Katabasis: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 21:26, 17 February 2026

English

Original Entry: View on Wiktionary

Alternative Forms

catabasis

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κατάβασις (katábasis), from καταβαίνω (“to go down”), from κατά (“down”) + βαίνω (“to go”).

Pronunciation

/kəˈtæbəsɪs/
kuh-TAB-uh-sis (approximate)

Noun

katabasis (plural: katabases)

(Mythology, Literature) A narrative motif or trope in which a hero descends into the underworld.
(By extension, jocular) Any journey downward or fall.
A retreat, especially a military one. (Antonym: anabasis)
A journey from the interior of a country to the coast.
(Rare) The presence of downward (drainage or katabatic) winds.

Selected Quotations

1923 — Georges Berguer "The ancient Greeks and the peoples of remote antiquity already knew of journeys of the soul, but these were often journeys to the infernal regions, descents into hell, catabases, with obstacles..."

2009 — James Ker "The logic of the underworld is most on show in the Phaedra and the Hercules [of Seneca], which feature the returns of Theseus and Hercules from their katabases."

1842 — Yale Literary Magazine "How did the man in the moon come down?... other obstacles lie in the way of this famous catabasis..."

Walkthrough Video

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In Media

The Odyssey, Book 11 — Odysseus’s descent into the underworld (a classic katabasis).
Audiobook: The Odyssey (LibriVox)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==English==
-{{wp}}
-===Alternative forms===
+'''Original Entry:'''
-* {{alt|en|catabasis}}
+[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/katabasis View on Wiktionary]
+----
+===Alternative Forms===
+* catabasis
+----
 ===Etymology===
-From {{uder|en|grc|κατάβασις}}, from {{m|grc|καταβαίνω}} (“to go down”), from {{m|grc|κατά}} (“down”) + {{m|grc|βαίνω}} (“to go”).
+From Ancient Greek ''κατάβασις'' (katábasis), from ''καταβαίνω'' (“to go down”), from ''κατά'' (“down”) + ''βαίνω'' (“to go”).
+----
 ===Pronunciation===
-* {{enPR|kə-tă'bə-sĭs}}, {{IPA|en|/kəˈtæbəsɪs/}}
+* /kəˈtæbəsɪs/
-* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-katabasis.wav|a=Southern England}}
+* kuh-TAB-uh-sis (approximate)
-* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-katabasis.wav|a=GA}}
+----
 ===Noun===
-{{en-noun|~|katabases}}
-# {{lb|en|mythology|literature}} A [[mytheme]] or [[trope]] in which a [[hero]] descends into the [[underworld]].
+'''katabasis''' (plural: ''katabases'')
-#* {{quote-book|en|year=1923|author=Georges Berguer|translator=E. S. Brooks; Van Wyck Brooks|title=Some aspects of the life of Jesus from the psychological and psycho-analytic point of view|page=58|text=The ancient Greeks and the peoples of remote antiquity already knew of journeys of the soul, but these were often journeys to the infernal regions, descents into hell, '''catabases''', with obstacles, such as encounters with various monsters, menaces of all sorts, the crossing of the bridge of the dead or the passage of mysterious rivers on foot or on horseback.}}
-#* {{quote-book|en|year=2009|author=James Ker|title=The Deaths of Seneca|page=136|text=The logic of the underworld is most on show in the ''Phaedra'' and the ''Hercules'' [of Seneca], which feature the returns of Theseus and Hercules from their '''katabases'''.}}
+# (Mythology, Literature) A narrative motif or trope in which a hero descends into the underworld.
-#* {{quote-book|en|year=2010|author=P. Martin; Anne Rowe|title=Iris Murdoch: A Literary Life|page=84|text=Willy, the concentration camp survivor who has experienced more evil than any other character, places no value on '''catabasis'''. When asked (in connection with ''Aeneid'' VI) “Do you think everyone ought to descend to the underworld?”, he replies briskly, “Certainly not! It's very dark and stuffy and one is more likely to feel frightened than to learn anything.”}}
+# (By extension, jocular) Any journey downward or fall.
-#* {{quote-book|en|year=2013|author=Russell J.A. Kilbourn|title=Cinema, Memory, Modernity: The Representation of Memory from the Art Film to Transnational Cinema|chapter=Introduction|page=31|text=Therefore, Erling Holtsmark's point that literary-mythic '''katabasis''' captures “the imagined physical orientation of the other world relative to this one” (25), is superseded in a post-mythic, ostensibly secular worldview by a journey that takes place within an underworld that is an exteriorized projection of a protagonist's interior world.}}
+# A retreat, especially a military one. (Antonym: [[anabasis]])
+# A journey from the interior of a country to the coast.
+# (Rare) The presence of downward (drainage or katabatic) winds.
+----
-# {{lb|en|by extension|jocular}} Any [[journey]] [[downwards]] or [[fall]].
+===Selected Quotations===
-#* {{quote-journal|en|year=1842|month=February|journal=Yale Literary Magazine|volume=7|issue=4|title=The Man in the Moon|page=205|text=''How'' did the man in the moon come down? The distance between the earth and moon is by no means inconsiderable, and other obstacles “too tedious to mention,” lie in the way of this famous '''catabasis'''.}}
-# A [[retreat]], especially a [[military]] one.
+''1923 — Georges Berguer''
-#: {{ant|en|anabasis}}
+"The ancient Greeks and the peoples of remote antiquity already knew of journeys of the soul, but these were often journeys to the infernal regions, descents into hell, catabases, with obstacles..."
-# A journey from the [[interior]] of a country to the coast.
+''2009 — James Ker''
+"The logic of the underworld is most on show in the Phaedra and the Hercules [of Seneca], which feature the returns of Theseus and Hercules from their katabases."
-# {{lb|en|rare}} The presence of [[downward]] ([[drainage]] or [[katabatic]]) winds.
+''1842 — Yale Literary Magazine''
+"How did the man in the moon come down?... other obstacles lie in the way of this famous catabasis..."
 ----
@@ Line 40: / Line 53: @@
 ==In Media==
-* {{w|Odyssey|''The Odyssey''}}, Book 11 — Odysseus’s descent into the underworld (a classic katabasis).
+* ''The Odyssey'', Book 11 — Odysseus’s descent into the underworld (a classic katabasis).
 * Audiobook: [https://librivox.org/the-odyssey-version-3-by-homer/ The Odyssey (LibriVox)]
-* Original dictionary entry: [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/katabasis Wiktionary: katabasis]
 ----
+[[Category:English nouns]]
+[[Category:Mythology]]
+[[Category:Literary terms]]
+[[Category:Military terms]]