katabasis
- noun
- /ˌkætəˈbeɪsɪs/
- Literature
:
katabasis
- And it is specifically in "The Descent of Inanna" that we witness the very first description of a katabasis, or a down-spiraling voyage into the Great Below.
Examples
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The katabasis portion, crossing the river into the underworld and crossing back, has Moss racing across with Cerberus right behind.
Blog text (20) -
"The Canto of Ulysses" in Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz is an extreme example of a modern katabasis.
Academic text (2010) -
The katabasis is then a journey into the night of the soul, as in T.S. Eliot's reprise of St. John.
Academic text (2010) -
Clarel is then a katabasis gone awry, a journey in which the descent but not the ascent beckons.
Academic text (2010) -
It is a phantasmagoria that certainly has the feel of a katabasis, a destabilizing of the self or selves, leading into the uncanny and strange to free itself.
Academic text (2010) -
I will argue that Soyinka also makes expedient use of the trope of katabasis (descent into hell) in order to restage the encounter between Western and non-Western cultures.
Academic text (2008) -
In Greek mythology, a katabasis often refers to a hero's descent into the underworld to retrieve a loved one.
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The novel explores the theme of katabasis as the main character embarks on a journey to confront their past.
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During the play, the protagonist's katabasis symbolizes their inner struggle and transformation as they face darkness.
Synonyms
89
3.7
A movement down from a higher place to a lower place or a slope that goes down
1
8.9
A path a person follows after they die, often in religious stories
Antonyms
How Downward
Surface Forms
Etymology
Katabasis comes from Greek parts kata- 'down' and basis 'step' or 'descent', and you can see the 'down' idea in English words like catacomb. So a katabasis is a journey down, often the hero's trip into the underworld or a symbolic fall that leads to discovery.