans items, but with the same paths, as a bog mummy).

Ps, does pheonix pyre show up as a death?