Comparative mythology
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Comparative mythology studies myths from multiple cultures to identify recurring structures, symbols, and functions. Scholars use cross-cultural parallels to trace the development of religions and soc
Spiral pictographs on the Phaistos Disc illustrate Bronze Age Crete ritual storytelling
The Deluge, frontispiece to Gustave Doré's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of Noah's Ark, this engraving shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs.
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons
The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem
Katabasis
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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 unde
Odysseus consults the soul of the prophet Tiresias in his katabasis during Book 11 of The Odyssey.
The Cumaean Sibyl leads Aeneas to the Underworld for his katabasis in the Aeneid.
Orpheus travels out of the Underworld followed by the shade of his wife, Eurydice
The return of Persephone, by Frederic Leighton (1891)