katabasis
Sign in to saveAlso known as Descent to the underworld, catabasis
thumb|upright=1.34|Odysseus consults the soul of the prophet [[Tiresias in his katabasis during Book 11 of The Odyssey.]]
~15 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Overview
- The ''Odyssey''
- The ''Aeneid''
- The ''Metamorphoses''
- Other examples in religious and mythological literature
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
thumb|upright=1.34|Odysseus consults the soul of the prophet [[Tiresias in his katabasis during Book 11 of The Odyssey.]]
A katabasis or catabasis (; ) is a journey to the underworld. Its original sense is usually associated with Greek mythology and classical mythology more broadly, where the protagonist visits the Greek underworld, also known as Hades. The term is also used in a broad sense of any journey to the realm of the dead in other mythological and religious traditions. A katabasis is comparable to a nekyia or necromancy, where one experiences a vision of the underworld or its inhabitants; a nekyia does not generally involve a physical visit.