Hi, my name is Dante. I’m a twenty-something writer and educator who is deeply interested in history, culture, religion, and the technologies that come to shape all three. I started writing this blog in order to have an outlet for these interests while keeping people I know in the loop about what I’m up to and what I’m about.
A “katabasis” (κατάβασις) or “catabasis” is an archetypal narrative about a descent into the underworld.The word derives from the ancient Greek “κατά” (descent) and “βαίνω” (go). The most famous myths using the “katabasis”, at least in the west, are in the 11th book of The Odyssey by Homer, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Inferno by Dante Alighieri. However, this narrative motif shows up in other world mythologies as well, like the myth of Izanagi and Izanami from Japanese Shinto or the Mwindo epic told by the African Nyanga people.
Why That Name Though?
When I read a couple of these stories and realized that there was a name for the motif itself, I realized that oftentimes the goal of the protagonists in these stories are to retrieve something precious, be it knowledge or a deceased loved one. Dante seeks the way to Purgatory and Paradise so he can see his beloved Beatrice again. Orpheus seeks to bring Eurydice back to life. Mwindo pursues his villainous father so he can bring him to justice. However, all three men fail in some respect. Dante’s own failings make the journey treacherous. Orpheus turns around, allowing Hades to claim Eurydice’s soul. Mwindo fails to capture his father in the underworld and must pursue him in the sky. I think these stories of descending, struggling, and ultimately returning the world with or without a prize form an intriguing archetype. Though not all of these stories are happy, they’re incredibly human takes on ideas like grief, faith, and justice. We learn from these stories, successful or not. This blog is intended to be my own descent into topics that I’m interested in pursuing, regardless of the outcome. I hope you’ll be able to learn something from this descent as well.