noun. A going down; descent: opposed to anabasis (which see).

noun. In the Gr. Ch., a chamber or vault situated under the altar, and used as a chapel to contain relics.

noun. Alternative spelling of katabasis.

"An actual initiation was, of course, out of the question; on the other hand a _catabasis_, a descent into Hades, was part of the epic inheritance he derived from Homer, and this, like the funeral games in the fifth book, he might use with an earnestness of purpose wanting in Homer, to work in with the great theme of his poem, not merely as an artistic effort."