Descensus ad inferos: the myth of the hero's descent to the underworld

Resumo

This study examines the widespread myth of the hero in the underworld in diverse contexts. In the first part of the paper,
after, a brief examination of the myth in Greek mythology, several
ancient literary texts in which the underworld descent occurs are analysed. Recurrent motifs and imagery are examined in their
poetic and psycho-social meanings. The second part of the paper
concentrates on the underworld descent as an episode in Homer's
Odyssey and Joyce's Ulisses. The comparison of the descent in these two episodes focuses on both thematic considerations, to relate the
episode to other underworld descents, and narrative questions, to
relate the episode to the work of which it forms a part. Ancient
and modern approaches to myth and its uses are summarized in the
conclusion and an appendix discusses the underworld descent in
20th century literature.