katabasis
A mytheme or trope in which the hero embarks on a journey to the underworld.
countable, uncountable
The ancient Greeks and the peoples of remote antiquity already knew of journeys of the soul, but these were often journeys to the infernal regions, descents into hell, catabases, with obstacles, such as encounters with various monsters, menaces of all sorts, the crossing of the bridge of the dead or the passage of mysterious rivers on foot or on horseback.
Any journey downwards or fall.
countable, uncountable
How did the man in the moon come down? The distance between the earth and moon is by no means inconsiderable, and other obstacles “too tedious to mention,” lie in the way of this famous Catabasis, which his lunar majesty is declared to have performed.
A retreat, especially a military one.
countable, uncountable
2dly, That of a great military expedition, offering the same romantic features[…]which mark[…]the Russian anabasis and katabasis of Napoleon.
A journey from the interior of a country to the coast.
countable, uncountable
As the French Tenth Army shattered like the porcelain shell of a Faberge egg, British and Polish expeditionary forces that had supported the French hastily withdrew toward the Channel coast—technically it was a katabasis, the opposite of the ancient military term anabasis, which meant a march to the interior.
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek κατάβασις (katábasis), from verb καταβαίνω (katabaínō, from κατά (katá, “downwards”) + βαίνω (baínō, “go”)).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry katabasis (CC BY-SA 4.0).