In this essay, I will be arguing that the katabasis in Greek Mythology is more concerned with the journey than the destination. I argue that katabasis myths allowed the ancient Greeks to conceptualise death and the underworld, as well as understand themes relating to death more generally. Specifically, I will argue that the journey of the hero in the katabasis myth serves as a metaphorical journey in the audience’s exploration of such themes. Before defending my position, I will briefly refer to arguments made by Friedrich Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy, as I use similar notions in my own explanation of why katabasis myths are more concerned with the journey. I will then provide an overarching explanation of my thesis, and afterwards discuss
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The concept of situating the myth outside of civilisation and having a hero in isolation proposes both literal and metaphorical distance from the themes explored, while it is the hero’s journey that acts as a mediator. This highlights an interesting aspect of the hero formula in ancient mythology, one which has received minimal scholarly attention. To provide further distance, the hero is usually depicted, in one way or another, as larger than life and beyond mortals. To descend into the underworld, at least for mortals, means to literally to die. However, when a hero does this, it merely reinforces their liminality, as heroes are defined by their proximity to death. By completing their katabasis and subsequent anabasis, the hero reverses the role that is permanent for mortals. This difference and separation between heroes and mortals, I argue, provides artistic distance which allows the themes to be explored through the safety of the ‘hero lens’. The audience sees the themes of death and the underworld from the hero’s perspective. The heroic qualities shield the audience allowing them to safely observe the journey. As each hero does not actually die while undertaking their journey, they nevertheless experience isolation, anguish, and segregation which are all aspects associated with a mortal’s death. Of course, the hero overcomes this, and their experience is only temporary. The audience spectates the hero’s journey which brings them to the edge of death, allowing them to experience and understand what the hero is going through. The impermanence and heroic qualities of the hero’s journey, however, pulls the audience back from the edge while allowing them to retain an understanding of death and the
The concept of situating the myth outside of civilisation and having a hero in isolation proposes both literal and metaphorical distance from the themes explored, while it is the hero’s journey that acts as a mediator. This highlights an interesting aspect of the hero formula in ancient mythology, one which has received minimal scholarly attention. To provide further distance, the hero is usually depicted, in one way or another, as larger than life and beyond mortals. To descend into the underworld, at least for mortals, means to literally to die. However, when a hero does this, it merely reinforces their liminality, as heroes are defined by their proximity to death. By completing their katabasis and subsequent anabasis, the hero reverses the role that is permanent for mortals. This difference and separation between heroes and mortals, I argue, provides artistic distance which allows the themes to be explored through the safety of the ‘hero lens’. The audience sees the themes of death and the underworld from the hero’s perspective. The heroic qualities shield the audience allowing them to safely observe the journey. As each hero does not actually die while undertaking their journey, they nevertheless experience isolation, anguish, and segregation which are all aspects associated with a mortal’s death. Of course, the hero overcomes this, and their experience is only temporary. The audience spectates the hero’s journey which brings them to the edge of death, allowing them to experience and understand what the hero is going through. The impermanence and heroic qualities of the hero’s journey, however, pulls the audience back from the edge while allowing them to retain an understanding of death and the