Katabasis

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)