katabasis
E476502
Katabasis is a mythological and literary motif involving a hero’s descent into the underworld or a realm of the dead, often to achieve a crucial quest or transformation.
Statements (57)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
literary motif
ⓘ
mythological motif ⓘ narrative pattern ⓘ |
| appearsInTradition |
Christian visionary literature
ⓘ
Greek mythology NERFINISHED ⓘ Near Eastern mythology ⓘ Roman mythology NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appearsInWork |
Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy"
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Heracles' twelfth labor (descent to Hades) NERFINISHED ⓘ Homer's "Odyssey" NERFINISHED ⓘ Mesopotamian "Epic of Gilgamesh" NERFINISHED ⓘ Orpheus and Eurydice myth NERFINISHED ⓘ Sumerian myth of Inanna's descent ⓘ Virgil's "Aeneid" NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| coreElement |
guide or psychopomp
ⓘ
hero figure ⓘ otherworldly realm ⓘ return to the world of the living ⓘ trial or ordeal ⓘ |
| hasEtymologyLanguage | Ancient Greek ⓘ |
| hasEtymologyRoot | Greek word "katabasis" (κατάβασις) ⓘ |
| hasOppositeMotif | anabasis ⓘ |
| hasStructuralRole |
central episode in a quest narrative
ⓘ
climactic trial for the protagonist ⓘ |
| hasTheme |
acquisition of knowledge
ⓘ
confrontation with death ⓘ initiation ⓘ rebirth ⓘ testing of courage ⓘ transformation of the hero ⓘ |
| involvesLocationType |
otherworld
ⓘ
realm of the dead ⓘ underworld ⓘ |
| literalMeaning | descent ⓘ |
| narrativeFunction |
enables hero to gain crucial information
ⓘ
enables hero to obtain a magical object ⓘ enables hero to rescue a soul ⓘ marks turning point in the plot ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
afterlife vision
ⓘ
hero's journey ⓘ nekyia ⓘ underworld journey ⓘ |
| symbolizes |
confrontation with the unconscious
ⓘ
death and rebirth cycle ⓘ liminal transition ⓘ psychological descent ⓘ spiritual crisis ⓘ |
| typicalAction |
descent into the underworld
ⓘ
journey to the realm of the dead ⓘ return from the underworld ⓘ |
| usedInGenre |
drama
ⓘ
epic poetry ⓘ fantasy literature ⓘ folklore ⓘ mythology ⓘ novels ⓘ religious narrative ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.